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National High School Boys Team Rankings - 9/30Published by
Newbury Park's Record-Breaking Run At Woodbridge Cements No. 1 Position; Cheyenne Mountain CO Rises To No. 2 With Border Wars Victory By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Now more than ever, a national ranking of the top boys cross country teams in the United States feels like a list of teams that lost a major end-of-season opportunity. With Nike Cross Nationals cancelling for the second straight year, perhaps the RunningLane Cross Country Championships will fill some of the competitive void. But this week, it's difficult to tell whether all of the nation's best teams will follow Newbury Park's declared intentions to go to Alabama for the Dec. 4 meet. If not, that could lead to some disarray at the end of a season that mostly came back. What is certain is that Newbury Park is the top team after a stunning performance at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Sept. 18. The two sets of brothers -- Leo and Lex Young and Colin and Aaron Sahlman -- ran very fast under the lights. The remainder of the season is about securing a legacy as one of the greatest teams in prep history. The return of Knox Exton to the Cheyenne Mountain lineup gave it a boost on the way to winning the Border Wars meet between Colorado and Utah powerhouses. Cheyenne Mountain is now extremely difficult to beat, 1 through 5. For Exton, who was 12th in the Colorado 4A final last year, it was a season debut and he is likely to get even better after running fifth for his team. In Texas, Grapevine continues to impress with a potent duo of Walker St. John and Trey Leathers up front. They combined to lead Grapevine to a 32-point total at the McNeil Invitational last weekend. Colorado has four teams in the top 14 this week, and Niwot made a big move forward with its best showing of the fall at the Desert Twilight Meet in Arizona. Zane Bergen won the sweepstakes race in 14:50 and his four scoring teammates were within 66 seconds of him. Jesuit of Portland has perhaps its best team in coach Tom Rothenberger's nearly 40 years at the school. The Crusaders will get a big test at the Hole In The Wall Invitational in Washington on Oct. 9 when they take on Bishop Blanchet of Seattle, which is on the rise at No. 22. Farmington UT, at No. 6, and Orland Park (Sandburg) IL , at No. 7, are potent at the back of the lineup with strong fifth runners that prevent the score from going too high. Farmington finished second to Cheyenne Mountain at the Border Wars last weekend and Sandburg made an impressive debut at the Richard Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ill. on Sept. 18. No. 8 Ridge NJ has yet to really show what it can do in a major competition yet, but the lineup is loaded on paper and led by low stick Jackson Barna. No. 9 Columbus North IN has an opportunity to capture more limelight this weekend at the Nike XC Town Twilight Presented by the Garrett Companies in Terre Haute. No. 19 Carmel IN and No. 29 York IL will also be there. Tenth-ranked Mountain Vista CO could quickly climb back near the top, but slips a bit this week after a narrow loss to Niwot at St. Vrain.
Top 30 27. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake NY
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