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National High School Boys Team Rankings - 11/24Published by
Five NXR Regionals Send Ripples Through Rankings; No. 1 Newbury Park Has CIF Finals Saturday; Three More Regional Meets On Tap By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor With five Nike Cross regionals in the books, 10 of this week's top 21 teams already know they are qualified for the return of Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course. Three more regionals and the California state cross country championships will complete the process of filling the entries for NXN by sometime this weekend. Regional winners Crater OR, American Fork UT, Hinsdale Central IL, Southlake Carroll TX and Wayzata MN all got a boost after winning in their respective parts of the the country and showing a bit of dominance over more than the borders of a single state. All five of the regional champs are ranked in the Top 12. Newbury Park raced sparingly this fall but all recent indications point to more historical performances this weekend at the CIF Finals at Woodward Park. The Panthers remain a cut above thanks to a very strong 1-5 that is unparalleled. Louisiana champion Jesuit, which the only top 30 team not pointed toward Portland, pursue the Garmin RunningLane Championships. The Bluejays took their state meet seriously and scored a perfect 15 points with a performance that was worthy of their No. 2 ranking. Crater of Oregon and Hinsdale Central of Illinois both ran better at their regional meets than they had at their respective state meets and were rewarded with success. Crater, which won NXR Northwest, advanced to nationals for the first time after falling one spot short on several occasions. Hinsdale Central, which lost the Illinois 3A state meet to Plainfield South, turned the tables in Terre Haute. In the South, Southlake Carroll TX earned its 14th trip to Nike Cross Nationals, picking through the mud and overcoming adversity to make it. Grapevine, led by championship race winner Adam Burlison took second. Christian Brothers NJ has been impressive in the run-up to the postseason, with dominant wins at the NJSIAA Groups and Meet of Champions meets. The Colts can make it 13 appearances in Portland if it can hold form and win another NXR Northeast title. The big question is second place, where No. 30 Union Catholic could be matched by Episcopal PA, Hall CT, Brookline MA or North Allegheny PA -- of whom are on the fringe of the rankings. In the Southeast, Belen Jesuit of Florida and McCallie School TN look like contenders for NXN berths, but there are a few others out there who could run just as well -- Farragut TN, University WV and Creekside FL among them. Corning Painted-Post will look to win NXR New York after winning the Class A state title for the second straight year. Monroe-Woodbury and St. Anthony's appear to be on a collision course for the second automatic berth. Top 30 |
