Weekly Rant - NXN-NW Race Divisions

So, I was taking another look at the NXN Northwest results today, and it reminded me of just how ridiculously overcrowded that Open Varsity race was (about 300 athletes signed up; 257 crossed the finish. Multiple kids that didn't sprint to the front at the start were telling me the race felt more like a fartlek workout than a race as they sprinted past runners whenever there was an opening, but there was always another wall they couldn't get passed, and they were completely recovered very shortly after finishing compared to being barely able to move after the race at state).

So, I got to thinking, what could be done to (hopefully) avoid such situations in the future?

1. Balance out the Championship and Open race so that approximately half of the teams are in one, and half of the teams are in the other. Last year, that would have been 18 teams in the Championship and 17 in the Varsity Open (and with 16 teams in the Championship race, that race would certainly NOT have been too crowded! It was fairly thin throughout parts of the field, which means you could certainly add another 14 runners to the field without any semblance of an issue)

2. Don't allow 'B' teams in the Open race. This would accomplish three things: further thin out the Varsity races so that neither field gets overcrowded; add significant competition to the JV race, making it more exciting and challenging; establish a JV Team scoring (a JV Championship!) that actually mattered (not Team X's 'B' team narrowly outscores Team Y's 'C' team")

3. If the races need to be spread out further, separate large schools from small schools in the Varsity/Open race and separate Frosh/Soph from Juniors/Seniors in the JV race.

Eventually, the fields might start to look something more like this:

Championship Race - 175-225 athletes, 17-23 teams
Open Race - 175-225 athletes, 17-23 teams
JV Race - 175-225 athletes, 17-23 teams
Frosh/Soph Race - 100-150 athletes (mostly JV, but maybe some varsity caliber frosh/soph would run this if they didn't have a team to run with in the Championship - or maybe even Open Varsity - race, and maybe more kids would sign up in the first place to see how they compare to other kids of their age)


FYI, if we (probably incorrectly) assumed that no difference would be made in order of finish/time if kids were in one race versus another, this would have been the scores for the races last year... not including any unattached runners that would have been moved to another race:

Championships:
1. North Central WA 58
2. Kamiakin WA 116
3. Summit OR 160
4. Seattle Prep WA 169
5. Jesuit OR 179
6. Siuslaw OR 192
7. Nathan Hale WA 195
8. Central Valley WA 209
9. Gig Harbor WA 229
10. Eisenhower WA 244
11. Central Catholic OR 252
12. Hermiston OR 277
13. South Eugene OR 282
14. Bozeman MT 311 -- Open Race Champion, Montana 2A State Champion...
15. Rocky Mountain ID 325
16. Eastlake WA 405 -- Open Race third place; Washington 4A State Top-10
17. Lincoln OR 443
18. Star Valley WY 443


Open Race:
1. Redmond WA 70
2. Bainbridge WA 96
3. Westview OR 121
4. Lake City ID 168
5. Mountain View ID 193
6. Deer Park WA 207
7. Sequim WA 230
8. Jackson Hole WY 252
9. Skyline ID? 252
10. Bishop Kelly ID 257
11. Borah ID 264
12. Kingston WA 301
13. Victory Charter ID? 334
14. Centennial ID? 335
15. Vallivue ID 364
16. Kimberly ID 406
17. Baker OR 458

JV Race:
1. North Central WA 73 -- Open#6
2. Jesuit OR 74
3. Eisenhower WA 89 -- Open#9
4. Rocky Mountain ID 109 -- Open#8
5. Central Catholic OR 118 -- Open#10
6. Kamiakin WA 148
7. Eastlake WA 158
8. South Eugene OR 244
9. Middleton ID? 244
10. Mountain View ID 321
11. Boise ID 325
12. Capital ID 331
13. Bozeman MT 334
14. Hellgate MT 337
15. Lincoln OR 358
16. Star Valley WY 432
17. Evanston WY? 510

Commentating on blog posts

I know this is a decision that some folks aren't going to like, so I'll apologize in advance, but the comment spam is just not being filtered out hardly at all by the folks at Google, so I'm going to be reverting the commenting process back to how it originally was when I started the blog (if you aren't signed in with a google or blogger account, you'll have to type in the randomized word or pair of words shown in an image).

I know, the process is a hassle, but that's probably better than dozens of bots spamming the comment section every day with sometimes not child-friendly content and links included (and it's a hassle for me to log in just to delete spam now and then that Google/Blogger should have taken care of in the first place).

Copy of the XC Standards posted so far

Here are the standards I have posted so far. A reminder, I'm looking for teams that have 4 returning/incoming runners at or close to this level (I'll still look at a boys teams with runners at, say, 3 under 10:00 for 3200m and another under 4:30)

Boys standards on the left, girls on the right

Track Standards -

5000m = 16:05.48 / 19:20.09
2 Mile = 9:58.32 / 11:58.92
3200m = 9:54.78 / 11:54.66
3000m = 9:14.00 / 11:05.67
1 Mile = 4:29.25 / 5:23.52
1600m = 4:27.65 / 5:21.60
1500m = 4:09.30 / 4:59.55


XC Standards -

NXN Nationals = 19:58.83 / 23:23.39

California State = 17:00.80 / 20:01.38

CIF-CCS Finals = 16:48.03 / 19:46.34
CIF-CS Finals = 17:00.15 / 20:00.61
CIF-LAS Finals = 16:46.89 / 19:45.01
CIF-NCS Finals = 17:11.43 / 20:13.89
CIF-NS Finals = 16:33.32 / 19:29.03
CIF-SDS Finals = 17:30.28 / 17:49.05
CIF-SJS Finals = 17:03.16 / 20:04.16
CIF-SS Finals = 15:41.27 / 18:27.78

NXN-Northwest = 17:44.68 / 20:53.02

Alaska State = 17:39.42 / 20:46.83
Idaho State = 17:13.15 / 20:15.91
Montana State = 17:37.36 / 20:44.40
Oregon State = 17:27.62 / 20:32.95
Washington State = 17:17.97 / 20:21.59
Wyoming State = 18:17.28 / 21:31.39



For quicker updates, check out the Dyestat message board (just type in Dyestat.com and click on "Track Talk").

Direct link to the boys thread: http://www.runnerspace.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=669083

Direct link to the girls thread: http://www.runnerspace.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=669084

Washington Indoor State Records

Six new indoor state records were set this year

Girls 60m: Hannah Cunliffe (homeschooled) 7.38 @ Brooks PR (2/24)
Girls 800m: Amy-Eloise Neale (Glacier Peak) 2:09.15 @ UW open (2/10)
Girls 3000m: Alexa Efraimson (Camas) 9:31.18 @ UW Invitational (1/25)
Girls 2 Mile: Alexa Efraimson (Camas) 10:15.82 @ Brooks PR (2/24)

Boys Triple Jump: Lane Russell (Tumwater) 49-01.00 @ Simplot (2/16)
Boys 60m: Tatum Taylor (O'Dea) 6.63 @ Brooks PR (2/24)

I believe there were some class records set this year as well, but I'll wait until I've finished including some more meets just to be sure.

Previous records were -

Girls 60m: 2011 Hannah Cunliffe (homeschooled) 7.47
Girls 800m: 2012 Amy-Eloise Neale (Glacier Peak) 2:09.29
Girls 3000m: ?? The fastest I could find was Chandler Olson (Woodinville) running 10:02.63 in 2011... three broke that mark this year, with Katie Knight also shattering it to hold the record for a couple weeks at 9:36.23.
Girls 2 Mile: 2012 Katie Knight (North Central) 10:28.50

Boys Triple Jump: 2005 Rashad Toussaint (West Valley-Spokane) 48-08.75
Boys 60m: 2012 Tatum Taylor (O'Dea) 6.71



Other notes:

Kennadi Bouyer (Curtis), for the second year in a row, improved her mark but still remained #2 on Washington's All-Time list. The previous record before these two came along was Princess Joy Griffey (Decatur) who ran 7.63 in 2005.

Isaiah Brandt-Sims (Wenatchee) also moves up to #2 All-Time in the 60m with his 6.64 @ Brooks. The #3 mark still belongs to Anthony Buchanan (University) @ 6.78 back in 2000.

Runnerspace's DyeStat to re-launch on Thursday

It was mentioned on the tracktalk message board that DyeStat will be re-launching on Thursday, February 28. I'll be working with them on TFX for the Northwest states, so any updates you guys might have feel free to email me and let me know! I've been working hard trying to repair any damage that happened after the closure of ESPN Rise (some data didn't get transferred at all, others got messed up in the transfer with kids getting placed on different schools) as well as making the lists deeper than ever! Hopefully within the next week or so, I'll have finishing compiling all the indoor results available online and we can have a complete look at how this year's athletes stand compared to all athletes in the state/region during the Dyestat era (1999+).

Other than that, I'm continuing to work on finalizing some of the XC standards for my national rankings, as well as considering putting together a spring preview for Washington.

Stay tuned!

Spokane well represented on US World XC team

USATF posted the roster for the US World XC team, competing in Poland in March. Unfortunately, no Ritz once again, but several big names are choosing to represent America including national champion Chris Derrick.

There are three high schoolers that made the junior squads (Erin Finn of Michigan, as well as Katie Knight and Andrew Gardner of Spokane). There is also another Spokanite on the roster, coach Patty Ley (former Gig Harbor HS coach from 1999-2009, current assistant at Gonzaga) is the head Senior Womens coach.

See the full article at the USATF website

Quick update

Just a quick update, but I'm about ready to start posting standards for the 2013 XC rankings... track standards I already feel good about, but still need to finish reviewing most of the nation's championship cross country meets, so I'll probably be releasing those gradually (region-by-region).

In Northwest track news, great race by North Central's Tanner Anderson a few weeks ago to put himself at US#1 for 3k and possibly a Washington sophomore record and probably top 10-15 All-Time for Washington (indoors). I'll see about posting some more regarding Washington athletes after the Brooks PR meet this weekend. Lots of Washingtonians in that elite event!!

Cain breaks another record, Efraimson debuts

New York junior Mary Cain broke another record, this time it was the mile record as she ran 4:32.78 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, though I haven't found a link to full results from the meet. It is posted on letsrun that she finished third behind Sarah Bowman (4:31.61) and Nicole Sifuentes (4:31.65).

Back in Washington, two standouts competed in the UW Invitational.

Amy-Eloise Neale (Glacier Peak WA senior) debuted her season in the mile, finishing fifth in her heat at 4:53.28.

Section  1                                                     
  1 picchetti, nattaile          Adidas                 4:48.13
  2 Martin, Bianca               Unattached             4:49.45
  3 Rohde, Kristen               Bowerman AC            4:50.12
  4 Amaro, Emilie                Stanford               4:50.63
  5 Neale, Amy-Eloise            Unattached             4:53.28

Alexa Efraimson (Camas WA sophomore), meanwhile, finished second in her first ever indoor race - which happened to be the fastest indoor 3k by a Washington prep, as far as I know. (Remember that two weeks ago, Katie Knight opened up with a 9:36.23 in the same race that Mary Cain set the new overall 3k record).

Section  1                                                     
  1 Conlon, Katie                Oregon                 9:27.27
  2 Efraimson, Alexa             Unattached             9:31.18
  3 Meyers, Maddie               Washington             9:33.49
  4 Mattox, Kimber               Bowerman Ath           9:33.81
  5 Dubose, Damajeria            UC Riverside           9:35.06

EDIT: Efraimson's mark is actually second for WA All-Time to Debbie Quatier (Edmonds '74), who ran 9:29.0 as a sophomore and ended up as a 4:45 miler and 10:27 two miler (apparently a better runner indoors?). Quatier's mark was the sophomore record a few years ago, and still might be though I'm not sure if it has been surpassed in recent years (Dyestat would have had that information...) and if it still is, then Efraimson's mark might be #2 on the US All-Time sophomore list - not bad for an event she hasn't focused on in the past!

Cain breaks US HS 3k record

Mary Cain ran the fastest 3k race for a HS girl ever by winning the UW Indoor Preview race in 9:02.10.

Former best was a 9:08.6h outdoors by Lynn Bjorklund (Los Alamos NM) in 1975.

The mark won't be ratified as the indoor record, because Dempsey is an oversized track (307m), leaving the 1991 Melody Fairchild (Boulder CO) mark of 9:17.4h intact.

Katie Knight (North Central WA) was the only other prep I noticed in any of the distance results, as she finished eighth in the same race as Cain.

Results:

  1 Cain, Mary                   Unattached             9:02.10
  2 Erdmann, Tara                Nike Oregon Project    9:02.96
  3 Moser, Treniere              Nike Oregon Project    9:03.54
  4 Stellingwerff, Hilary        New Balance/           9:05.79
  5 Rohde, Kristen               Bowerman AC            9:27.01
  6 Zeferjahn, Tanya             Cal Coast TC           9:30.41
  7 Gallagher, Kerri             Unattached             9:32.41
  8 Knight, Katie                Unattached             9:36.23
  9 Rozcicha, Amber              Portland State         9:36.83
 10 Coffey, Karlee               Unattached             9:42.63 

For those wondering, Cain's mark equates to a 9:41.9 for 3200m and Knight's a 10:18.7... not bad for an early January warmup.

NXN History update

Here is a little update on how programs and regions have fared at NXN since regional qualifiers began (2007) based on average points scored (adjusted for teams that haven’t qualified all six years). Note that these numbers are NOT weighted towards more recent years, this is just a simple average… a look including recent trends would also be a valuable tool, and I will probably reference it at some point over the next year.

 

Top Eight Boys Programs –

1.       197.33 North Central WA

2.       264.67 York IL

3.       294.33 Arcadia CA

4.       305.17 American Fork UT

5.       316.67 Fayetteville-Manlius NY

6.       325.33 Christian Brothers NJ

7.       327.33 The Woodlands TX

8.       343.67 Southlake Carroll TX

 

Top Eight Girls Programs –

1.       60.67 Fayetteville-Manlius NY

2.       156.67 Saratoga Springs NY

3.       218.33 Fort Collins CO

4.       221.17 Saugus CA

5.       258.33 Tatnall DE

6.       362.50 Jesuit OR

7.       363.17 Carmel IN

8.       368.33 Southlake Carroll TX

 

Average Region Score – Boys Auto-Qualifiers

1.       222.50 Southwest

2.       241.75 Midwest

3.       241.92 Northwest

4.       252.83 Northeast

5.       270.75 California

6.       274.50 South

7.       293.83 New York

8.       344.00 Heartland

9.       399.83 Southeast

 

Average Region Score – Girls Auto-Qualifiers

1.       109.92 New York

2.       252.75 Southwest

3.       279.42 California

4.       282.67 Southeast

5.       293.42 Midwest

6.       331.08 Northwest

7.       354.92 Heartland

8.       383.25 Northeast

9.       390.33 South

 

Average Region Score – Boys Top 2 Finishers (and # of At-Large bids received)

1.       222.50 Southwest (1 At-Large)

2.       227.33 Midwest (5 At-Large)

3.       241.92 Northwest (1 At-Large)

4.       251.33 California (9 At-Large)

5.       252.83 Northeast (5 At-Large)

6.       274.50 South (3 At-Large)

7.       293.83 New York (0 At-Large)

8.       344.00 Heartland (0 At-Large)

9.       399.83 Southeast (0 At-Large)

 

Average Region Score – Girls Top 2 Finishers (and # of At-Large bids received)

1.       108.17 New York (9 At-Large)

2.       252.75 Southwest (1 At-Large)

3.       263.25 California (6 At-Large)

4.       267.83 Southeast (3 At-Large)

5.       288.08 Midwest (2 At-Large)

6.       331.08 Northwest (0 At-Large)

7.       354.92 Heartland (0 At-Large)

8.       375.08 Northeast (1 At-Large)

9.       387.58 South (2 At-Large)