NXN-Southwest Pre-Season Regional Outlook

Boys Region History at NXN (2007-2011) –

Auto-Qualifiers:

2011: 157 Davis UT (#3), 257 American Fork UT (#6)
2010: 171 Fort Collins CO (#4), 195 American Fork UT (#8)
2009: 236 Albuquerque Academy NM (#5), 247 American Fork UT (#8)
2008: 281 Albuquerque Academy NM (#11), 435 Alta UT (#20)
2007: 127 Los Alamos NM (#2), 134 Albuquerque Academy NM (#3)

At-Large Teams:

2010: 300 Davis UT (#11)

2012 Boys Pre-Season Rankings:

1. Davis UT – 2011 NXN Nationals third place, NXN-Southwest Runner-up and Utah 5A State Runner-up returns five of seven

2. American Fork UT – 2011 NXN Nationals sixth place squad, NXN-Southwest Champion and Utah 5A State Champion returns four of seven

3. Herriman UT – 2011 NXN-Southwest tenth place and Utah 4A State fifth place squad returns all seven

4. Sue Cleveland NM – 2011 NXN-Southwest fifth place and New Mexico 5A State Champion returns five of seven

5. Mountain View UT – 2011 NXN-Southwest sixth place and Utah 4A State Champion returns five of seven

Honorable Mention:  Bingham UT, Bonneville UT, Desert Vista AZ, Fairview CO, Los Alamos NM, Mountain Vista CO, Ogden UT

 

Synopsis: The battle between Utah superpowers should be repeated for another year as both Davis and American Fork appear to be among the favorites not only in the Southwest, but the entire nation as well. Five teams look primed to challenge for the #3 spot in the region, with Mountain Vista and Ogden joining the teams ranked above. Herriman might be the potentially best team, but also appeared to be the most inconsistent; Cleveland has the strongest frontrunner, but the biggest question at the #5 spot; Mountain View, a program with strong tradition, might be the best through three but has questions at #4 and 5; Mountain Vista has a strong quartet but questions at #5; Ogden seems like the jack of trades with a potentially good 1-2 punch and a pretty fair #3-5 pack, but doesn’t quite stand out above the others in either case (nor do they seem to be in trouble in either case, however). The struggle for third should be one to watch, as all of the teams have the potential to be good beyond the regional level.

 

 

 

Girls Region History at NXN (2007-2011) –

Auto-Qualifiers:

2011: 205 Fort Collins CO (#6), 224 Xavier College Prep AZ (#8)
2010: 247 Fort Collins CO (#6), 353 Monarch CO (#15)
2009: 161 Fort Collins CO (#3), 291 The Classical Academy CO (#9)
2008: 218 Fort Collins CO (#7), 293 The Classical Academy CO (#12)
2007: 241 Fort Collins CO (#7), 281 Davis UT (#9)

At-Large Teams:

(None)

 2012 Girls Pre-Season Rankings:

1. Fort Collins CO – 2011 NXN Nationals sixth place squad, NXN-Southwest Champion and Colorado 5A State Runner-up returns all seven

2. Xavier College Prep AZ – 2011 NXN Nationals eighth place, NXN-Southwest Runner-up and Arizona Division 1 State Champion returns five of seven

3. Davis UT – 2011 NXN-Southwest sixth place squad and Utah 5A State Champion returns their front six

4. Ogden UT – 2011 NXN-Southwest fifth place squad and Utah 3A State third place squad returns six of seven

5. Monarch CO – 2011 NXN-Southwest third place and Colorado 5A State Champion returns all seven

Honorable Mention:  Arapahoe CO, Desert Vista AZ, Los Alamos NM, Mountain Crest UT, Mountain Vista CO, Park City UT, Skyline UT

 

Synopsis: The Southwest looks like it will certainly continue to be one of the strongest regions in the nation for girls cross country as nearly all of the top teams from last year return almost entirely intact for another round of excellence. From the regional championship last year, a total of six seniors were on the varsity squads of the top eight teams – four of which were scorers, and two of which were from the same team (The Classical Academy), meaning that the region that sent two top-10 teams (with multiple other teams close behind) could very well could be FAR stronger this year. If you never noticed the Southwestern teams’ prowess before, despite their constant success at the national level… this year, you might not be able to ignore it. The region is very strong, and very deep, and between Xavier Prep and the juggernauts from Utah and Colorado should make for an incredible regional showdown this November.