First off, let me mention that these rankings are done by looking at how well the top five runners have run throughout the season, with the most significant weighting by far on the state and especially NXN Regional races. Teams might be better suited to score better at the national level than they actually finished at the state or regional level, and because of that these shouldn’t be taken simply as “we’re ranked #35, there must be 34 teams better than us!” as that is not necessarily true (re: Palatine IL boys last year, I had them ranked outside the top 25 because of where they finished at state and regionals, despite saying they were a top 15 team… turned out they were the fifth best team at NXN when all was said and done). As for teams missing runners at the championship meets, the only runners included are those that ran at EITHER the state or NXN regional meets (so if a team held out a runner for whatever reason at their NXN Regional, that is not being held against them and is taken into account when looking at where they finished within the region). Let me also note that some teams have been pushed more than others… there are those who would rightfully say “Team X is undefeated and have been a strong program over the last several years, they should be ranked higher!” and they would have a very valid point… but, again, these rankings are based on the caliber of performances, not whether you win or lose (beyond maintaining the order of finish, if no one was missing potential scorers, at the state and regional level). Because of that, also realize that teams such as the Saugus girls may very well be better than their ranking here may indicate (being undefeated, I believe, and also being one of the very best programs in the nation over the last half decade), but this is simply a reflection of how fast they have run to date. If they run better at NXN – and I think it is likely they will – they will be moved up accordingly.
Next to last note: California’s NXN spots are determined by a power merge of the best teams in the state. This is a great way to do it, but for ranking purposes I only sorted the region based on who beat who directly at state (so Simi Valley was a little off at state, but still finished third in Division 1, so they could potentially be – and are – the third ranked team from California, despite being fourth in the merge)
One last note… the gap between many of these teams are pretty small. For what it’s worth, Fayetteville-Manlius is the favorite though not by as much as usual over the past few years and there are 14 teams that could potentially end up in the mix for a podium finish.
Now, without further ado, here are the top 70 rankings.
Girls –
1. Fayetteville-Manlius NY – New York A State Champion; NXN-New York Champion
2. Southlake Carroll TX – Texas 5A State Champion; NXN-South Champion
3. Great Oak CA – California D1 State Champion; CIF-SS Division 1 Champion
4. Pennsbury PA – Pennsylvania 3A State Champion; NXN-Northeast Champion
5. Saratoga NY – New York A State Runner-up; NXN-New York Runner-up
6. Coeur D' Alene ID – Idaho 5A State Champion; NXN-Northwest Champion
7. Davis UT – Utah 5A State Champion; NXN-Southwest Champion
8. Fort Collins CO – Colorado 5A State Runner-up; NXN-Southwest Runner-up
9. Pine Creek CO – Colorado 5A State third place; NXN-Southwest third place
10. Assumption KY – Kentucky 3A State Champion; NXN-Southeast Champion
11. Lake Braddock VA – Virginia 3A State Champion; NXN-Southeast fourth place (without key scorers)
12. Tatnall DE – Delaware D2 State Champion; NXN-Southeast Runner-up
13. Xavier Prep AZ – Arizona Division 1 State Champion; NXN-Southwest fourth place
14. Carmel IN – Indiana State Champion; NXN-Midwest Champion
15. Naperville North IL – Illinois 3A State Champion; NXN-Midwest Runner-up
16. Camas WA – Washington 4A State Champion; NXN-Northwest Runner-up
17. East Aurora NY – New York B State Runner-up; NXN-New York third place
18. Holy Names NY – New York B State Champion; NXN-New York fourth place
19. Park City UT – Utah 3A State Champion; NXN-Southwest fifth place
20. Birmingham Seaholm MI – Michigan Division 1 State Champion
21. Grosse Pointe South MI – Michigan Division 1 State Runner-up
22. New Trier IL – Illinois 3A State fourth place; NXN-Midwest third place
23. The Woodlands TX – Texas 5A State fourth place; NXN-South Runner-up
24. Lake Park IL – Illinois 3A State Runner-up
25. Mason OH – Ohio Division 1 State Champion; NXN-Midwest fourth place
26. Glenbard West IL – Illinois 3A State third place
27. Wayzata MN – Minnesota 2A State Champion; NXN-Heartland Champion
28. Arrowhead WI – Wisconsin Division 1 State Champion; NXN-Heartland fourth place (without key scorers)
29. St Francis (sac) CA – California D1 State Runner-up; CIF-SJS Division 1 Champion
30. Simi Valley CA – California D1 State third place; CIF-SS Division 1 Runner-up
31. Saugus CA – California D2 State Champion; CIF-SS Division 2 Champion
32. Grant OR – Oregon 6A State Champion
33. Saline MI – Michigan Division 1 State third place
34. West Lafayette IN – Indiana State Runner-up; NXN-Midwest fifth place
35. Unionville PA – Pennsylvania 3A State Runner-up
36. Buchanan CA – California D1 State fourth place; CIF-CCS Division 1 Champion
37. La Costa Canyon CA – California D2 State Runner-up; CIF-SDS Division 2 Champion
38. Monarch CO – Colorado 5A State Champion; NXN-Southwest seventh place (without key scorers)
39. Voorhees NJ – New Jersey Group 2 Champion; NXN-Northeast Runner-up
40. Barrington RI – New England Champion; NXN-Northeast third place
41. Glacier Peak WA – Washington 3A State Champion; NXN-Northwest third place
42. Ogden UT – Utah 3A State Runner-up; NXN-Southwest sixth place
43. Pleasant Valley IA – Iowa 4A State Champion; NXN-Heartland ninth place (without key scorers)
44. The Classical Academy CO – Colorado 4A State Champion; NXN-Southwest eighth place
45. Palatine IL – Illinois 3A State fifth place; NXN-Midwest sixth place
46. Humble Kingwood TX – Texas 5A State Runner-up; NXN-South third place
47. Burnt Hills NY – second place New York A Section 2; NXN-New York fifth place
48. Neenah WI – Wisconsin Division 1 State Runner-up; NXN-Heartland fifth place (without key scorers)
49. American Fork UT – Utah 5A State Runner-up; NXN-Southwest ninth place
50. Mountain Crest UT – Utah 4A State Champion; NXN-Southwest tenth place
51. Rush-Henrietta NY – New York A State third place; NXN-New York sixth place
52. Coe-Brown NH – New England Runner-up; NXN-Northeast fourth place
53. Estero FL – Florida 3A State Champion
54. Bonita CA – California D3 State Champion; CIF-SS Division 3 Champion
55. Serrano CA – California D2 State third place; CIF-SS Division 2 sixth place
56. Eagan MN – Minnesota 2A State Runner-up; NXN-Heartland Runner-up
57. Tesoro CA – California D2 State fourth place; CIF-SS Division 2 Runner-up
58. Davis CA – California D1 State fifth place; CIF-SJS Division 1 Runner-up
59. College Park TX – Texas 5A State sixth place; NXN-South fourth place
60. Los Alamos NM – New Mexico 4A State Champion; NXN-Southwest 12th place (without key scorers)
61. Mountain Vista CO – Colorado 5A State fourth place; NXN-Southwest 11th place
62. Lewisville Marcus TX – Texas 5A State third place; NXN-South fifth place
63. Fort Wayne Carroll IN – Indiana State sixth place; NXN-Midwest seventh place
64. Yorkville IL – Illinois 2A State Champion; NXN-Midwest eighth place
65. Prospect IL – Illinois 3A State 12th place; NXN-Midwest ninth place
66. Columbus North IN – Indiana State third place; NXN-Midwest tenth place
67. Hillsborough NJ – New Jersey Group 4 Champion; NXN-Northeast fifth place
68. Champlain Valley VT – New England third place; NXN-Northeast ninth place (without key scorers)
69. Tahoma WA – Washington 4A State Runner-up
70. South Eugene OR – Oregon 6A State fifth place; NXN-Northwest fourth place
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