Micro - I agree. It looked for a while like no team could touch Loudoun Valley. LV continues to run great, but a few teams have really stepped it up and at least 6 other teams could show up with hopes of winning it all.

NXN will be GOOD this year!

Spartanxcdad: I agree with you that these two teams are very close and it would not be a big surprise at all if BHBL took the title this year. My reference to "significant improvement" was solely referring to one race - NXR. The challenge is not to be great, but to be great at the right moment. NY is going to be one of the most exciting regions in the country this year. Three of these teams could be heading to Portland and my projection is that BHBL will be one of them. I actually opened 2017 with BHBL as the #1 team in NY - they didn't fair poorly - FM just simply smashed all projections. I use 3200 times extensively in my projections but FM's 3200 times correlate less to XC predictions than any other team in the country.

Significant improvement? FM's top 3 had a
3200m avg of 9:41.50 this spring and BHBL top 3 had a 3200m avg of 9:20.13. Also should be noted is that Aidan G ran sub 16 on the Regional Course and Evan B ran 16:30 on the same course. FM's 2&3 ran 16:38 on the same course. Several factors went into BHBL's subpar performance at regionals. I am not making excuses, they had an off day, but in my opinion these 2 teams are alot closer than what you have written in your article.

Springville ran like a top NXR team in at the Pre-Region 8 meet as the #1 ranked Nike SW team defeat #2 Timpanogos. The Utah teams are ranked 7th and 13th nationally and these early season results secure those spots.

Springville ran like a top NXR team in at the Pre-Region 8 meet as the #1 ranked Nike SW team defeat #2 Timpanogos. The Utah teams are ranked 7th and 13th nationally and these early season results secure those spots.

In very early action Timpanogos looks set with solid senior leadership. Watchlist team Stansbury competed well and moves up a couple of clicks in the region.

DG-N looked solid 2-5 in an early season meet, running without #1 Matt Moravec. York proved it needs a full line-up to be competitive after being knocked off by Mahomet-Seymour while missing one of it's top 5. York is a really interesting team in 2017, reminiscent of 2016 Liverpool NY. In 2016 Liverpool had 3 great front runners in Ty Brownlow, Steve Schulz and Josh Hickmott who scored a combined 25 points at NXN and the team finished ninth. With a relatively small field of 22, they were dangerous with those top runners. With the 30+ field of NXR, they didn't fair as well losing to F-M. 2017 York looks similar. If they can get through the massive and tough NXR Midwest, they could surprise at NXN behind potential single digit scorers Charlie Kern and Sean Macgregor.

Runcaleb: All very good reasons. Timpanogos is a team that has a great profile for an at-large, hurt only by their 4th place regional finish. However, that 4th place finish is going to be difficult to overcome.
With the upsets in the South and in California (Cathedral Catholic!??!) I think The Woodlands and Dana Hills are shoe-ins. That leaves 2 spots for the rest of the country. Mahomet-Seymour has a very good portfolio and obviously Springville is a clear favorite for one of those spots. Those are my 4 picks. Timpanogos and Council Rock PA are also teams that are deserving but I think they could be the last two teams left out. If any other teams besides those 6 gets one of the 4 spots I would be very surprised. If M-S doesn't get picked the Midwest has reason to be disappointing but I could see that spot going to Timp. but it would not be my choice if I had a vote - Which I don't!

Just trying to sway the committee for an at-large bid, so...Here are my 14 Reasons (and counting) as to why Timpanogos (and subsequently Springville) are obvious at-large picks for NXN:


The Southwest Regional is arguably the toughest Regional in the Nation. 5 teams ranked in the top 25 (Milesplit)
6 Teams ranked in the top 28 (Dyestat)
2016 Southwest Regional beating currently ranked #10 Olympus, #11 Lone Peak and #23 Palmer Ridge
We’ve been consistently ranked nationally throughout the 2016 season
1st at Portland XC Invite beating Summit (Northwest Qualifier) by 124 points.
1st at Portland XC Invite beating Roosevelt (CA State 3rd place) by 76 points.
Win over #1 Ranked American Fork (21 points) at the Wasatch Invite, Soldier Hollow 2016 (American Fork missing top 2, Timpanogos missing top 1)
Faster combined State time than Davis HS at Utah State Championships 2016
At large pick 2014 placing 12th at NXN: And our team this year is faster than that team.
2nd place Southwest 2015
5th place Nationals 2015
Win over Olympus and Springville at Highland Invite 2016
We’ve exceeded our national rankings at NXN for the past 2 years
At Southwest Regionals we beat all the Colorado State Champion Teams and runner-ups who are currently ranked or who have been ranked: Monarch (5A Champs), Mountain Vista (5A runner-up), and Palmer Ridge (4A Champs.)
Last years(2015) 4th place at SWR, American Fork, took 2nd at Nationals.

And Davis and Springville UT 2-3 in the Southwest, obviously had a good month since the Utah state meet.

Wow, upset in the South! Woodlands runs without Hunsdale and falls to 3rd behind Southlake Carroll and College Park. Not good news for the teams on the bubble. The at large's committees decision just got even more difficult.

Paul-

With the next set of rankings due out soon (and with NXN around the corner), how do you see the NXRSW results shaking up the rankings? With so many ranked teams in a single race, I imagine the impact will be significant. Does Davis reclaim their spot back in the top-10, especially in light of the Woodlands now having a blemish on their great record for the season? Does Springville crack into the top-10? Timpanogos?

I'm missing Colts Neck! Our preseason #19 had moved up to #15 in our previous ranking and been the Northeast regional #2 all year. They should be on this list in the mid teens range. After their great today that might be too low!