PennTrack's Top 10 Teams Overall

Top 10 Boys Teams (All - Public & Private)
 

1. West Chester Henderson (1)
2. North Allegheny (7)
3. Cardinal O'Hara (12)
4. Council Rock North (1)
5. Great Valley (1)
6. Pennridge (1)
7. Conestoga (1)
8. William Tennent (1)
9. Mount Lebanon (7)
10. West Chester East (1)

 

I saw this list and decided that I should discuss it a little bit since it is slightly different than my own. It seems they forgot that District 3 and 6 exist, but I won't get into that. Well maybe a bit... How can you forget teams like Lower Dauphin, State College, or even Altoona Area?!? It's just one of those things I guess. 

I'm not sure how District 1 gets 7 of the top 10 spots, but only 5 of these teams can make states. I think the top 5 teams are pretty solid and they can make good arguments for why each one of them should be on the list, but it really should be a top 6 with LD.

Lets start with Pennridge. Really interesting choice here. They were 14th in District 1 last season and they've got a lot of upside with 6 of 7 returners. After watching the North Central XC video series (now up on Flotrack) which I'd highly recommend, it makes me believe a team can go from 16th to 2nd in any league, division, ect in just 1 season, but District 1 is too stacked for me to believe this. The fast course of Lehigh really benefits this squad, especially their top guy, Joey Logue. Logue has the potential to be top 15 after his 37th placing last season. After him they have 4 guys in a 40 second spread which is quite solid. If they can move this to about 30 seconds and go 16:20 to 16:50 they've got a shot at cracking the top 8 at districts. 

 Next we've got Conestoga. They're quite like Pennridge in that they return 6/7 including their top 5. They're biggest upside is their top 2 guys are going to be juniors this season. Pennridge is only seniors which will give them a lot to strive for in finishing off their high school XC seasons strong, but Conestoga's young guys might make the So to Jr jump quite well and greatly improve. I bet their top 2 can be right around 16:00 which is what is needed for them to get into the 8. Their 5th man was also a sophomore and if he can make the jump into the 16:40 range with their 3-4 guys they have the potential to be a very solid squad in district 1, but I don't see them breaking into the top 5 to make states.

 William Tennent is our 3rd district 1 team in the top 10 who wasn't even top 10 at districts last season. They were the highest of the 3 at 12th place, but they have the lowest potential in my mind. They graduated their second man, but he's the only one gone. This squad did have 7 guys under 17:21 last season which gives them great depth and a very solid pack. The main issue is they don't have much of a front runner and I'm not sure how much this team will improve. They'll be going head to head with some great teams all season in the SOL National League, and I do see them being 8th or 9th in the district, but they don't have the fire power up front. 

Speaking of the SOL National League Council Rock South is a team to watch for while we're talking about decent District 1 squads. They were 23rd last year, but Jeff Wiseman was injured and Andrew Hanna was just a freshman and he should make huge strides this season, and I bet he'll be in the low 16s with Wiseman giving them a chance at having two medalists which is very solid. If the rest of this team comes along and they get 3 more around 17 minutes they've got a shot at top 10 in the District.

 Back to PennTrack's list we've moved across the state to District 7 and Mount Lebanon. This team has been very solid for the past 10 years and are coached very well, but I just don't see where the talent lies on this squad for them to be a top 10 team in the state. From WPIALs they return their 3-5 guys who all ran sub 10 for 3200 this season, but nobody faster than 9:50. This should be a solid pack of 3, but the other 4 guys on their varsity squad from last season graduated. They'll need to do some major rebuilding for them to make it into the top 3 again at WPIALs. 

 

Lastly we've got West Chester East who I also have 10th on my list. These guys have got a great top 3 and now we'll need to see how their 4-5 develops. If they can get 2 guys right around 17 flat at districts they may be able to squeak their way into the state meet. But a lot is unknown right now about these guys. They're a team to watch closely as the season progresses. 

 

That's all for now Folks!

--ForrestCRN