National Coaches Association Pre-season poll

Below is the first rankings for one of the major web-sites that does a nice job doing this.  We are ranked 12th with Edina and Wilmar close behind.  Minnetonka is a pre-season number 1 in the Minnesota poll.  Four great teams starting the 2015 season.

GIRLS PRESEASON - 2015

1. GREAT OAK HS, TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA

US#2 last season with an entirely underclassman team. Return the deepest team in US Prep History, we've thrown that title around in the past...this team, IS THE REAL DEAL! Expect every course record to fall enroute to a National Team Championship. GO can't be stopped. GO also is riding high from a US#2 alltime Postal 5x3200m national championship averaging 10:33.81 less than 2 seconds from the '04-05 Saratoga Springs record 10:31.05. Great Oak returns everyone and should shatter that mark next spring.

Key Leaders:Destiny Collins,12, 4:40.34/9:53.79; Kiyena Beatty,11, 4:56.21/10:36.20; Sydney Belus,11, 4:50.26/10:42.76; Evelyn Mandel,11, 4:55.79/10:47.85; Sandra Pflughoft,10, 5:07/10:48.46; Desi Stinger,12, 5:09.46/10:48.97; Emily Clause,12, 5:07.86/10:53.91; Nicole Rice,11, 11:06.86; Taylor Walker,12, 11:09.36.

2. SARATOGA SPRINGS HS, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK

Prior to the FM streak the team of the century was Saratoga Springs. With a completely underclassman team Toga is built for the future. Paris Fenhoff and Kelsey Chmeil who ran as super-8th graders last season move up bringing a spotlight back to THE program.

Key Leaders:Gabby Robens,12, 10:24.34c; Paris Fenhoff,9, 10:53.75c; Kelsey Chmiel, 9, 10:41.13c; Peyton Engborg,10, 11:02.23c; Amelia Mahoney,12;Carley Vetter,10;Samantha Vetter,10; Caroline Starace,10

3. AMERICAN FORK HS, AMERICAN FORK, UTAH

No program has been chomping at the bit like American Fork, last seasons NXN experience will suit this team well as they are all underclassmen. Cavemen girls make a run at the national title this year and for many more to come.

Key Leaders:Sara Musselman,11, 5:03.20/10:55.28; Lexi Wright,10, 5:06.6/11:09.62; Cami Squires,11, 5:13.31/11:12.12; Samantha Hollingsworth,11, 11:13.15; Katie Cornell,12, 5:10

4. DESERT VISTA HS, PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Key Returners:Bailey Jones,11, 4:55.78/10:36.68; Amanda Davis,11, 4:55.98/11:08.37; Haley Wolf,10, 10:59.85; Emily Crall,11, 11:05.55; Mason Swenson,12; Madeline Bucci,11.

5. DAVIS HS, KAYSVILLE, UTAH

Key Leaders:Aubrey Argyle,11, 4:57.30/10:30.66; Courtney Wayment,12, 4:59.14/10:40.24; Ally Geisler,11, 5:05.79; Miah Weaver,11, 5:11.25/11:08.20; Sam Hedquist,12, 5:24.63/11:28.58

6. LAKE BRADDOCK SECONDARY HS, BURKE, VIRGINIA

Key Leaders:Kate Murphy,11, 4:46.99/10:30.82; Sarah Daniels,10, 11:05.37; Daly Ferguson,12, 11:13.14; Sonya Butseva,12, 11:07.71; Madison Tippet,11, 5:10.83; Emily Schiesl,11, 11:17.93

7. NAPERVILLE NORTH HS, NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS

Key Leaders:Claire Hamilton,11, 4:57.32/10:59.76; Sara Schmidt,10, 5:09.88/10:50.06; Judy Pendergast,12, 4:56.53/10:34.55; Emory Griffin,12, 5:13.22; Jenny Gibson,12, 5:17.12; Natalie Dunnett,10.

8. FAYETTEVILLE MANLIUS HS, MANLIUS, NEW YORK

Key Leaders:Jenna Farrell,12, 10:09.09 3k; Sophie Ryan,10, 10:06.17 3k; Phoebe White,8,4:53.93 1500m as 7th grade; This is the first year in a decade FM is a complete unknown will they even qualify for NXN?

9. NORTHVILLE HS, NORTHVILLE, MICHIGAN

Key Leaders:Lexa Barrott,12, 10:37.52; CaylaEckenroth,11, 10:42.70; Emma Herrmann,12, 11:13.33; Ana Barrott,10, 11:22.40; Haley Harris,12, 18:32 XC 5k

10. CHERRY CREEK HS, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO

Key Leaders:Devon Peterson,11, 11:21.11; Lillian Markusch,12, 11:03.33; Katie Plomondon,12; Anne Raymond,12; Kiera Pelletier,12.     

11. LEWISVILLE HEBRON HS, CARROLLTON, TEXAS

Key Leaders:Laura Fairchild,10, 5:02.47/11:08; Anna Elkin,12, 5:03.87/11:00; Sarah Fairchild,12, 11:11; Abby Riordan,10; Amanda Case,11; Amanda Pettigrew,11.

12. WAYZATA HS, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA

Key Leaders:Michaela Keller-Miller,12; 11:00.28; Melissa Drenckhahn,12, 11:20; Annika Lerdall,12, 5:12.60; Jaycie Thomsen,11, 5:15.80; Ruby Stauber,12, 2:08.71; Samantha Lettenberger,11.

13. SAUGUS HS, SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA

Key Leaders:Ashley Heys,12, 5:02.23/10:51.07; Mariah Castillo,10, 5:07.85/10:48.96; Kaylee Thompson,11, 5:16.61/11:04.55; Sydney Suarez,12, 11:11.22; Savannah Sehenuk,11; Abby Davis,10.

14. LEWISVILLE MARCUS HS, FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS

Key Leaders:Maddy Reed,12, 4:52.89/10:19.36; Quinn Owen,10, 5:07.03/11:08.24; Payton Brown,12, 5:09.97/10:56.80; Ashton Hutcherson,12, 5:12.17/11:03.70.

15. SOUTHLAKE CARROLL HS, SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS

Key Leaders:Sarah Odneal,12, 5:10/11:02.84; Kayli Jones,12, 5:13.25/11:12.70; Gillian Mortimer,11; Allison Esparza,12; Catherine Tracht,10.

16. CAMAS HS, CAMAS, WASHINGTON

Key Leaders:Emma Jenkins,10, 5:00.48/10:51.59; Emily Wilson,10, 5:16.50; Maddie Woodson,12, 5:01.98; Kaylee Merritt,10, 5:22.10; Brooke Roy,10, 5:23.50; Gabrielle Postma,10.

17. EDINA HS, EDINA, MINNESOTA

Key Leaders:Amanda Mosborg,11, 5:15.87/10:58.23; Sarah Conlon,12; Emily Kompelien,10, 5:15.77/10:51.51; Julianne Logan,10; Tate Sweeney,11; Hannah Mitchell,11, 5:19.84.

18. WILLMAR HS, WILLMAR, MINNESOTA

Key Leaders:Jessa Hanson,11, 5:17.45/11:15.76; Heidi Schmitz,9; Sophie Schmitz,11, Serena Monson,9, 5:18.38; Kayla Rudie,11, 5:17.82.

19. XAVIER COLLEGE PREPARATORY HS, PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Key Leaders:Jane Miller,12, 5:17/11:11.57; Sarah Carter,11, 5:02.63/10:52.34; Shannan Higgins,12, 5:11.86; Tessa Weiss,12, 5:03.11/11:12.43; Caroline Liddy,10, 5:25.

20. NEW TRIER HS, WINNETKA, ILLINOIS

Key Leaders:Cara Keleher,11, 5:22.71/11:24.80; Caroline Fix,11, 5:14.09; Kelli Schmidt,12, 5:14.92; Molly Schmidt,11; Grace Fagan,11.    .

21. LA SALLE ACADEMY HS, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Key Leaders:Eliza Rego,12, 4:29.96 1500m; Karina Tavares,12, 4:40.70 1500m; Cianna Lynch,12, 10:27.60 3k; Audrey O'Neill,12, 4:55.92 1500m; Elise Papazian,12, 4:52.53 1500m.

22. COE BROWN ACADEMY HS, NORTHWOOD, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Key Leaders:Elisabeth Danis,12, 5:01.03; Brooke Laskowsky,12, 5:09.38; Alli Pratt,11, 5:11.52; Julia Cormier,11, 5:23.20; Meg Scannell,12, 5:15.32.

23. THE BOLLES HS, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA

Key Leaders:MacKenzie Wilson,12, 5:03/10:50.95; Ally Hajda,11, 5:06.60/11:03.79; Rachel Shapiro,10, 5:15.81/11:09.89; Caitlyn Collier,10, 4:59.60; Suzanne Dannheim,12, 5:14.63.

24. GREEN HOPE HS, CARY, NORTH CAROLINA

Key Leaders:Elly Henes,12, 4:56.41/10:32.97; Morgan Adams,12, 11:03.01; Katie Tomasi,12, 5:16.92/11:02.38; Kayla Hall,12, 5:18.58; Kelly Fitzgerald,11; Emily Jordan,11, 5:20.79.

25. PALOS VERDES HS, PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIFORNIA

Key Leaders:Jacquelyn Smith,12, 4:48.33/10:45.69; Camille Hines,11, 4:59.07/11:11.20; Alexandra Regan,11, 5:24.89; Abbey Watson,12; Lauren Bourgeois,12, Olivia Polischeck,11.

2015 Power Rankings - Females

It is never too early to start looking at the 2015 cross country season.  Here is a very, very rudimentary statistical analysis for the upcoming season.  Keep in mind that I used the state meet course to weight each section.  In some cases I added time to section meet times and others I took time away.  I also subtracted seniors and scored teams through 7 runners so team depth was rewarded.  

Minnetonka starts at the top of the heap as they have everyone back.  They are young and talented and probably would have been a top 5 team this past season at the state meet if not for section 6AA.  Edina, Wayzata, and Willmar all lose a key member of their squads, but return 6 of 7 to make the top 4 too close to call at this point.

Teams on the rise are White Bear Lake, Austin, Duluth East, and Shakopee.  

2015 Girls Power Rankings           62 Becker 2990

1 Minnetonka 417                           63 Northfield 3007

2 Edina 423                                   64 Osseo 3075

3 Wayzata 427                              65 Chisago Lakes 3078

4 Willmar 467                                66 Tartan 3129

5 Forest Lake 577                          67 Princeton 3137

6 Lakeville South 925                     68 Apple Valley 3189

7 White Bear Lake 980                  69 Mankato East 3255

8 Lakeville North 1035                   70 Park Center 3263

9 Shakopee 1063                           71 Woodbury 3271

10 Austin 1079                               72 North Branch 3274

11 Duluth East 1110                          73 Rogers 3337

12 Marshall 1160                              74 Highland Park 3343

13 Mahtomedi 1276                        75 Detroit Lakes 3352

14 Centennial 1322                         76 Roch JM 3361

15 Roseville 1340                            77 Orono 3381

16 Mpls Washburn 1342                  78 Blake 3457

17 Andover 1361                              79 Hutchinson 3470

18 St M-A 1437                                80 Delano 3473

19 East Ridge 1498                          81 Park 3485

20 Rosemount 1564                       82 Owatonna 3558

21 Red Wing 1602                           83 Cloquet 3573

22 Waconia 1618                             84 Dassel-Cokato 3577

23 St Louis Park 1670                     85 Grand Rapids 3615

24 Eden Prairie 1752                       86 Hastings 3651

25 Maple Grove 1798                      87 Blaine 3660

26 Eastview 1803                           88 St Anthony Vill 3688

27 Mankato West 1854                  89 Albert Lea 3719

28 Buffalo 1858                              90 Little Falls 3818

29 Chanhassen 1892                       91 Hill-Murray 3826

30 Winona 1938                             92 Hibbing 3841

31 Elk River 1963                            93 Thief River Falls 3854

32 Alexandria 2018                        94 St Paul Central 3892

33 Eagan 2060                              95 Rocori 3900

34 Henry Sibley 2084                   96 Spring Lake Park 4113

35 Montecello 2108                       97 Mpls South 4192

36 Stillwater 2149                         98 Cooper 4238

37 St Cloud Tech 2204                 99 Visitation 4238

38 Bemidji 2248                           100 Cambridge-Isanti 4324

39 Anoka 2261                              101 Big lake 4330

40 BSM 2268                               102 Zimmerman 4386

41 Jefferson 2356                        103 Hermantown 4393

42 South St. Paul 2400                104 Worthington 4445

43 Hopkins 2407                         105 Mound-West 4509

44 Sartell 2413                             106 Holy Angels 4538

45 Coon Rapids 2527                   107 St Cloud Apollo 4595

46 Totino-Grace 2595                  108 St Francis 4602

47 Moorhead 2598                       109 Sauk Rapids/Rice 4636

48 Faribault 2612                          110 St Paul Como 4925

49 Prior Lake 2630                       111 DeLaSalle4986

50 Chaska 2644                            112 Cretin-DH5000

51 Roch Century 2656                   113 Zum-Mez/Ken5087

52 Mounds View 2657                   114 Richfield5133

53 Irondale 2694                           115 Kasson-Mant5173

54 Armstrong 2779                       116 Simley5203

55 Roch Mayo 2849                      117 Fergus Falls 5252

56 Burnsville 2862                         118 Wash Magnet 5603

57 Champlin Park 2862                  119 Bloom Kennedy Inc

58 North St Paul 2863                   120 Fridley Inc

59 Brainerd 2926                           121 Mpls Henry Inc

60 New Prague 2936                    122 Mpls Southwest Inc

61 Farmington 2939                      123 Duluth Denfeld Inc