Cheserek Picked No. 1

Edward Cheserek had a chaotic summer. The Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict's distance star was reaching astonishing levels on the track, but also experienced the incredible low of losing his father. After returning to Kenya to be with his family, his return to the States put him right back on the track.

Now he has been picked as the nation's top cross country runner by Steve Underwood at DyeStat ESPN Rise. "No matter how you look at it, Cheserek earns the preseason No. 1. Coming over from Kenya as a soph, his XC season began with a Great American Independent Schools win and ended with an NXN runner-up finish behind [Lukas] Verzbicas," wrote Underwood. "He's the man to beat, no doubt."

Chererek is one of four Northeast Corridor runners on Underwood's top 25 list. He is joined by No. 16 Justin Wilson of Chestnut Hill Academy of Philadelphia; No. 23 Nick Ryan of Fayetteville-Manlius and No. 25 Tim Ball of Piscataway.