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Early Season Boys Top 40 XC Teams 2025Published by
Championship Window Still Wide Open For No. 1 Niwot CO By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 2025 Boys Early Season National Rankings Five members of Niwot CO's national championship team return this fall, which make it a fairly easy call for the early season No. 1. Last year, Hunter Robbie, Quinn Sullivan, Gabriel Marshall, Rocco Culpepper and Ryder Keeton won Colorado's first boys Nike Cross Nationals title and those five are back. In addition, a freshman by the name of Jude Ritzenhein is part of the mix. Addy's litlte brother appears to be an instant hit on the cross country trails. The choice for No. 2 is a little bit murkier. Two Jesuit's on the West Coast, one near Sacramento and the other in Portland, both bring back deep lineups that have been bolstered by a transfer. It's not clear which one of these two is better just yet, but the Marauders of California are competing this weekend against No. 4 Herriman UT at the 44th Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. And the Crusaders of Oregon will compete at The Mook Invite at Alderbrook on the Oregon Coast against top-30 teams from Mercer Island WA and Lincoln OR. WOODBRIDGE PREVIEW (Watch Friday and Saturday live on RunnersSpace+) Herriman UT, led by Jackson Spencer, figures to have another championship-caliber group despite the loss of three standout seniors. Woodbridge will be a great mid-season test to gauge its national stature. Christian Brothers Academy NJ has come up a bit short of expectations at NXN in recent years but there is no deeper team on paper when gathering 3,200-meter PRs from last spring's track season. The Colts are the top-ranked team East of Denver. The second five begins with always strong American Fork, which will continued to be in a battle with Herriman for the Utah state championship. Bridgeland of Texas brings back a wealth of talent after making it to NXN last year. Coeur d'Alene ID remains in the picture after winning the Northwest title last year. Downers Grove North just beat Plainfield North in a midseason clash of top Illinois teams at the First To The Finish Invitational. Matilda Torres appears to be California's second-best team and the Toros finished four points behind No. 2 Jesuit t the Kim Duyst Invitational last weekend. Lurking just outside the top 10 is Southlake Carroll TX, which is waiting on anticipated early October returrn of senior standout Caden Leonard, the top individual returner from Nike Cross Nationals. The Top 40
Top 40 Teams By Region California: 8 Southwest: 7 Midwest: 7 Northwest: 6 South: 5 Southeast: 2 Heartland: 2 Northeast: 2 New York: 1 Top 10 Teams By Region Southwest: 3 Northwest: 2 California: 2 Midwest: 1 Northeast: 1 South: 1 More news |
