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National High School Girls Team Rankings - 10/2Published by
Lone Peak Maintains Perch Atop Girls Cross Country Rankings, But A Handful Of National Championship Contenders Have Emerged By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Last year's Nike Cross Nationals runner-up, Lone Peak of Utah, completed an impressive month of September by winning the Twi-Knight Invitational last weekend in American Fork. Junior Maya Bybee continues to lead a strong and experience group 1-through-7 that has sights on becoming Utah's first girls NXN champion. But there are a bunch of great teams out there this year. At the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, J Serra Catholic CA stepped up and defeated Buchanan CA with a total team effort that elevated the Lions from No. 12 to No. 2. Kaia Stredbeck, Reese Holley and freshman Maya Pawlowicz all ran under 17 minutes at Woodbridge and give the team a great 1-2-3 up front. No. 3 Union Catholic NJ wasn't far behind J Serra at Woodbridge, just 11 points, and despite the long travel showed that Paige Sheppard and Co. are a legitimate podium threat, if not a title contender. And No. 4 Niwot CO last weekend showed that it has perhaps more depth than any team in the country when it won the the sweepstakes and championship sections of the Desert Twilight meet in Arizona. Senior Addy Ritzhenhein won her third straight title there and has a team behind her that could make a run at the title. Webb School of Knoxville TN will be at the Great American XC Festival in Cary, N.C. and has perhaps the best 1-2 in the country with sisters Calysta and Jazzlyn Garmer. Third runner Carolina Areheart is also elite but then some gaps open up between the team's fourth and fifth. Still, with two low numbers to start with, Webb School has moved to the front of the Southeast. Buchanan CA is at No. 6 and may quickly move back up into the top three or four after it regroups from a third-place finish at Woodbridge and competes on home ground at the Clovis Invitational next weekend. Brentwood TN, Wayzata MN, Heritage CO and Bridgeland TX round out this week's top 10. The Top 30 5. Webb School of Knoxville TN More news |
