As I turn the calendar to August my thoughts definitely turn to the pending XC season. This is my favorite time of the year. It is ripe with possibilities. All of those long, hot, dusty miles of summer training...will they pay off. Will the top underclassmen of last season rise to positions of leadership. And most unknown of all...who will be those top breakout newcomers. Four of the top ten girls from the end of last season didn't make it into my preview article at the start of last season (one out of ten for the boys). Consequently, there absolutely will be runners that will have a huge impact that I have no clue about...however I do know what runners accomplished last year, and I have compiled a preview list based on those results. Today I begin with the boys. As always I am open to your comments and inside information.
VARSITY BOYS
Let's begin with the runners who returned from last year's All StanCo Team:
TOMAS VIRGEN (Patterson) 12th; 2015 All StanCo ran 4:39/9:58 in track
SANTIAGO RUIZ (Gregori) 11th; 2015 All StanCo ran 4:35 in track
JOSUE PEREZ (Modesto) 11th; 2015 All StanCo ran 10:26 in track
DAVID BOSQUEZ (Turlock) 12th; 2015 All StanCo ran 9:59 in track
JOSE ORENDAIN (Modesto) 12th; 2015 All StanCo ran 2:09 in track
ALAN GUERRERO (Modesto) 10th; 2015 All StanCo ran 4:40 in track
All six of these returning athletes are proven warriors. There were some runners who missed the the All StanCo XC list but then turned in some top-notch track times, which moves them to the front of the pack for preseason consideration:
MASON REEVES (Gregori) 11th; perhaps had the best track season of all StanCo male runners when he turned in times of 9:47 and 4:36.
ERIC ALVAREZ (Turlock) 12th; his 4:31 1600m time indicates he is ready to move up this list.
LUIS ORENDAIN (Modesto) 12th; his 10:08 in the 3200m puts him into contention
MOISES BENAVIDES (Downey) 11th ran 10:19 in track. He might have made the list last season but competed in F/S division in the final meets.
The above ten runners are my Preseason All StanCo Boys Team. Again these selections are based on last year's XC and track seasons.
Are there others to consider...certainly:
RODRIGO AGUILAR (Downey) 12th; 10:18 3200m
CADE MIDDAUGH (Oakdale) 11th; 10:26 3200m perhaps the best runner on a very deep Oakdale squad.
ANDREW ANDERSON (Beyer) 12th; 4:38 1600m
CARSON BOICE (Hughson) 12th; 10:30 3200m He could win a weak TVL and has the potential to climb way up this list
JAMES FORKNER (Oakdale) 11th; 10:34 3200m
MATTHEW MARSH (Gregori) 11th; 10:35 3200m
JAYMIE JACKSON (Hughson) 12th; 10:36 3200m
JUSTIN CRESCENTI (Oakdale) 12th; 2:06 800m
ISAAC FLORES (Enochs) 10th; 10:40 probably the biggest unknown here, but 10:40 for a frosh is legit.
ROMAN FRANZIA (Gregori) 12th; 10:43 3200m
RUSSELL PABALAN (Oakdale) 11th; 10:44 3200m
DANIEL PRADO (Oakdale) 11th; 10:44 3200m
JOSH VAN ALLEN (Pitman) 12th; 10:44, I think he is ripe for a big improvement
JACK WOOLEY (Turlock) 12th; 10:49 3200m
BEN MILLER (Oakdale) 11th; 10:54 3200m
HUNTER REEVES (Gregori) 11th; 10:51 3200m
CAMERON DUQUETTE (Modesto) 12th; 10:54 3200m
EASTON HAMILTON (Pitman) 11th; 10:57 3200m
SEBASTIAN CRONKITE (Gregori) 11th; 4:49 1600m
JOSUE ESQUIVEL (Hughson) 12th; 2:05 800m but missed much of track (distance racing) with a stress fracture
DANTE ORENDAIN (Modesto) 11th; He didn't run track but what he did do as a soph in XC showed his fierce determination and competitive drive. He would definitely be varsity for anyone else but may find it difficult to earn a spot on a very deep MoHi squad
That's 31 runners to watch this coming XC season...did I miss someone, probably. Please let me know.
Pretty good list, boss! I hope to throw a couple of curveballs at your rankings, but that is a fair assessment of how many Huskies should be mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting me on the list, but are you forgetting Inteus from Downey?
ReplyDeleteI didn't forget him, he moved to Bend Oregon
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