I wonder if Lakota West will ever rebuild. They had an insane squad in 2020 after coming out of nowhere and becoming one of the best teams in the nation
Mason will be hard to beat tbh. They won state last year and return 4 guys + a 9:34 guy / a 4:30 guy who did not run. Also, I just noticed that they RETURN 5 guys who have run a sub-16 5K. That’s really good.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they qualify to NXN but again, but it will be a stiff competition against those Indiana teams. I think they are even with Carmel so they will have the ability to beat them.
Kickapoo MO is a really solid team with their whole varsity being seniors.
This team looks interesting and seems to have some potential….. 1 Lancaster (OH) 195 1) Isaiah Lanoy 9:27.99 11 2) Kaiden Lanoy 9:30.84 14 3) Trevor Lanoy 9:40.43 27 4) Zane Schorr 9:55.31 50 5) Carter Schorr 10:11.84 93 Average Time: 9:45.28 Total Time: 48:46.41 1-5 Split: 43.85 6) Tyler Brunney 10:28.97 141 7) Evan Rice 10:33.51 15
Notice how their top 5 are from 2 families.
You forgot Colton Thress. 1:55 kid who was 24th in the region and their 4th man last year after the 3 Lanoy boys.
RANKTIMEATHLETE/TEAMGRADE1 4:26.49 LANDON KIMMEL Tipp City Tippecanoe MS 2026 2 4:29.95 CASEY KROMER Norwalk 2026 3 4:31.42 MARCUS ADELMAN New Philadelphia Welty MS 2026 4 4:35.07 LUKE SNYDER Rittman MS 2026 5 4:36.03 REILLY MEYER West Chester Hopewell JH 2026 6 4:36.27 JACKSON DAVIS Beavercreek MS 2026 7 4:36.62 ROWEN HOFFEE Minerva MS 2026 8 4:39.62 KEATON SANFORD Marysville Bunsold MS 2026 9 4:40.21 SETH HAMM Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant MS 2027 10 4:40.85 KARTER BOGGS Bucyrus MS 2026 11 4:40.86 ETHAN LACROSS Gahanna East MS
Don't sleep on St X. They only lost 2 of 7 that ran at the state meet and they always reload. What do teams in the north have? Louisville, Iggy's, Ed's, Jackson, Mentor, Glen Oak, and Medina? All were top 15 last season. Do they have anyone coming back? What about Lancaster? They were also top 15. Mason is the clear favorite in D1 but the other spots seem to be up for grabs.
What about D2? Woodridge was a bit disappointing last season but was still 2nd in the state. A few years ago Woodridge was one of the best in any division and they always seem to reload. Marlington was pretty dominant last season and probably would have been top 5 in D1.
Louisville - only #6 coming back St. Ignatius - only 2 returns (1 scorer) St Edward - only 2 returners (scorers) Mentor - 5 guys are back Mas. Jackson - has 1-4,6 back. None are gonna be seniors so keep an eye on them next year. Glen Oak - returns 1,2,5,6 Medina - 5 returners
1. Mason OH 2. Dub. Coffman 3. Hil. Davidson 4. St. Xavier 5. Mas. Jackson. No seniors returning this year. Look out for them next year! 6. Lancaster 7. Olen Orange 8. Mentor 9. GlenOak 10. Medina
1. Mason OH 2. Dub. Coffman 3. Hil. Davidson 4. St. Xavier 5. Mas. Jackson. No seniors returning this year. Look out for them next year! 6. Lancaster 7. Olen Orange 8. Mentor 9. GlenOak 10. Medina
You must be an Olentangy Orange homer. They didn't qualify last year and are losing important pieces - B King, Z Fuller, etc.
Jerome & Kilbourne (both qualifiers over OO last year), along with Pick N and Westerville North (watch out for these guys - all returning), will likely be stronger contenders than Orange.
They may not even qualify for state, much less find themselves in the top 7.
I put Olen Orange in there because they return the 4th fastest group of 1600 guys. In fact 2 of them went under 4:20 which according to everyone including Sean Brosnan is fast.
I put Olen Orange in there because they return the 4th fastest group of 1600 guys. In fact 2 of them went under 4:20 which according to everyone including Sean Brosnan is fast.
Their #2 man's 3200 PR is 9:53. That's not going to get it done
Why them over the other Central OH teams? Or heck... Glen Oak?
Actually, we can take out Olen Orange, and put Springboro in the top 10 instead. They placed 11th and return their 2-5 + a 16:33 guy who did not race there
The only "weaknesses" they've shown in recent years is rarely having a Top 10 caliber low-stick -- far less important than the quality of your 4th/5th in a dense, deep field like a state meet -- and a weird run of freak injuries in the postseason. In either case, the crazy level of depth they have is the antidote. (And apparently, summer training has gone well for them.)
Lancaster came out of track looking like the biggest threat (IMO), but have never seemed to even shoot par in the postseason in XC, and they'll probably need to be even a little better than that to beat Mason, short of a Comet collapse.
St. Xavier has the horses to give Mason a scare... but they were already playing catch-up from last season and didn't have the kind of track season that would indicate they've gained ground where they needed to.
Sladjana Vidović (Croatian: Slađana Vidović, April 4, 1992 – October 2, 2008) was a 16-year-old student at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio who committed suicide by hanging herself after enduring extensive bullying by sever...
The only "weaknesses" they've shown in recent years is rarely having a Top 10 caliber low-stick -- far less important than the quality of your 4th/5th in a dense, deep field like a state meet -- and a weird run of freak injuries in the postseason. In either case, the crazy level of depth they have is the antidote. (And apparently, summer training has gone well for them.)
Lancaster came out of track looking like the biggest threat (IMO), but have never seemed to even shoot par in the postseason in XC, and they'll probably need to be even a little better than that to beat Mason, short of a Comet collapse.
St. Xavier has the horses to give Mason a scare... but they were already playing catch-up from last season and didn't have the kind of track season that would indicate they've gained ground where they needed to.
By almost any objective measure Lancaster had a better track season than Mason. I would be surprised but not shocked if they put it all together in XC. Then again Mason would have won last year's state championship with the 5 guys that are returning this year, so it's hard to pick against them.
I wonder if Lakota West will ever rebuild. They had an insane squad in 2020 after coming out of nowhere and becoming one of the best teams in the nation
I think to rebuild, you have to have built something, first.