Official Iowa HS XC 2023 Thread

Some guys who didn't do it were Mckane, Lohr, Leicht, Ramsey, Bouwers, Winger, Sommer, Mueller, Orr, Murphy, Hall, Pendergast. Nobody this year is better than all of this guys. They include NXN qualifiers and sub 9 guys.

I think these will be the top 5 teams. Not sure order though.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (loses everyone but Miles Wilson) and DCG (returns everyone) will be teams to watch as well

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (returns* everyone but Miles Wilson)

Dowling Catholic boys team is #4 in the Heartland region, and Ankeny is #9.

Stevens Point WI 55 Heartland

Wayzata MN 59 Heartland

Wichita Trinity Academy KS 100 Heartland

Dowling Catholic IA 125 Heartland

Madison West WI 140 Heartland

Minneapolis Southwest MN 150 Heartland

Mounds View MN 160 Heartland

Minnetonka MN 160 Heartland

Ankeny IA 175 Heartland

Bismarck ND 180 Heartland

Zuber is really good. He is my pick to win the 4A individual title and I think he has an outside shot to make NXN.

However, Ankeny has not shown they have the depth to finish top 3 in Iowa let alone this high in Heartland.

The students that attend Dowling are almost entirely from the parochial school system in which they attend an elementary/middle school K-8 that is associated with the church that they belong to.

What percentage of all parochial middle school students end up at Dowling? Guessing less than 50% which means that 1/2 go to public high schools.

What makes you think Zuber can run 14:50? He ran 15:58 at state last year. He may win state this year but is just as likely to run 15:40 and finish 5th.

So I thought zuber started working with xlr8 after cross last year and really put up some good track performances, if thats true I think he will run very quick for xc this year. Its hard to predict times imo but theres a couple kids I think could go sub 15 if conditions are right when they are at their fast course. State im not sure on a 14 but maybe really close.

I think you got spoiled last year with Washburn and Heidesch. Pollard ran 8:50 when that was one of the top times in the country. He qualified for Footlocker 2 times. I don't think there has been another Iowa boy to qualify. His HS PR was 15:03.

Xlr8 has not had a good long term progression with its athletes. They seem to improve rapidly for a year and then plateau and then actually regress.

Wouldn’t it be cool if Iowa produced better running teams? What would that take? Bigger schools, running year round, better coaching, more competition? Thoughts?

We will see, but I dont think I'm spoiled.

I Can't comment to this. Thought they where pretty new to training? Have they worked with anyone for a 4 years of high school?

He was a high school coach.

The Top 10 Sophomore Boys To Watch This XC Season

9. Jaden Merrick
Cedar Falls (IA)
- - -
Merrick's top 5K only placed him inside the top 21 performers for the freshmen class in 2022, but numbers don't often tell the full story.
He authored seven performances under 16 minutes -- a level of consistency few freshmen matched last year -- and performed well at the Iowa Class 4A Championships, finishing 18th overall. That was the top freshman performance at states in Iowa.
Merrick, our 49th-ranked recruit in the Class of 2026, also ran well at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships, crossing the silver race in 20th place in 16:03.40. Only three freshmen were faster in the gold race -- Clemons, Strohman and HM pick Kehler Vaughn.
What speaks to his potential, though was his efforts over the outdoor season. Merrick ran times of 4:14.79 in the 16,600m and 9:12.88 in the 3,200m, efforts which placed him fourth and sixth in his class over the season.

milesplit.com

The Top 10 Sophomore Boys To Watch This XC Season

Cory Mull

The top 10 sophomore boys to watch in 2023? We have you covered.

Link:www.milesplit.com/articles/336905/the-...

Should be higher after track.