2003 Northern Regional XC Preview

From Penny Sparks

4A

It’s pretty obvious that the powerhouse team is Reno High School. The Reno girls team has moved to 13^th from 20^th in national ranking, however they dropped out of the west ranking where they were 8^th. The Reno boys may not be ranked nationally or regionally but they remain number one in Nevada in spite of being bettered by Galena at Bella Vista. Reno was without their number two runner Joseph Parker who would have impacted the final team score had he run. Still, Galena looks good as they continue to move closer to Reno.

The McQueen boys came out of nowhere to surprise everyone with a win at the Elko Invitational last week. Even though Reno boys bypassed this meet to compete in the upcoming Bella Vista Invite in California, and the Galena boys eased off and ran together as a team because they were also planning to compete in the California meet, this does not change the fact that the McQueen boys ran more impressively than I have seen them run all season. They defeated the South Tahoe team which has been running a strong third in the north all season. David Smith, McQueen’s number one runner, is closing in on the top guys. At the Carson Invite a couple of weeks ago, David was just short of a minute behind Kevin Sandall of Elko, and at the Elko Invite he closed within 24 seconds of Kevin. The McQueen boys were definitely the surprise of the meet.

The South Tahoe boys are young but talented. Alex Sharp is going to be the one to watch in the near future, as I believe he is just beginning to tap his potential. He has led his team all season, positioning South Tahoe as one of the top teams in northern Nevada. They will need to knock off Galena to earn a spot for state, a big challenge, but I don’t count them out. Coach Dominque Westlake has a talent for having his runners ready when it counts, but then so does Galena’s Domingo Tibaduiza. Watch South Tahoe, Galena and McQueen mix it up. No other northern teams are a threat.

My prediction for the regional championship is Reno, Galena, South Tahoe, McQueen, and Elko, in that order.

I’m giving third place to South Tahoe because they have dominated the number three spot all season. McQueen looked so good at the Elko meet I’m tempted to waffle on this one, but I’ll stick with South Tahoe.

The non-team top five individuals will advance to state, but I am going to list the top eight that will have the best chance of qualifying as some of them have taken turns beating each other.

The Reno girls team is the obvious choice for state. This is a no-brainer: the girls could all run sick that day and Reno would still qualify. The only team battle that will take place this Thursday is for the second state-qualifying spot. The Galena girls were the favorite after the Carson Invite but the South Tahoe girls turned the table on them at the Elko Invite, and in a big way. This was the first time the South Tahoe girls beat Galena but the win was impressive, and what better time to defeat your opponent than at the end of the season? It should be a real dog-fight between these two teams.

The top five girls teams will be Reno, South Tahoe, Galena, Carson, and McQueen.

I’m picking Carson ahead of McQueen because McQueen has only beaten Carson once, and that was at Elko when Carson was running without their number two runner, Janine Stone.

Individually, it all depends on which school qualifies – Galena or South Tahoe. These two teams will hugely affect the individual qualifications. If South Tahoe gets the second spot we will see a lot of Galena individuals going, but if Galena places second we will see even more South Tahoe individuals qualifying. Because there are two distinct scenarios, I’m going making two lists – one with South Tahoe qualifying as a team, and one with Galena qualifying as a team.

If the South Tahoe girls team qualifies for state, the individual qualifiers should be:

If Galena makes it to state, these runners will be on their way to Reno:

3A

If there is a more obvious shoo-in for state than Reno, it is the Lady Buckaroos from Lowry high school – the three-time state champions. These girls are running stronger and better than ever, and I know the rest of the state is thanking Heaven that this group will finally graduate because four years of these girls is enough. But in the meantime, look for them to again dominate the regional meet. The male Buckaroo’s have not been as strong as their female counterparts, but they have held their own, running undefeated in 3A, and I’m expecting Lowry to take home the boys team regional championship.

Since I am not able to attend the 3A meets and am not privy to most of the results, it is impossible for me to predict the top teams or top qualifying individuals. Nor did Lowry coach Grant feel comfortable making a prediction because the 3A schools have not all run against each other as of yet, though a few crossed paths at North Tahoe and Spring Creek.

However, I will list the two invite results I have – North Tahoe and Spring Creek.

North Tahoe Invite – Girls

North Tahoe Invite – Boys

Spring Creek Invite – Girls

Spring Creek Invite – Boys

1/2A

The only thing I know about the 1A and 2A schools is based on the Reed Invitational, where the Incline girls rounded out the top three behind Galena and Lowry. I have heard that the Incline girls have been killing their competition all season.

In the boys competition, Whittell and Independence have been the dominant teams. Unfortunately, I have no other information to pass on.

My predictions are just that – predictions – and those of us who have been around this sport for a while know that anything can happen. Surprises and upsets are not uncommon in this sport, especially at the top.

I wish all the best to those competing in the Northern regional meet on Thursday, October 30, 2003 at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno.

Penny Sparks

Copyright 2003 NevadaTrackStats.com

Not to be reprinted without permission of webmaster@nvtrackstats.com