By Michael Newman

TFX National Director

[email protected]

Notes – Let’s not go overboard on the first week of this list. We have not gone into the “Big” Meet portion of team’s schedules. Yes, we’ve had some big meets where we can have an idea of where teams should be placed. These lists will be fluid for the first four weeks. By the time we get to mid-October, the teams jumping in and out of the rankings will slow down.

Pre-Season #1 Wayzata MN was dropped to #6 for the opening list. It does not necessarily mean they will stay there long. It is hard to judge from just one race if this team was at full strength after their win over a good St. Michael-Albertville team 45 to 72. Wayzata placed five runners in the top 12 led by Emma Atkinson’s fourth-place finish. The Trojans ran a 47 split on their top five runners that include an eighth-grader Abbey Nechanicky. We should get a true idea of how good this team is at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 29.

Great Oak CA moved to the top of the national list with a strong win in the Sweepstakes race at last weekend’s Woodbridge XC Classic. The Wolfpack were led by Tori Gaitan and her 16:06 winning time. Their top four runners were all under 17-minutes. That strength in the front will pay off this weekend at the Bob Firman Invitational. The gap from their fourth to fifth runners was 51 seconds at Woodbridge. It would be something to keep an eye on for this team as they head to Portland.

Mountain Vista CO, in their 5k opener at the Liberty Bell Invitational on September 8, showed their strength scoring only 34 points ahead of Cherokee Trail CO who also moved into the top 35 (#25). Jenna Fitzsimmons was impressive running 17:29 for the win as her team placed their scorers in the first 15 with four runners in the top seven. Their split off Fitzsimmons was 64 seconds. The split on the first four was only 22 seconds.

Summit OR made the biggest jump from the pre-season rankings. The Storm are currently placed third nationally from the 30^th pre-season rank with their latest performance a win at last Saturday’s Northwest Classic. The addition of Kelsey Gripekoven, a transfer from Portland Jesuit, and newcomer freshman Teaghan Knox make this team a national contender. The Storm scored only 30 points to win last Saturday led by the individual win from Fiona Max. Knox finished fourth as the team’s second runner while Gripekoven was the next runner in at sixth-place. The split on their scorers was 57 seconds.

We sensed that Illinois teams would be tough in 2018 and through the early couple of meets, that has come to be true. Naperville North, in their only race of the season, defeated ranked Yorkville and Downers Grove South at the First to the Finish Invitational on September 8 at Peoria’s Detweiller Park. Last Saturday’s Richard Spring Classic also at Detweiller Park, Katelynne Hart’s 16:14 individual win led Glenbard West to a two-point win over Wheaton-Warrenville South. Yorkville ran better last week at the Minooka Flight Invitational placing them closer to Naperville North. The top three Illinois teams (Naperville North, Yorkville, Downers Grove South) will be at the Roy Griak Invitational at the end of the month.

We have not seen defending national Fayetteville-Manlius NY at full strength yet. The Hornets have raced only once finishing second behind Shenendehowa NY by 17 points. According to Bill Meylan from Tully Runners, FM’s second projected runner All-American Phoebe White is coming off an injury and has done vey limited running. The Manhattan Invitational in mid-October should give us a true-sense of this team.

We will start with the top 10 regional rankings next week along with the top 35 national lists.