Last year two glaring facts were noted for Class A: that the top 20 projected teams in general were averaging about 2 to 3 TR speed rating points higher than the top 20 teams of the year before, and that the top group of runners had a youngish cast with not a large amount of seniors among the leaders.

2015 is deja vu all over again as once more the teams at the top are averaging 2 to 3 TR points ahead of the teams in the same spot from the year before, and seniors are again a little on the scarce side among the elite runners, with only 1/3 in their final year. On the other hand, we're talking about the girls for whom even among the Class A runners you occasionally have nervy middle schoolers demanding their place in the sun, and this season two 8th graders from Suffern and Guilderland who earned TR ratings are among the top 14 returning runners, and there is still another 8th grade wunderkind from North Rockland that is expected to running at the very top of the ranks early in the season plus the latest Fayetteville-Manlius 8^th grade ratings booster. Add in an impressive freshman group that includes a Saratoga XC newbie phenom, and it's clear that youth will be serving up some great moments this season.

The veterans will still mainly be running the show though, and Corning's Jessica Lawson hopes to return from the injuries that cost her her sophomore outdoor track season and fill the shoes of last year's dominator Bella Burda of Arlington as the top gun in Class A. West Genesee sophomore Carly Benson and Elmira senior Abbey Wheeler will likely be nipping at Lawson's heels, and FM's top trio of Sophia Ryan, Samantha Levy, and Jenna Farrell will also be taking their turns at the top.

One huge change from last year is the tightness of the race at the top of the projected Class A ratings in the preseason. Last year there was a spread of 13 points between top rated Fayettville-Manlius and 3rd rated Suffern, with Saratoga about midway between in 2nd. This year FM is still on top, but by about 5 TR points over Saratoga, with Shenendehowa in 3rd only around 7 TRs behind FM. The Hornets have boosted their ratings over last year, but the main difference is that the mainly intact Blue Streaks and Shen teams come into 2015 with much higher ratings.

The top sectional races appear to have a pretty similar cast to last year's, with FM far ahead in Section 3, Saratoga and Shenendehowa set to possibly relive the 2014 tie-breaker in Section 2, and Webster Thomas, Syosset, Monroe-Woodbury, and Sachem East again looking like healthy favorites in sections 5. 8, 9, and 11. Two new wrinkles could well show up in sections 1 and 4 though, as last year's champs Suffern and Corning suffered huge graduation losses and will enter 2015 as modest underdogs to North Rockland and Elmira.

FM will try for its 10^th straight States title, and the rest of the powerhouses will look to find enough young feet to chase down the Hornets at Monroe-Woodbury for States. Saratoga will be shooting for a repeat Feds title. Between two and four of the Class A teams will probably be earning the NXN tickets to Nationals, where NY teams have locked down 10 of the 11 championships. If you think it all sounds pretty exciting, you're totally right.

Arlington's Bella Burda led Fayetteville-Manlius's Sophia Ryan at the States Class A championship in a season that saw the Admiral standout go undefeated from September through November and Ryan's Hornets capture their 9th straight States title and 8th NXN national championship in nine years.