With Mount Academy moved to Class C last year after two dominating seasons, everyone in Class D thought it was safe to come out again and battle for a States title on equal terms. But then the Beavers dived in for their 15th States title without even having to place anyone in the top 25, and all dreams of equal distribution of wealth in life went kaput.

True it was Beaver River's first championship in 6 years and only their 3rd in this century, but it's never wise to let the Beavers get on a roll because they have put together one 6-year winning streak and another period in which they won 5 of 6 States. In fact, the Beavers' state championships have all come as parts of streaks. So the fact they are at the top of the ratings in Class D at the beginning of 2015 is not a good sign for any school that believes in a fair distribution of state championships among deserving teams like themselves.

But Class D rivals of Beaver River can at least take heart in the fact that last year's States win was close, with Barker 6 points back and 3rd place Norwood-Norfolk 7 points behind. And this year the Beavers have a solid but not spectacular pack for their top rating, so there are a handful of teams that know they have a serious shot at a state championship if they can fill out the back of the line.

Beaver River returns 5 of the top 6 in last year's States pack with Brett Neddo as the returning frontrunner, but since the #2 and #3 guys Erik Campeau and Connor Demo were only freshmen then, there is a good chance that the Beavers could be even better this year. The second rated team in 2015 has an opposite construction to the Beaver pack, as last year's 3rd-place States team Norwood-Norfolk has a terrific top trio of States medalists in Kyle and Connor Fulk and Adam Saucier, but there is a huge gap to the #4 and #5 spots. Lake Placid, Clymer-Sherman-Panama, and Maple Grove all enter the season with more balanced teams and TR speed ratings averages over 140.0, but they all have much work to do in developing the end of the lineup.

As always in Class D, there are many teams that rise high up in the rankings as soon as they can prove they have five decently strong runners. Two traditional powers that were hit extremely hard by graduation are Greenwich and Barker. The Witches are back down in Class D after losing Jeremy Spiezio, Chandler Hansen, and two other seniors from last year's 4th place States C team. The 2014 Class D runner-up Raiders lost 6 guys from last year's varsity, so this is going to be a giant rebuilding year for them in Section 6.

East Rochester's Dawson Bathgate was the leader of the States D race for a while last year before finishing 4th, and he will be the favorite at the start of the 2015 season. Other guys who are returning after a top 10 finish at Canton include Norwood-Norfolk's Kyle Fulk and Adam Saucier, Wheatland-Chili's Alex Hogue, and Clymer-Sherman-Panama's Josh O'Dell.

Can any team stop the Beavers from streaking again? Their extremely loud and enthusiastic fans would probably be happy to answer that question if you ask them.

East Rochester's Dawson Bathgate was still on the lead at the Canton bridge in the 2014 States D race, but the eventual winner Patrick Murphy of Duanesburg was looming over his right shoulder and the runnerup Daryn Hutchings of Argyle was just to his right.