| . . . Lineup for the NXN Girls Virtual Meet | ||||
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The teams toeing the line for the NXN Girls Virtual Meet have been assigned pole positions based on the year they ran, with the powerful Saratoga 2004 team on the right in slot 1 and the Fayetteville-Manlius 2016 team on the left pole spot in the 22nd slot. The champion team is listed first in the years that provide multiple teams to the field. The lineup card below provides the basic numbers for all the teams, and the projected place that is noted is the one they were assigned by Tully Runners in the year that they ran. Most of the teams were projected in a high position, but two were teams that far exceeded expectations. The status of Wayzata's top runner Anna French was unclear before the 2013 meet and her speed rating was marked down much lower than her top level. In 2015, Davis CA finished right behind Great Oak in the California sectional meet with longtime frontrunner Fiona O'Keefe returning after a long layoff to help her team qualify for NXN, but it was assumed she would not be able to run at Nationals due to injuries. O'Keefe like Hilton's Amanda Griggs in a similar situation back in 2005 was able to run well enough to help her team do well in Portland. Looking down the lineup card for the top teams at NXN, there are two clear favorites. Saratoga 2004 with an extraordinary speed rating set at 151.8 will be far ahead of the field if the Blue Streaks can run at the level in the virtual meet. The one team with an outside chance of challenging Saratoga 2004 seems to be the Fayetteville-Manlius 2010 team, because even though the Hornets are 7 TR points behind in the speed ratings, their better 1-5 split could help them narrow the gap a bit. |
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| Projected Numbers for Teams | |||||
| Team | Speed Rating | 1-5 Split | Projected Place in Year Team Ran | Comments | Top Runners |
| Saratoga 2004 | 151.8 | 26 | 1 | A legendary team with by far the best speed rating in the field. | Blood, Ferguson, Davidson, Lane, Delay |
| Smoky Hill 2004 | 139.6 | 39 | 2 | Two runners projected to finish in top 10 give this team great strength at top. | Kaltenbach, Simmons, Schulz, Stratton, Mayer |
| Hilton 2005 | 134.6 | 22 | 2 | Should have two runners in or near top 50, but will longtime frontrunner be able to finish? | Sawyer, Griggs, Schulz, Herman, Jones |
| Saratoga 2005 | 136.8 | 31 | 1 | Two likely top 25 runners, but 30+ split could be issue. | Ferguson, Davidson, Hill, Goutos, Campbell |
| Southlake Carroll 2005 | 134.8 | 31 | 4 | Very unbalanced squad but could do well in strong field with two top 10 runners leading the team. | Walker, B. Upshaw, T. Upshaw, Ferber, Brown |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2006 | 128.0 | 23 | 3 | First time at NXN, and has second-lowest projected speed ratings, so no great expectations. | Carter, Buchan, Hauser, Hooley, Chapman |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2007 | 139.0 | 16 | 1 | Second time at NXN and expectations are much higher for team with 9th best speed ratings. | Chapman,Luber, Carter, Malone, Buchan |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2008 | 141.4 | 18 | 1 | Veteran squad should compete for top 5 spot. | Chapman, Anklin, Luber, Carter, Malone |
| Saugus 2008 | 138.6 | 14 | 2 | With the 10th best projected speed ratings, they should compete well. | Mahoney, Murakami, Bulder, Jauregui, Randall |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2009 | 141.4 | 7 | 1 | Has the same great projected speed rating as the FM 2008 squad but a much better 1-5 split. | Sischo, Malone, Chapman, Fanning, Carter |
| Saratoga 2009 | 133.4 | 16 | 3 | Final at-large selection for field and 19th best speed ratings, so no huge expectations. | Hollowood, Carr, Burroughs, King, Bellon |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2010 | 144.8 | 17 | 1 | If any team can compete with the Saratoga 2004 team, this powerful squad is it (wink and nod). | Rutledge, Sischo, Fanning, Martin, Chapman |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2011 | 139.4 | 26 | 1 | Plenty of power left in this squad, and it should compete for a top 8 place. | Fanning, Sischo, Brislin, Pearl, Farrell, Avery |
| Saratoga 2011 | 130.6 | 16 | 2 | 20th best projected speed rating,but have a hunch this team could overachieve for some reason. | Smith, Driscoll, Hollowood, Morrow, Szpak |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2012 | 135.6 | 6 | 1 | A tight pack keeps this team in the running for a top 10 spot. | Fanning, Barger, Brislin, Pearl, Farrell, Avery |
| Wayzata 2013 | 126.4 | 6 | 5 | Has by far the lowest speed ratings in field, but top runner Anna French will give team a huge boost if her status is upgraded to top form. | French, Lerdall, Franke, Keller-Miller, Sonnesyn, Evans, Halverson |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2013 | 135.6 | 22 | 1 | Not among the top FM squads and likely to finish in second half of field. | Avery, Pearl, Farrell, Howe, Menz |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2014 | 134.4 | 9 | 1 | Second lowest speed rating among the FM squads, but a good split should help a bit. | O. Ryan, Avery, S. Ryan, Farrell, Levy |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2015 | 141.0 | 15 | 1 | Very strong team and should finish in the top 5. | Neal, C. Walters, P. Madsen, Levy, S. Ryan, Farrell |
| Davis (CA) 2015 | 135.6 | 22 | 11 | Decent numbers for this team but projections are assuming key frontrunner will be absent. | Castiglioni, Fiske, O. O'Keefe, F. O'Keefe, Lodigiani |
| Great Oak 2015 | 136.2 | 28 | 2 | Higher than average split could hurt team despite 12th best speed ratings in the field. | Collins, Rice, Mandel, Pflughoft, Belus |
| Fayetteville-Manlius 2016 | 139.8 | 16 | 1 | Not flying quite as high as 2015 team but definitely a top 10 team. | C. Walters, S. Ryan, White, P. Madsen, R. Walters |