Girls Teams
This race is wide open.
All season long, the question was whether to rank US #1 the team that was known to have peaked at the right time last year, or the team that was dominating this year. Neither of those teams are atop the Regional Merge.
Wayzata, MN has had a stellar last two outings. They've pulled the upset to win before (2013), and are running great at the time of the Season where it matters. Led by a true front runner, they could very easily start off the scoring with a single point. That essentially means they have to score four runners against the fields five. It's a nice position to start off in.
Lone Peak, CO are looking to do just that: peak once. They won their regional with a twenty-second compression, mirroring their forty second compression at NXN from a year ago. They return 4 of 5 of the girls from their podium team in 2024, and have proven to run well in Portland. Their key to the title will be consistency and compression. If they hold strong in the NXN conditions, they can be back on the stage.
JSerra, CA is looking for a redemption arc. They had earned their US #1 rating throughout much of the Season, putting up big performances at Clovis and Woodbridge. Things went awry for them at the CA State Meet, however, and they faded to fourth in the merge (third in the power merge). They also lost a key runner mid-season, and have had to rebound. However, all things indicate they are capable of winning the crown with a return to form.
Same could be said for Union Catholic, NJ, who were only 10 points behind JSerra at Woodbridge. Their typical Number 1 and Number 5 faded in the back half of their Regional. Their team was strong enough to withstand that hit, and we've adjusted the numbers below to a return to form, but they can't afford the same at NXN. It'll take a full team effort, but they have the legs to come away with the victory.
Buchanan, CA beat JSerra at States, and is running hot right now. They've been on the podium before. Shenendehowa, NY is the odd team out here. It's been clear all season that the gap from their 4 to 5 was huge. However, at NXN, the most points they can score from a single athlete is roughly 150. If the other four athletes run exceedingly well, they could come away on the podium.
Raw Scores
These scores are merged results from the qualifier, with tweaks based on public entries and are only provided to give a gauge, not to predict final outcomes. Check out our full staff picks tomorrow.
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Team Pts 1 2 3 4 5 (6) (7)
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1 Wayzata 176 2 19 46 50 59 100 130
2 Union Catholic 210 10 16 17 83 84 94 99
3 Buchanan 226 23 30 31 67 75 78 97
4 Shenendehowa 226 3 18 21 44 140 148 151
5 Lone Peak 239 39 41 43 48 68 71 92
6 Ann Arbor Pioneer 279 1 27 63 65 123 126 150
7 JSerra Catholic 280 24 34 42 72 108 117 136
8 Romeo 281 15 20 26 102 118 152 153
9 Flower Mound 296 14 32 66 86 98 111 138
10 Heritage 298 7 51 70 81 89 90 109
11 Webb School 300 5 13 49 106 127 135 139
12 Niwot 302 4 55 76 80 87 93 116
13 Trabuco Hills 305 8 28 61 88 120 146 147
14 Sioux Falls Christia 307 9 29 58 104 107 129 131
15 Bridgeland 308 33 37 54 69 115 141 143
16 Sehome 316 22 35 47 79 133 144 154
17 Mira Costa 320 45 52 64 74 85 105 113
18 American Fork 336 25 38 62 101 110 124 125
19 Rocky Mountain 346 6 36 73 112 119 132 134
20 Bethlehem 357 11 40 57 121 128 142 149
21 Champlain Valley Uni 368 53 56 60 77 122 137 145
22 Brentwood 376 12 82 91 95 96 103 114