Below are our top teams to watch, who could challenge them, and top individuals.
Speed Ratings are provided by Bill Meylan of TullyRunners.com
Class A
Team
Favorite: Fayetteville-Manlius
Challengers: An interesting battle for sure. Going by the records, Section 1 Arlington has beaten Shaker on more than one occasion, and has also toppled section 5 powerhouse Rush-Henrietta. The game changer here is Shaker standout Christian Delago, who missed most of the early season due to injury. After a return to form in the past two weeks, Delago may be that power that Shaker needs to grab second place.
Full List:
 F-M Boys |
| Section 1 | Arlington |
| Section 2 | Shaker |
| Section 3 | Fayetteville-Manlius |
| Section 4 | Ithaca |
| Section 5 | Rush-Henrietta Sperry |
| Section 6 | Clarence |
| Section 8 | Port Washington |
| Section 9 | Wariwck Valley |
| Section 11 | Walt Whitman |
Individuals by Speed Rating
| Nick Ryan | Fayettville-Manlius |
| Ryan Colabella | Hauppauge |
| Michael Turi | John Jay-East Fishkill |
| Matt Deyo | Fayeteville-Manlius |
| Mike Libruk | Shaker |
| Eric Holt | Carmel |
| Kris Moran | North Babylon |
| Jon Vallercosa | Shaker |
| Nate Kozyra | Rush-Henrietta Sperry |
| Sebastion Hanson | Arlington |
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Breakdown: Some of the biggest names can be found right here. Nick Ryan recently shot off an impressive 15:34 in his sectional qualifier, and is expected to be the first runner under 16:00 at states this year as it is his race to lose. Behind him is a close pack which could Ryan Colabella, Michael Turi, and teammate Matt Deyo. Mike Libruk of Shaker is not to be forgotten, as he could break into that pack to take anywhere as far as second. Another notable to possibly take the top ten in Class Ais non-listed Paddy Grandinali of Warwick Valley.
Class B
Team
Favorite: East Aurora/Pearl River
Challengers: While Burnt Hills-Balston Lake is a quality team in any given year, the battle here comes down to Section 1 Pearl River and Section 6 East Aurora. Brian Edsall (4th man on a strong Pearl River team) missed Sectionals last week due to injury. However, he is entered to run at the state meet this weekend. The final results of this strong class matchup all resides on how well he has recovered from that injury. Without him, Burnt Hills looks to claim the 2nd slot.
Full List:
| Section 1 | Pearl River |
| Section 2 | Burnt Hills |
| Section 3 | Marcellus |
| Section 4 | Maine-Endwell |
| Section 5 | Honeoye Falls-Lima |
| Section 6 | East Aurora |
| Section 7 | Beekmantown |
| Section 8 | Garden City |
| Section 9 | New Paltz |
| Section 10 | Franklin Academy |
| Section 11 | Shoreham-Wading River |
 Pearl River Boys |
Individuals by Speed Rating
| Dan Lennon | Peru |
| TJ Hornberger | Lake Shore |
| Ryan Manahan | Marcellus |
| Justin Maguire | Brewster |
| Cooper Coach | Honeoye Falls-Lima |
| Taylor Love | Rye |
| Mike Anvelt | Pittsford Sutherland |
| Buddy Herkenham | Burnt Hills-Balston Lake |
| Jason Lange | Bishop Gibbons |
| John Lee | Shoreham-Wading River |
 Peru's Dan Lennon |
Breakdown: Dan Lennon of Peru has been having a breakout season, and was (until Nick Ryan's impressive race) the states fastest male. The battle for second is a lot closer as four individuals have been jostling positions on the leader boards all year. Hornberger, Manahan, Maguire, and Roach all could find themselves right next to eachother for much of the race.
Class C
Team
Favorite: Holland Patent/ Pawling
Challengers: One of the most open races of the day, four teams have a legit chance for a title. Holland Patent and Pawling take the edge here because they both come from strong sections where qualifying came down to very close battles between class rivals (HP vs. Hannibal, Paw. vs. Bronxville). Rhinebeck and Fonda-Fultonville are far from out of the race, however. Cross country races can all come down to who had a bad day vs. who had a good day, and I can see this race coming down to a 5th man position.
Full List:
| Section 1 | Pawling |
| Section 2 | Fonda-Fultonville |
| Section 3 | Holland Patent |
| Section 4 | Watkins Glen |
| Section 5 | Wayland-Cohocton |
| Section 6 | Alden |
| Section 7 | Saranac |
| Section 8 | Friends Academy |
| Section 9 | Rhinebeck |
| Section 10 | Gouverneur |
| Section 11 | Port Jefferson |
 Holland Patent |
Individuals by Speed Rating
| Brendan Smith | Christian Brother Academy - Syracuse |
| Cameron Bruce | Lansing |
| Austin Lane | Greenwich |
| Sam Anderson | South Lewis |
| Frankie Pfeil | Roy-Hart |
| Jeremy Rushok | Akron |
| Brendan Wortner | Dobbs Ferry |
| Tom Higgins | Westlake |
| Johnny Marvin | Rhinebeck |
| Dayton Flannery | Bronxville |
 CBA Brendan Smith |
Breakdown: Watching both top runners (Smith and Bruce) all season, only one thing can be sure of the outcome of this race: 1st place won't be far ahead of 2nd. The most evenly matched individual race of the day, these two runners have each impressed all season. Lane of Greenwich is not out of the race either, as he could pull off a big move, and break between the pair.
Class D
Team
Favorite: Barker
Challengers: Its a three way battle of the B's (Barker, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, and Beaver River) in class D. All three are dominant in their respective sections, but when put together, it seems Barker has the edge. Its hard to rule out BKW or BR however, as the runners who can best handle the VVS hill will probably take the title.
Full List:
| Section 1 | Haldane |
| Section 2 | Berne-Know-Westerlo |
| Section 3 | Beaver River |
| Section 4 | Spencer Van Etten |
| Section 5 | Geneseo |
| Section 6 | Barker |
| Section 7 | Seton Catholic |
| Section 9 | SS Seward |
| Section 10 | Tupper Lake |
| Section 11 | Southold |
 Barker Boys |
Individuals by Speed Rating
| Gabe Rodrigues | Geneseo |
| Jeff Antolos | Notre Dame-Batavia |
| Logan Kempney | Beaver River |
| Alex Campanella | Eldred |
| Corey Wefing | Maple Grove |
| Derek Struck | Berne-Knox-Westerlo |
| Sean Reynolds | Berne-Knox-Westerlo |
| Devon Rodrigues | Geneseo |
| Hunter Proscia | Eldred |
| Tyler Scheving | Barker |
 Beaver River Logan Kempney |
Breakdown: Another close top pack, the #1 spot can go to any of the first four runners. All have shown promise through the season, and it will come down to a race to the finish, best kick wins.