The 2013 Cross Country season is upon us, with the first meet of the season this weekend at Stansbury. The 2A competition should be very interesting this season with changes coming in divisions, as well as removing all the graduation Seniors from last year. Here are some basic predictions of what this season may have in store.
Girls-
Last season Rowland Hall won the team championship by 20 points over Enterprise. Rowland Hall loses one of their top 5 scoring athletes from last year. The rest of the top 5 teams each lose 2 of their scoring athletes, which will make it hard for anyone to catch Rowland Hall. We ran last years season best times through the Virtual Meet program, and North Summit looked to be the most likely to challenge. Also note, Richfield makes the transition to 3A so that will change the scoring dynamic as well.
The beauty of cross country is you can never bank completely on last years results and on statistics, because every course is different. A hilly course or a rainy day can shake things up drastically.
The individual battle from last season was very close. Grace Schulz of South Summit won the state title, with Emily Sundquist of Rowland Hall close behind, and Olivia Moyle of Enterprise also in the mix.
Top 3 Teams to watch:
Rowland Hall (1st last season)
North Summit (3rd Last season)
Enterprise (2nd Last Season)
Top 5 Individuals to watch for:
Emily Sundquist (2nd Last year)
Grace Shulz (1st Last year)
Zwahlen (6th last year- top freshman)
Olivia Moyle (3rd Last Year)
Miriam Galecki (7th Last Year)
Boys-
Last year Richfield dominated the 2A boys competition, but with their change in classification, the door is left wide open. The battle for 2nd place last season was very close between Rowland Hall and North Summit. North Summit loses their top runner as well as their #4 man. This will play into Rowland Halls benefit, as they do not graduate any of their top 5.
Individually, Ryan Westermann of Rowland Hall is the top returner. The second returner Hudson Zwahlen beat out Westerman at state track in the 3200, so they do have a history. Eli Oftedal, also of Rowland Hall had a fantastic track season, winning the 800m and 1600m state title. If he can build a little more strength to go with his speed he will be a very strong contender. Jack McCulloch of Wasatch Acadamy has a great freshman campaign. He was 11th last year, and 5th in track in the 3200m. he is improving and will look to fight for a state title. Also watch for Jonathan Rothschild of North Summit.
Top 3 Teams to watch:
Rowland Hall (2nd Last Season)
North Summit ( 3rd Last season)
San Juan (4th Last Season)
Top 5 Individuals to watch:
Eli Oftedal (5th Last Year)
Ryan Westerman (1st Last Year)
Hudson Zwhalen (4th Last Year)
Jack McCulloch (11th Last Year)
Jonathan Rothschild (7th Last Year)