TSR's 2024 High School XC Top-25 Team Rankings (Girls): Update #1

Donald Speas
Sep 30, 2024
10 min read

Updated: Oct 1, 2024

Written by Donny Speas, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the team has moved in our rankings.

The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update

25. North Allegheny Tigers (PA) (-12 / 13)

This was a very tough team to place in our rankings. On paper, the North Allegheny girls are one of the best squads in the country, returning five runners from last year's NXN lineup. However, outside of the Kulcer twins, we're still waiting to see this squad in top form (and we think their best is yet to come).

So for now, I'm keeping the Tigers inside our top-25 rankings. But one way or another, I can guarantee that the Tigers will not be in this spot when the next edition of our team rankings comes out in a couple of weeks.

24. Holland West Ottawa Panthers (MI) (Unranked)

First of all, huge props to senior Helen Sachs, who has been on absolute fire, going undefeated so far this fall. If Sachs keeps this up, then there's no reason why she shouldn't be challenging for a top-10 individual placement at the national meet.

Outside of Sachs, the rest of the team has also looked promising, triumphing over a solid Carmel Greyhounds squad. Keep an eye on the Panthers as we get deeper into the season. Once we see them face the Illinois powerhouse programs (whenever that may be) it will surely be a great race to watch.

23. Southlake Caroll Dragons (TX) (0 / 23)

The first of many teams on this list who tested themselves against the elite fields at the Woodbridge XC Classic in California, the Dragons took home a solid 7th place finish, showcasing impressive pack-running while flexing a 33-second time spread. Outside of Woodbridge, Southlake Carroll doesn't have a ton to write home about, but I'm sure that will change as we get more opportunities to see them race the Lone Star State's best squads.

22. Wayzata Trojans (MN) (0 / 22)

Perennial Heartland region contenders Wayzata Trojans have had a season perfectly on par with their expectations, placing 2nd at the Roy Griak Invitational and losing to one of our top-ranked squads (more on them down the line). In addition to their Griak outing, the Trojans have looked great in their other races, stream-rolling their competition.

21. Fossil Ridge SaberCats (CO) (0 / 21)

The first of many Colorado teams on this list, the Fossil Ridge girls have already pulled off a major upset this season, winning the St. Vrain XC Invitational over many ranked teams on this list (some of whom were, admittedly, missing some key athletes). Even so, their win at St. Vrain (as well as the continued excellence of recent Colorado State commit, Tatum Berg) is more than enough to stabilize the SaberCats spot in our rankings.

20. Barrington Broncos (IL) (-3 / 17)

In our preseason rankings, I highlighted sophomore Mia Sirois as a key name to watch for the 2024 cross country season. Sure enough, she has turned into the Broncos' top runner at this point of the year, taking home top honors at the First to the Finish Line Invitational. When you pair Sirois's early success with the continued consistent excellence of Scout Storms, the Barrington Broncos look stronger and stronger with each passing day. They only drop in our rankings due to the success of other teams around the country.

19. York Dukes (IL) (Unranked)

Once upon a time, under the legendary coach Joe Newton, the York Dukes were one of the best high school cross country teams ever to lace up the spikes.

While this year's squad may not be quite at the level of the late 1990s York teams, they have certainly turned some heads after winning the Peoria Notre Dame Richard Spring Invite over a Hilliard Davidson team (that very nearly made these rankings. They also earned an early-season victory over fellow Illinois powerhouse, Barrington.

A lot of the Duke's success can be attributed to freshman Karlin Jankowski, whose 16:45 personal best for three miles on the grass gives this team the potential to have a true low-stick in nearly every race.

18. Trabuco Hills Mustangs (CA) (-4 / 14)

I wish I had more to write about on the Trabuco Hills Mustangs. Unfortunately, we haven't seen them record a full team score outside of an early-season two-mile rust buster this season. So while several individuals have looked great (Holly Barker and Keaton Robar in particular), it has become a bit challenging to keep them in our top-15.

17. Chaparral Wolverines (CO) (+2 / 19)

It's incredibly difficult to keep track of all the talented teams in Colorado. At seemingly every meet in the state, you see at least one nationally competitive squad, and the Chaparral girls have made sure to leave their mark this season.

The Wolverines secured the win at the Arapahoe Warrior XC Invitational in late August. They also gave a real scare to multiple teams in ranked in the top-half of our rankings at meets such as the Liberty Bell Invitational and the St. Vrain Invitational. Special props have to be given to freshman Sky St. Louis who has given this team a new amount of scoring potency that they simply didn't have this time last year.

16. Brentwood Bruins (TN) (+2 / 18)

The Brentwood girls have quietly had one of the better seasons of any team in the country, especially in the Southeast region (outside of one team a bit higher up in our rankings). The Bruins have taken home the win at two nationally competitive meets this year, the Wingfoot XC Classic and the Southern Showcase. Keep an eye on this team as the season continues. Their momentum has never been higher and they will give a ton of teams a significant challenge when the postseason rolls around.

15. Romeo Bulldogs (MI) (-3 / 12)

We haven't had the opportunity to see the Romeo girls travel to any nationally competitive meets so far this season. However, we have had the opportunity to see them race in a handful of meets in Michigan (quietly one of the best states in the country this year).

Throw in a 5k average of 18:26 at their latest meet, as well as an underrated performance by the duo of Natalia Guaresimo and Annie Hrabovsky, and you have to be encouraged by the Bulldogs so far this fall. Their limited racing schedule and the improvement of other teams does move them back a bit in our rankings, but that's not necessarily their fault.

14. Bethlehem Central Eagles (NY) (-3 / 11)

Bethlehem Central has been one of the least surprising teams in the country this season...and that's a good thing. They most recently dominated a handful of regional foes at the Queensbury Invitational, winning by a whopping 84 points and averaging 18:35 for 5000 meters.

Shoutout to senior Charlotte O'Meara who has successfully carried over great momentum from the spring track season. She has evolved into a true low-stick for the Eagles. And just like we mentioned with a few other teams, this New York-based squad is only dropping in our rankings due to the success of other teams rather than anything that they have done.

13. Jesuit Crusaders (OR) (-4 / 9)

The Jesuit Crusaders have had a relatively uneventful last couple of weeks, with their biggest race coming at the Mook XC Invite. There, they took the win over a handful of solid teams. Admittedly, there is room for improvement at/near the back-half of the Crusaders' lineup. They slide down a couple of spots to our TSR #13 for now, but it wouldn't surprise us if they reentered our top-10 again later this fall.

12. Webb of Knoxville Spartans (TN) (-2 / 10)

I feel really, really bad for putting Webb of Knoxville at our TSR #12 spot. They had a fantastic race at the Trinity/Valkyre Invitational, securing the win over a handful of regional foes and averaging 18:48 for 5000 meters with low-stick Carolina Areheart taking the individual title.

However, there were just too many good results by other teams to move them up in the rankings this week. Don't forget about this team when the postseason rolls around, they should surprise a lot of unsuspecting distance squads.

11. Ventura Cougars (CA) (+9 / 20)

While I expected Sadie Engelhardt to be a top finisher at the Woodbridge XC Classic, I wasn't sure what the rest of the Cougars's supporting cast had in store for us this season. Well, they certainly delivered, in particular juniors Melanie True and Aelo Curtis. Those two young women both ran under 16:45 for three-miles, giving the Cougars a valuable second and third scoring punch behind their superstar ace.

10. JSerra Catholic Lions (CA) (-7 / 3)

I was very high on the JSerra Catholic girls heading into this season. And while I do believe that they still have one of the highest upsides of any team in the country, I am a tiny bit worried about the absences of Summer Wilson and Sophie Polay from the Lions' lineup.

They will ultimately need to be firing on all cylinders if they want to finish as a podium team come December. However, props definitely need to be given to freshman Kaia Streadback who had a monster debut of 16:59 for three-miles at the Woodbridge XC Classic, helping stabilize her team's scoring.

9. Santiago Corona Sharks (CA) (+1 / 10)

Wow, Rylee Blade is the real deal! We knew that she was one of the best cross country runners in the nation with an outside shot at the national title. However, after a win at Woodbridge XC Classic and a national record over three-miles (on the grass), it's time to view her as a true national title contender (perhaps even a favorite).

Combine that with an (understandably) overshadowed race by junior Braelyn Combs and you have to believe that the Sharks' ceiling rose after their 3rd place Woodbridge finish. We'd like to see them replicate that kind of result moving forward, but if they keep that up, then they will almost certainly take an even bigger jump in our next rankings editions.

8. Buchanan Bears (CA) (-4 / 4)

So far this season, the Buchanan Bears haven't quite lived up to the lofty expectations that we had for them in the preseason. But in fairness to this California-based team, one of their projected top scorers, Sierra Cornett, has not yet competed and we're confident that Elle Lomeli will be better in the future.

Even without those two key runners performing at their best, the Bears still managed to pull off a 4th place finish at the Woodbridge XC Classic in large part due to the success that freshmen Brooklyn Buckley and Gaby Gutierrez. Those two rookies give this team potentially huge upside, firmly keeping them in podium contention.

7. Union Catholic Vikings (NJ) (+8 / 15)

The Union Catholic girls have shot up in our rankings primarily due to their performance at the Battle at Ocean Park. The performances of sophomores Paige Sheppard, Cayleigh Kaiser, Sophia Thompson and Kayla Devine were collectively outstanding as the slowest performer "only" ran 18:03 for 5000 meters. Needless to say, after a race like that, I am incredibly excited about what the Vikings can achieve this season.

6. Niwot Cougars (CO) (-1 / 5)

Admittedly, the Niwot girls haven't quite delivered on the high expectations that I had for them this preseason, falling to a handful of teams who I thought they would be ahead of (granted, they've only lost to teams ranked inside of our top-25 list).

However, they have held out a key expected scorer Avalon Beltran (17:38 for 5k) which makes a significant difference. I also firmly believe that the Cougars are better than the 18:40 (5k) mark they averaged at their most recent race.

Simply put, there is too much talent and too much remaining upside for the Cougars to fall outside of our top-10 section.

5. Lone Peak Knights (UT) (+2 / 7)

At this point during the 2024 cross country season, the Lone Peak Knights are doing exactly what I expected, dominating the fierce Utah competition. Truthfully, the Knights have been very selective about competing this season, only racing their varsity squad twice this year.

One of those races came at the Timpanogos Invitational where they won by 40 points over an "Honorable Mention" team in Timpview. The other instance came at the TwiKnight Invite where they won by 75 points over a "Just Missed" team in American Fork.

4. Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders (NC) (+2 / 6)

Over the last few weeks, many of the nation's top programs have had many questions surrounding them. One exception to that trend is the Cardinal Gibbons girls who have looked phenomenal so far this season, winning the Roy Griak Invitational over a ranked Wayzata team. The Crusaders still earned gold despite an "off" day for low-stick Hannah Rae Schaffer who I thought could have challenged for the individual win.

3. Flower Mound Jaguars (TX) (Unranked)

Wow, I was very wrong about this team. I severely underestimated the Flower Mound girls coming into this season and I sincerely apologize. I knew that the Jaguars had great potential coming into this season, but I wasn't sure if they could capitalize on it.

Well, obviously, winning the Woodbridge XC Classic is capitalizing on that potential. While Alexandra Fox was great, finishing in 16th place, it was the Jaguars putting two more scorers (Ava Cole and Adeline Bennett) inside of the top-20 that sealed their victory. As such, this Texas-based program firmly established themselves as one of the best teams in the nation.

2. Air Academy Kadets (CO) (-1 / 1)

Admittedly, a 6th place finish at the Woodbridge XC Classic wasn't a great look for the Kadets. However, Air Academy only lost to teams who are ranked inside of our top-15 (and still beat one of our top-25 squads, Southlake Carroll.)

Perhaps more importantly, the Kadets were missing Chamorra Cooper and Mariah Hook, the team's typical 3rd and 4th scorers. On a more positive note, Tessa Walter and Jordan Banta look like one of the best-scoring duos in the country, both finishing inside the top-20 at Woodbridge.

1. Mountain Vista Golden Eagles (CO) (+1 / 2)

The Mountain Vista Golden Eagles have slid into the top spot in our rankings after winning the Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational against three other squads in our rankings, including TSR's second-ranked squad, Air Academy. Additionally, the Golden Eagle's depth has looked great, as all members of their varsity-seven ran under 18 minutes so far this cross-country season.

ADDED

York Dukes (IL)

Holland West Panthers (MI)

Flower Mound Jaguars (TX)

KICKED OFF

Auburn Tigers (AL)

Timpview Thunderbirds (UT)

Downers Grove North Trojans (IL)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Champlain Valley Union Redhawks (VT)

Shenendehowa Plainsmen (NY)

Lakeridge Pacers (OR)