TSR's 2024 High School XC Top-25 Team Rankings (Girls): Update #2

Donald Speas
Oct 23, 2024
12 min read

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. Hilliard Davidson Wildcats (OH) (Unranked)

I was so close to including Hilliard Davidson in our last rankings update, but I ultimately could not find a spot for them. However, for as much as this pains me to do (they were one of my rivals back in high school), the Wildcats have earned a spot in our rankings -- and rightfully so.

Hilliard Davidson has yet to lose to any in-state foe who they've faced this fall and they have only suffered one close loss to the formerly-ranked York Dukes back in September. More importantly, the Wildcats are incredibly consistent and you almost always know what to expect from this team.

Also, huge props to sophomore Sophia Tartaglia. She just pulled off a massive 35-second personal best to finish as Davidson's second scorer last weekend. Her rise will be an excellent complement for a team that has had some interchangeability between Erica Kaulen and Celia Schulte as their top scorer.

24. Holland West Ottawa Panthers (MI) (0 / 24)

Holland West Ottawa has kept incredibly busy since we last wrote about them, racing at a handful of local races, typically full of top Michigan talent. At most of these meets, they were easily the best team there.

However, I want to focus on the one meet where they lost: the 2024 Portage Invitational. A loss to our TSR #12 squad, Romeo, was expected (more on them later), but falling all the way to 4th place wasn't ideal.

Even so, multiple members of this team simply had an "off" day. Plus, the Panthers were only 10 points away from a 2nd place finish. Given their history of success and fluke-ish performance, I'm definitely ok keeping them in our top-25...for now. It also helps that Helen Sachs has been consistently great this season.

23. Northwest Nelson Bobcats (TX) (Unranked)

A new contender for a NXN berth from the South region has emerged!

Northwest Nelson has been circling the edges of the national landscape, circling close to many of our top teams and most notably finishing runner-up at the Nike South Invitational (losing only to our TSR #2 team, Flower Mound).

The Bobcats have been led by senior Reyna Heisserer for most of the season who recently ran 17:36 for 5000 meters. Thankfully, Elena Sather and a slew of other teammates have limited the gaps in this lineup and have given Northwest Nelson are fairly complete lineup. Expect that scoring structure to greatly benefit this team in larger fields during the postseason.

22. Timberline Wolves (ID) (Unranked)

The Timberline Wolves have found a way to sneak into our rankings after winning just about every meet that they've entered this season. Led by freshman Nadia Kouskov, the Wolves have picked up wins at the Boise City XC Championships (avenging an earlier loss to a solid Boise team) and also picked up a victory at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational (over a handful of good Northwest region foes).

Yes, Kouskov has been great, but having experienced veterans like Lily Simmonds, Sasha Livingston and Emma Bellomy all remain within reasonable striking distance of the rookie is great to see. They'll need to tighten the backend of their scoring group, but that kind of compact quartet up front will make the Wolves a difficult team to shake.

21. Wayzata Trojans (+1 / 22)

Things have been relatively quiet for the Wayzata Trojans as they have breezed through the Minnesota cross country scene, winning both races that they have entered since our latest rankings update.

One bright spot for the Trojans has been junior Maddie Gullickson. She has consistently acted as a low-stick for the Trojans no matter how big or small the meet. It also helped that Lila Golomb has often positioned herself as a low-stick on this team this season.

20. Fossil Ridge SaberCats (CO) (+1 / 21)

Fossil Ridge has competed twice since we last talked about them. One of those races was at their largely conference meet which they comfortably won by roughly 30 points.

However, the other racing occasion was at the Pat Amato Classic where, despite an individual win by Tatum Berg, they suffered a close loss to our TSR #17 squad, the Chaparral Wolverines.

In a weird way, that loss gave us a bit of confidence in Fossil Ridge's abilities. They kept the final scores relatively close. Avery Breitigam stepped up as a sneaky-good secondary scorer and we think Mia Williams has some untapped potential. The best aspects of this are still very much present despite their recent loss.

19. Downers Grove North Trojans (IL) (Unranked)

The Trojans have been solid all season long, but the main reason why I decided to include them in this edition of our rankings was based on their performance at the WSC-Silver Division Conference Championships.

Led by a very compact quartet of Lily Eddington, Alayna Todnem, Audrey Casten and McKenzie Willard, the Trojans were able to upset our previous TSR #19 team, the York Dukes. The greater Chicago area is always extremely competitive, and Downers Grove North certainly has a case as the best team in the region.

18. Barrington Broncos (IL) (+2 / 20)

Another one of the stronger squads from the Chicagoland area, Barrington is fresh off of a pair of wins at the Mid-League Suburban Championships (where they won by 23 points over an underrated Mount Prospect team) and at the Loyola Academy Flight Night (which they handily won by 68 points).

At the former meet, both of the Bronco's top duo of Mia Sirois and Scout Storms ran under the 17-minute barrier, increasing my faith in the duo to perform when it really matters most. Their potential as high-octane low-sticks on the national stage could allow Barrington to be more competitive for a top-10 spot than some people currently realize.

17. Chaparral Wolverines (CO) (0 / 17)

We've only been given one opportunity to see what Chaparral has in store for us since our last rankings update. That opportunity came at the Pat Amato Classic where they got to face-off against our TSR #21 team, Fossil Ridge.

While the Wolverines' top-two of Kaylee Ellsworth and Sky St. Louis were great per usual, this team "only" won by 14 points. Even so, Chaparral was competing against a quietly-great field and to secure the overall win with four girls in the top-six makes their win look a good bit stronger.

16. Webb of Knoxville Spartans (TN) (-4 / 12)

Unfortunately, our excitement for the Webb of Knoxville Spartans has been toned down the slightest bit. A couple of weeks ago, the Spartans faced the biggest test of their cross country season so far at the Great American XC Festival. There, the Spartans fell to 3rd place, despite a wonderful runner-up finish by Carolina Areheart.

Thankfully, the Spartans did bounce back a couple of weeks later at the Knoxville Interscholastic Championships where they took the win over an always-solid Hardin Valley squad.

We're fairly confident that the Garmer sisters and Ariana Vargas are capable of being much more impactful in the postseason than they were at the former meet. Thankfully, the Tennessee XC State Championships will give us a more concrete understanding of just how good this team is.

15. Brentwood Bruins (TN) (+1 / 16)

As much as I want to raise Brentwood even higher in our rankings, I just can't find a team to swap them with. Brentwood has raced twice since our last rankings update, both times against large fields with solid in-state and out-of-state competition.

Although the Bruins don't have a consistent lead scorer (something I view as a good thing), one runner who has really stepped up is junior Lauren Banovac. She 18:09 (5k) to finish as Brentwood's top scorer at the Jesse Owens Classic. Could her recent rise, paired with the lead scoring potential of other girls in this lineup, give the Bruins multiple lead scorers in the postseason?

14. Ventura Cougars (CA) (-3 / 11)

Since their head-turning result at the Woodbridge Classic back in September, Ventura has only once raced their varsity lineup (although their JV squad has been doing a great job holding their own), at the competitive Clovis Invitational.

Despite Sadie Engelhardt's course record performance and individual win, the Cougars ended up as the 4th place team and the fourth team out of California's "Big Four" in the final scoring. Aelo Curtis, Sophie Nuckols and Tiffany Sax all had decent enough days, each finishing inside the top-40, but not having Melanie True since late September has left Ventura looking for new scorers to step up.

13. Santiago Corona Sharks (CA) (-4 / 9)

Am I overreacting by moving Santiago Corona out of our top-10? Quite possibly.

Even so, we were looking for the Sharks to potentially replicate their early-season Woodbridge XC Classic performance on a more challenging cross country course at the Clovis Invitational.

Thankfully, both Rylee Blade and Braelyn Combs were about as good as they could be at Clovis (both finishing inside the top-six), but we think this squad is capable of being more competitive with Buchanan and J Serra Catholic. Thankfully, the Sharks will get plenty of opportunities to avenge that Clovis race during the long California postseason.

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

I'm glad that we finally got the opportunity to see Romeo face off against another nationally ranked squad. I've had an unexplainable gut feeling that this team is really really good since before this season even started. Thankfully, the Bulldogs finally gave me a reason to back up that suspicion.

At the Portage Invitational, the Bulldogs beat our TSR #25 squad (Holland West Ottawa) by well over 100 points, as well as a handful of "Honorable Mention" and "Just Missed" teams.

If that wasn't enough for you, then take a peek at the Macomb County Championships. There, the Bulldogs pulled off a sweep of the top-seven places, averaging 18:12 for 5000 meters and were led by junior Natalia Guaresimo while the Hrabovsky, Deskin and Purdy offered excellent scoring stability.

11. Trabuco Hills Mustangs (CA) (+7 / 18)

Trabuco Hills is really starting to deliver on the hype that I had for them in our preseason rankings. They haven't competed at any of the larger meets in the country, but they certainly haven't been dodging competition.

The Mustangs most recently won the Orange County XC Championships by 58 points over our TSR #10 team, J Serra Catholic (who admittedly sat a few key athletes).

However, perhaps even more impressive was the Mustang's win at the Central Park Invitational where they won by a colossal 120-point margin. A lot of Trabuco Hills' success has to be attributed to junior Millie Bayless, who has been on fire this cross country season. She has run 16:18 for three-miles and has secured numerous clutch finishes for her team.

10. JSerra Catholic Lions (CA) (0 / 10)

JSerra Catholic was definitely one of the harder teams for me to rank during this update.

On one hand, we got to see Sophie Polay return to the Lions' varsity lineup. On the other hand, the return of Polay wasn't enough to significantly separate themselves from the rest of the extremely competitive California programs. Not only that, but it appears that former varsity contributor, Summer Wilson, has transferred to a different high school (Irvine).

So although it feels a bit like cheating, I've decided to leave JSerra Catholic right where they are and wait for the more meaningful postseason races to roll around. Those efforts will likely give us a better indication of whether or not we need make any drastic changes in our rankings.

9. Bethlehem Central Eagles (NY) (+5 / 14)

Bethlehem Central doesn't race often, but when they do, they make sure the country pays attention. In a wildly chaotic cross country season, the Eagles have been incredibly consistent and I figured that we should reward them for that in our rankings.

The Eagles recently competed at the Northeast's most competitive invitational, the Manhattan College XC Invite where they led by superstar 8th grader, Sophia Chromczak.

However, the more impressive part was that Bethlehem Central's four other runners -- Bannigan, O'Meara, Chrapowitzky and Kuhn -- were all within four seconds of each other and no one finish between them. That scoring foundation allowed the Eagles to post a mere total of 24 points, beating a very solid Champlain Valley Union team in the process.

Oh, and if that result wasn't enough, they also swept the Albany County XC Championships. I can't wait until the national meet when we'll finally get to see this New York powerhouse face-off against the top talent from other regions.

8. Union Catholic Vikings (NJ) (-1 / 7)

I want to rank Union Catholic higher than our TSR #8 spot, but I don't know if I can justify moving around anyone else among our top-eight programs.

Back in early October, the Vikings faced off against some talented regional foes at the Shore Coaches Invitational. There, Paige Sheppard, Cayleigh Kaiser and Sophia Thompson swept the top-three places. In fact, the Vikings nearly swept the entire race as the Vikings' fourth and fifth scorers (Jimmiea King and Ella Solorzano) both finished inside the top-10.

We're still trying to learn more about Union Catholic before we can really bolster them in our rankings. But for now, we didn't see much of a need to alter their ranking a whole lot.

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

Niwot as a whole, while still one of the nation's top teams, has left us feeling a bit uneasy as we enter the postseason. We haven't seen Addison Ritzenhein race since the Desert Twilight meet, but that's not the largest concern for me.

At their recent league championships, Niwot "only" won by 18 points over Fairview High School -- a solid, but not national-caliber, team. Regardless, we're hoping to see Ritzenhein back in the Cougars' lineup for the upcoming state meet which should give them a fighting shot against Mountain Vista for the state title.

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

Although Cardinal Gibbons has done nothing but win during their 2024 fall campaign, I unfortunately had to drop them two positions in our rankings. This is mostly due to some other impressive performances across the country, but I also would have liked to see them display a greater margin of victory at some of the meets that they've recently competed at.

When you look at Cardinal Gibbons on paper, they look like a top-five team in the nation, with wins at the Great American XC Festival (over a James Robinson team that I very-nearly ranked) and a quiet (but dominant) victory at their conference championship which, in large, was part due to small breakout race by senior Addy Mitchell.

5. Buchanan Bears (CA) (+3 / 8)

I'll admit, I was surprised by the Buchanan girls taking home the win at the extremely competitive Clovis Invitational.

Well, actually, let me rephrase that.

I wasn't surprised that Buchanan won the Clovis Invitational. However, I was surprised that Buchanan won the Clovis Invitational by a 40-point margin over three nationally ranked squads!

The key for Buchanan lies in their wildly impressive top-five time-spread of 31 seconds as Molly Sundgren, Kynzlee Buckely, Gaby Gutierrez, Brooklyn Buckley and Avery Hutchinson all found themselves within the top-25 scoring places. A average of 17:54 for 5000 meters didn't hurt, either.

Naturally, you can see why they jump into our top-five.

4. Lone Peak Knights (UT) (+1 / 5)

Since our last rankings update, Lone Peak has done nothing but steamroll their competition, even when facing the always-formidable teams in Utah.

At the Region Three Championships, they beat an "Honorable Mention" squad of ours, American Fork, by 40 points and averaged 18:21 for 5000 meters in the process. Then, at the divisional meet (Utah's state qualifying meet), the Knights won by 66 points over a very solid Herriman team.

On both occasions, Lone Peak had the advantage of individual champion, Maya Bybee who has quickly turned herself into the favorite for the Utah 6A individual state title.

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

We've only seen Air Academy race once since our last rankings update. That effort resulted in a win at their home meet where they triumphed over a handful of talented in-state foes.

While this race didn't really tell us anything new about the Kadets, it was a great sign to see Chamorra Cooper and Mariah Hook back in the lineup after a couple of concerning early-season absences.

2. Flower Mound Jaguars (TX) (+1 / 3)

Flower Mound has been nothing but dominant since our last rankings update. I'm genuinely struggling with how to describe how easily they've breezed through the tough Texas competition.

Most recently, the Jaguars crushed the competition at the UIL Region One meet, winning by 65 points over a ranked Northwest Nelson team. Just to "sweeten the pot," we saw Adeline Bennett and Alexandra Fox run a pair of seasonal bests in 17:44 and 17:46, respectively.

1. Mountain Vista Golden Eagles (CO) (0 / 1)

Another couple of weeks, another couple of dominant victories for the top team in our rankings. While we haven't seen Mountain Vista race against any other national-caliber teams over the last couple of weeks, they've continued to shore up their resume with wins against solid Colorado competition.

A large part of this consistency comes from their top trio of Juliet Frum, Claire Guiberson and Zoe Brandt who more often than not finish within 20 seconds of each other. That, in turn, gives them a lethal scoring punch that most teams can't even begin to counter.

The Golden Eagles' next test will come at the Colorado 5A XC State Championships where they'll face off against a hungry Niwot team that is listed at TSR #7 in our rankings.