TSR's 2024 High School XC Top-25 Team Rankings (Girls): Update #3

Donald Speas
Nov 6, 2024
10 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. Lancaster Golden Gales (OH) (Unranked)

The latest team in the revolving door that is our TSR #25 spot is the Lancaster Golden Gales. Up until this past weekend, the Gales didn't have one race that stood out in particular, mainly racing against Central Ohio competition which they somewhat soundly defeated.

Then came the OHSAA XC State Championship, a meet where the Golden Gales pulled off a 20-point victory over our former TSR #25 team (and current "Honorable Mention" team), the Hilliard Davidson Wildcats. The trio of Marisa Heil (3rd), Harper Allen (17th) and Brooke Derringer (30th) were the true differentiators from a firepower standpoint, giving their team three low-sticks to Hilliard Davidson's two.

Naturally, it seemed simple enough (at least in my mind) to put Lancaster at TSR #25 after this past weekend of racing.

24. Saline Hornets (MI) (Unranked)

Another team who breaks into our rankings after a strong postseason performance is the Saline Hornets. The Michigan-based distance program had previously impressed us earlier this season after a runner-up finish at the Portage Invitational. There, they took down a handful of solid Michigan squads.

The main reason why we decided to slide Saline into our rankings was their performance at the MHSAA XC State Finals where, despite not having any athletes in the top-15 (though McKinley Jones wasn't far off in 18th place), the Hornets grabbed a runner-up finish.

With that result, the Hornets were able to defeat a "Just Missed" team in Holland West Ottawa and lost only to our TSR #9 squad, the Romeo Bulldogs (more on them later). And although their firepower needs improvement, the incredible scoring stability of Savannah Staton, Corynn Gady and Katarina Munson was very promising.

23. Rocky Mountain Grizzlies (ID) (Unranked)

I love doing rankings after state meet weekend. It typically makes my job much simpler (although it admittedly upends a lot of my previous work).

Last weekend, Rocky Mountain took the victory at the IHSAA 6A XC State Championships, easily avenging some early season losses over Timberline and Boise.

It's worth mentioning that the race wasn't particularly close, as the Grizzlies put four scorers (Brooke Thompson, Emme Hamm, Brooklyn Hom and Hallie Heemeyer) in the top-11 places.

Watch out for this team to potentially grab an NXN bid when regional championships roll around.

22. Wayzata Trojans (MN) (-1 / 21)

Another couple of weeks and another couple of controlled wins for the Wayzata Trojans, this time at the MSHSL 3A XC State Championships.

Truthfully there's not much to say about this team (which certainly isn't a bad thing). Outside of a couple of small personal bests by senior Julia Link and junior Maddie Gullickson, everything was business as usual for this Minnesota powerhouse.

21. Chaparral Wolverines (CO) (-1 / 20)

While a 4th place finish at arguably the most competitive state meet race in the country (the Colorado 5A XC State Championships) isn't a terrible performance, I certainly would have liked to see the Chaparral Wolverines ahead of Fossil Ridge.

Ultimately it was their lack of a true low-stick that did the Wolverines in, failing to put any of their runners inside of the top-10 spots at their state meet.

The biggest bright spot for the Wolverines was definitely their top scoring trio of Kapri Parry, Kaylee Ellsworth and Sky St. Louis. Those three three athletes were within four seconds of each other and all finished inside the top-20. So at the very least, the Wolverines seem to have a good bit of reliable lead scoring at the front of their lineup.

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

Barrington didn't have a bad last few weeks, they just didn't necessarily have a better couple of weeks than our higher-ranked squads.

One athlete who most certainly did have an awesome couple of weeks is Mia Sirois. She recently ran an insanely fast time of 16:03 for three-miles. That is a huge development for the Broncos who could have a low-stick star

Next weekend will be a huge test for the Broncos when we get to see Barrington face off against an "Honorable Mention" team in York and our next-ranked distance program.

19. Downers Grove North Trojans (IL) (0 / 19)

Downers Grove North has looked unstoppable during their last couple meets, absolutely steamrolling through both their regional and sectional meets, scoring less than 30 points on both occasions.

A large part of the Trojans' success has been their electric top-four of Alayna Todnem, Lily Eddington, Audrey Casten and McKenzie Willard, all of whom placed inside the top-seven at BOTH of the aforementioned races.

Even so, we're still waiting for the Trojans to face a much more significant challenge in the near future. Next weekend's matchup against the other top teams in Illinois looks like one of the top state meet matchups remaining on our calendar this fall.

18. James Robinson Rams (VA) (Unranked)

The highest-ranked of this week's new squads, the James Robinson Rams are looking like a real contender for an NXN qualifying bid from the Southeast region.

The strongest point on the Rams' resume is undoubtedly their victory at the VA Showcase (though their runner-up performance at the Great American XC Festival is certainly worth noting). At the VA Showcase, the Rams were led by the underclassmen duo of Karina Bird and Petra Gruendel and triumphed over a large chunk of in-state foes.

Most recently, the Rams won the Patriot District XC Championships in preparation for their upcoming state meet.

17. Webb of Knoxville Spartans (-1 / 16)

The Spartans have not raced since our last rankings update. Their next contest will be at the TSSAA XC State Championships this upcoming weekend.

16. Fossil Ridge SaberCats (CO) (+4 / 20)

After a great state meet performance, the Fossil Ridge SaberCats move up a handful of places in our rankings. At the front of the Colorado 5A XC State Championships, Tatum Berg was unsurprisingly great, taking home a 4th place finish. It was also an encouraging sign to see Mia Williams take home a top-15 finish, crossing the line in 13th place.

All this was enough to propel the SaberCats to a 3rd place team finish, beating a strong Chaparral squad and a confusing Niwot team (more on them soon). All in all, it was a great day for the SaberCats who should challenge for an NXN at-large bid in a couple weeks' time.

15. Brentwood Bruins (TN) (0 / 15)

The Brentwood Bruins continue their slow but promising progress this season after a dominant performance at their regional meet. At their said regional meet, the Bruins put four scorers (Lydia Cromwell, Lauren Banovac, Rachel Haws and Ali Cobb) all under 18:30 for 5000 meters.

That's a highly encouraging development for Brentwood as they now seem more stable and reliable at a higher level of fitness. The Bruins' consistency this cross country season is not something that should be overlooked, especially as we inch ever closer to the regional and national meets.

14. Niwot Cougars (CO) (-7 / 7)

I was very shocked to see the Cougars fall to 5th place at the recent Colorado 5A XC State Championships. Niwot is a program that, at various points throughout the season, has shown some legitimate podium potential.

However, on Saturday morning the Cougars just couldn't put it together as they fell to Chaparral and Fossil Ridge. Those are both great times, but they're also teams who we previously considered to be a tier below the Cougars.

Even so, I'm keeping Niwot in front of those aforementioned teams in our rankings as I do think the Cougars are a lot better than what we saw at the state meet. Plus, all of what I just said doesn't apply to superstar Addison Ritzenhein. She took home the individual win, breaking the course record and running 16:54 for 5000 meters in the process.

13. Ventura Cougars (CA) (+1 / 14)

Have not competed since our last rankings update.

12. Santiago Corona Sharks (+1 / 13)

Have not competed since our last rankings update.

11. Trabuco Hills Mustangs (0 / 11)

Have not competed since our last rankings update.

10. Romeo Bulldogs (MI) (+2 / 12)

Once again, the Romeo Bulldogs move up in our rankings through a combination of consistent domination over talented in-state foes and the natural flow of our top-25 list.

Since our latest update, we saw the Bulldogs travel to the MHSAA XC Division One finals, where we saw them put on a clinic, winning by roughly 80 points over a "Just Missed" team Holland West Ottawa and our TSR #23 team, the Saline Hornets.

What was even more impressive was how Romeo won. They managed to score only 61 points, despite putting no athletes in the top-five (though junior Natalia Guaresimo was pretty close). I've been very high on this team for a while and I can't wait to see what they do once NXR rolls around.

9. JSerra Catholic Lions (CA) (+1 / 10)

JSerra Catholic had a very solid last couple of weeks. Yes, they might have only raced once during that time span, toeing the line for the Trinity League Finals, but they looked quite impressive there. At that meet, they down a sneaky-good Santa Margarita team by 21 points and averaged 18:17 for three-miles.

What made the Lions' victory so much more impressive was that they managed to win by 20 points in a field that only included 26 total athletes. One other positive sign was seeing Sophie Polay post another consistent mark (this time being a comfortable win in 17:38) after sitting out of a couple of important meets earlier in the season.

8. Union Catholic Vikings (NJ) (0 / 8)

Since our last rankings update, we've only seen the Union Catholic Vikings field their varsity lineup once. Per usual, the Vikings took full advantage of this opportunity as their top-five composed of Paige Sheppard, Cayleigh Kaiser, Sophia Thompson, Jimmiea King and Emmy O'Hearn swept the Union County XC Championships, scoring a perfect 15 points.

While the competition in Union County isn't quite national-caliber (though we have seen some dang-good Westfield teams over the last few years), this was still an impressive show of domination.

It's also a continued reminder to not count out this New Jersey-based powerhouse when the NXN podium conversation starts up in a few weeks.

7. Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders (NC) (-1 / 6)

It was business as usual for the Cardinal Gibbons girls at last weekend's NCHSAA 4A XC State Championships. Against a very solid field filled with some very good individuals, the Crusaders took the victory, scoring 62 points...which was 74 points less than the 2nd place Cuthbertson Cavaliers.

It certainly didn't hurt that the Crusaders were able to fit three athletes into top-10 individual placements. North Carolina commit Hannah Rae Shaffer led the way in 6th place followed by Addy Mitchell and Maggie Whitham in 9th and 10th place, respectively.

6. Bethlehem Central Eagles (NY) (+3 / 9)

Bethlehem Central has been one of those teams that continues to impress me with each passing race. Whenever I feel like I may have ranked them a bit too high, they quickly have some sort of statement race.

This time it was at the Suburban Council XC Championships where they scored a mere 20 points, soundly defeating an "Honorable Mention" team of ours, Saratoga Springs, in the process.

Per usual the key to the Eagles' success lies in their elite pack-running as they put all five scorers (Charlotte O'Meara, Sophia Chromczak, Anna Chrapowitzky, Logan Kuhn and Katherine Bannigan) under 17:50 for three-miles.

5. Air Academy Kadets (CO) (-2 / 5)

The Colorado 5A XC State Championships were full of interesting results and might have had the most impact on our rankings of any meet (outside of the Woodbridge XC Classic and possibly the Clovis Invitational) this cross country season.

While I fully expected to see Air Academy collect a runner-up finish behind Mountain Vista, I really thought the team scores would be closer. Or, more precisely, I was surprised to see the Kadets only beat Fossil Ridge (TSR #15) by seven points.

That is definitely not the result that I would have predicted going into last weekend.

Despite how negative that might have sounded, I was actually very impressed by how well the Kadet's top duo of Tessa Walter and Chamorra Cooper performed. Walter's runner-up finish wasn't a huge surprise, but seeing Cooper cross the line in 7th place was huge for Air Academy. That was arguably the best result of her cross country career.

4. Buchanan Bears (CA) (+1 / 5)

There's not a ton to report on Buchanan as the Bears have only competed once since our last rankings update, this time at the Flat SAC Invitational. At that meet, the Bears ran pretty much exactly as expected, winning the meet by a comfortable 49-point margin and spearheaded by Kynzlee Buckley's individual win.

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

The UHSAA XC State Championships are always one of my favorite meets each year (surprise, surprise) and more often than not, the winner of the 6A race will go on to run pretty dang well at the national meet.

This year's winner was, of course, Lone Peak.

I was actually moderately "disappointed" when I saw the final scores at their state meet. I truly expected Lone Peak to score about 20 points (as opposed to their still-great score of 29).

But shortly after, my disappointment turned to excitement when I realized that the Knights had rested their 4:49 miler (and former top-40 finisher at NXN), Boston Bybee. Having their star low-stick, who would have been a virtual lock for a top-five finish at this meet, actually boosts Lone Peak's stock as we dive deeper into the postseason.

2. Flower Mound Jaguars (TX) (0 / 2)

First off, props to the Jaguars' top trio of Adeline Bennett, Alexandra Fox and Ava Cole for going 5-6-7, individually, at the UIL 6A XC State Championships. That's a three-headed low-stick monster that virtually no other team in the country can match.

And yet, despite the success of Flower Mound's top trio and an overall win in the team standings, I can't help but feel like this team could have been even better. Make no mistake, their 34-point win over Bridgeland was impressive, but I actually thought that their winning margin would be slightly larger for the Woodbridge XC Classic champions.

That, of course, should just go to show how high we are on the Jaguars.

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

A lot of what I said about Flower Mound could also apply to the Mountain Vista.

The Golden Eagles had a great scoring punch up front with Keeghan Edwards and Claire Guiberson crossing the line in 5th and 6th place, respectively. However, even with their top-tier low-stick duo, Mountain Vista "only" won the Colorado 5A XC State Championships by 38 points.

Admittedly, this was by far the biggest test that Mountain Vista has faced all season. And all things considered, they did quite well, reaffirming their position as the top-ranked team in the nation.