High School Preview: Boys Cross Country (3A)

For many runners, the fall brings excitement, the start of the Cross country season. The last taste of competition many long distance runners experienced was last spring during Track. But since then, many runners have trained for and have been anticipating the start of the Cross Country season. 

Cross country is not the most popular of fall sports, despite this, it takes the fittest and most dedicated individuals to excel in it. In Washington, each High School has a team of runners that run a 3.1 mile (5 kilometers) course that includes different types of terrain including grass, mud, and woodlands. Some different courses around Seattle include Woodland Park, Seward Park, and Lake Sammamish Park. 

SeaTown Sports will be providing up-to-date results and news concerning 3A Cross Country during the fall season.

Here is the latest Pre-Season Coaches Poll for 3A Boys X-Country (Last year's finish in state in parenthesis):

1. North Central (1)-Also the number one team in the nation
   
2. Seattle Prep (2)- Ranked number 23 in the nation
3. Mount Spokane (5)- Returning five sub-18 runners
4. Bellevue (7)- Rising team with five sub-18 runners
5. Glacier Peak- Brand new High School 
6. Lindbergh (8)- Returning seven sub-20 runners
7. Peninsula (10)- Returning all seven sub-20 runners
8. Mercer Island- Seniors Evan Sadler and Tyler Benster both sub-18 will lead their team
9. North Kitsap- Coming from 4A, finished 13th at state last year
10. Capital (16)- Returning six sub-19 runners

Here are the Top Ten Runners returning from last year with their marks from State:

1. Andrew Kimpel, North Central-16:05-SR
2. Andrew Gonzales, Southridge-16:20-SR
3. Julian Blake-Cowan, Auburn Riverside- 16:21-SR
4. Leon Dean, North Central- 16:22-SR
5. Trevor Thompson, Lindbergh- 16:23-JR
6. Jeff Howard, North Central- 16:23-SR
7. Allan Schroeder, Mt. Spokane-16:32-SO
8. Simon Sorenson, Skyline- 16:39-SR
9. Evan Sadler, Mercer Island- 16:40-SR
10. Chris Brasino, Issaquah-16:41-JR

Others to watch: Charlie McDonald, Drew O'Donoghue-McDonald, and Erik Berg out of Seattle Prep, Joel Ambo from Bellevue, and Kyle Boe from Columbia River

What's your take on the upcoming X-Country Season?