It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it will look a little different this time around - we just don't have as much quality data to approach it the way we have in the past. Instead, we will look at 25 boys and girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall in their section, in their division at the state meet, or even nationally. Unlike past countdowns, this year we're going to start with the clear contenders and then work toward some programs that might not be on your radar screen. As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email editor Jeffrey Parenti (email at the bottom of every MileSplitCA page) and we'll make the corrections.
Every year during the cross country pre-season I ask myself, "Is this the year that someone unseats Chico from the top spot in the Northern Section?" And while there have been years when other teams seemed close, the answer has always been no. The Panthers have dominated their section for as long as I can remember, and this year is shaping up to be a continuation of their streak.
What's even more impressive to me is HOW Chico continues to win. Some teams overwhelm opponents with top individuals, hoping to hold on at the back end. Other teams rely on depth to overcome a deficit up front. Chico often has both the best individual in the section and superior depth, especially in the last few years. Right now, Mario Giannini is by far the best individual in the CIF-NS, earning 1 point in pretty much every local meet, and the Panthers are also significantly stronger at the 5-6-7 spots than anyone else around them. Giannini is on the verge of being one of the top runners in all of California, in fact, after clocking 15:47 for 5K and then following that up with a 9:10 3200 on the track.
That's why Chico ranks first in the Northern Section in almost every metric you can find: returning team 5K and team 3 mile results from this past winter, plus returning team 1600 and team 3200 from the spring. Notice that I said "almost every metric" - the Panthers actually don't show up well in frosh/soph rankings from the 2019 season at either 5K or 3 miles. There's a very simple reason for that, however: their JV runners often don't run the full distances, as the Northern Section custom is to put them on shorter courses like 2.2 miles (and Chico dominates those races, as well).
All of this is not to say that there won't be competition for the Panthers at all. Pleasant Valley has been showing evidence of closing the gap on them over the last few seasons, including solid team 1600 and 3200 results from this spring. If there can be said to be a weakness on this upcoming Chico team, which looks like one of their strongest in recent years, it would be the reliance on seniors: their top 6 returning milers are all in the Class of 2022, including standouts Benjamin Wun, Nate Solecki, and Avery Munson-Clark.
However, it would be foolish to think that a program with this much long-term success won't be able to develop another group of young runners to help reload after this fall. Although they may be pushed, for the time being I don't see Chico giving up the throne.