This is the first squad in the countdown that gets a significant boost from strong track times, which are often a big indication that a team has made year-round progress. In this case, Sage Creek had the 10th-best returning team 1600 times in California, averaging under 4:30 across their top 5 runners. Depth is a concern here, as the team's returning 3 Mile and 5K times fall off quite a bit after the #5 runner, and graduation hit them hard: there were 3 seniors on the squad that finished 2nd in Division 4 last year. But the development of Justin Morris in the spring (4:27 for the 1600) is a big plus; if he can run with Brad Nelson and Danny Rubin, who should be in the top 10 in the division by season's end, this team will be strong again. Some candidates emerged during the spring to fill out the rest of the top 10, so with a strong summer we could be looking at another top-3 finish for the Bobcats.
2017 Returning Stats:
- 5K Ranking: 25th
- 3 Mile Ranking: 30th
- Team 1600 Ranking: 19th