All of Yucaipa's rankings get an asterisk, because rising sophomore Victoria Gaitan has transferred to Great Oak. Despite that setback, I believe the Thunderbirds have enough talent back (and a strong enough program) to still be a state meet team in 2017 (without Gaitan, they would still have advanced from the Southern Section). They do return their #3 - #7 runners from the team that ran 8th in the Division 1 race at the state meet last November, and they also have 6 returners that ran 5:31 or better on the track. Danielle Gee heads that group, and after running 10:48 this spring she looks capable of filling Gaitan's shoes. Depth will be the key, but Yucaipa has one of the best Improvement Ratings in the state over the last 5 years, which indicates strong year-round development of new and younger runners. No Southern Section team finished lower than 10th in Division 1 last year, so think of that as the floor for the Thunderbirds - and the ceiling is definitely higher.
2017 Returning Stats:
- 5K Ranking: *11th
- 3 Mile Ranking: *6th
- 3-Year 3M Improvement Rating: 12th
- 5-Year 3M Improvement Rating: 7th
- Team 1600 Ranking: *8th
- Team 3200 Ranking: *21st