Girls #CountdownToXC Day 9: Saugus



How do you get ranked in the preseason top 10 when your returning rankings are 12th and 23rd in the state? Well, it helps to have the best track record of year-to-year improvement in California, as does Saugus. The Centurions were uncharacteristically up and down last fall, winning confidently at the Southern Section Prelims and then barely squeaking by for a state meet berth the next week (on a 6th-runner tiebreak, no less). To their credit, the team pulled it back together at the state meet, finishing 2nd to Claremont. Maybe they were just a year early: Kaylee Thompson will be hard to replace, but she was the only senior on the 2017 Saugus squad. Mariah Castillo is a force up front, and Jacqueline Cascione ran 11:05 on the track. The Centurions should be very deep and also very motivated, with the likelihood that there will be 4 seniors in the top 7 this fall looking for their school's 10th state championship. Simply put: nobody reloads like Saugus, and you can count on this team to be in contention when we get to Woodward Park in November.


2017 Returning Stats:


  • 5K Ranking: 12th
  • 3-Year 5K Improvement Rating: 4th
  • 5-Year 5K Improvement Rating: 3rd
  • 3 Mile Ranking: 23rd
  • 3-Year 3M Improvement Rating: 1st
  • 5-Year 3M Improvement Rating: 1st
  • Team 1600 Ranking: 16th
  • Team 3200 Ranking: 10th