Division 1 Boys
Teams to Watch (Full Rankings)
Three years ago, the North Coast Section approved a proposal to shift teams in the section to match the rest of the state size wise. The decision left 8 teams in Division I with the majority of the rest of the teams in Division II and lower. That made for a semi-competitive Division I race with Dougherty Valley dominating the division the past two years by claiming three of four possible section titles. This season, there are still eight teams competing in Division I but you now have two of the better programs in the section moving up to Division I.
Dublin and Amador Valley both move up this season while Deer Valley and Freedom move down to Division I. For the boys, Dublin will be the favorite as they completed one of the most successful seasons for an NCS team last season. They broke the Woodward Park team course record at the Clovis Invitational and finished in 2nd place at the California state meet Division II race behind a strong St. Francis team. Although they lose two strong members from the varsity team, they return a very strong core that will battle for another section title. Amador Valley finished in 4th place in the very tough Division II race last season and will return their top five runners. They should be super competitive and will more than keep their league rival Dublin honest. The next group of teams should be ranked in this order: Dougherty Valley, California, James Logan and Castro Valley.
Athletes to Watch (Full Rankings)
The top athletes in this division should be Dublin senior Loic Scomparin and junior teammate Chris Middleton-Pearson. Scomparin finished in 2nd place in the 2017 NCS Division II race while Middleton-Pearson had a breakout Track and Field season with spectacular personal bests of 1:55.63, 4:12.15 and 9:18.02. The Amador Valley duo of Jack Gray and Aidan Boyle won't be afraid to race up front with the Dublin duo. They will see plenty of each other as they all reside in the same league. Dougherty Valley senior Lucas Badcock ran a 4:24.36 1600m during the 2018 Track and Field season and will be in the mix for one of the top individual finishes.