The NCS Division V girls teams and individuals can pit their accomplishments against any section in California. Aside from the incredible success of Jim Tracy and the University girls, multiple teams and tons of individuals have graced the podium since the first season with Division V competition, 1996. Just last season, the following individuals and team made their way onto the podium. 7 teams also qualified from the NCS MOC meet although this year, NCS did somehow lose a spot to the SDS which still leaves them with a whopping 6 teams heading to Fresno in 2015.
Girls Individual
1. Rylee Bowen Sonoma Academy 18:36
2. Kiera Marshall St. Joseph Notre Dame 18:44
5. Alyssa Goody Sonoma Academy 18:55
7. Bevin McCullough Marin Academy 18:58
Girls Team
3. Sonoma Academy 174 points
The favorite at this point has to be Sonoma Academy which may have reached a level of success ahead of schedule in 2014. Led by fearless freshman, Rylee Bowen, Sonoma Academy rolled to their first section title and as you can see above, finished in 3rd place at the CA state XC meet to win their first state plaque. Bowen (2:13.66/4:43.92/10:29.61) returns along with most of her talented teammates but a couple may be on the mend at the start of the season which leaves their season in question. Alyssa Goody missed last track season and Lilly Reinstein may miss the upcoming season as well. McKenna Sell (5:34.43/12:01.62) and Maddy Glenn (2:48/5:45) along with several young runners can also contribute during the key November races.
If Sonoma Academy is not quite at full strength then the next best teams may be Branson, College Prep and Lick-Wilmerding. Branson finished in 6th place at last year's NCS meet but that was due to the loss of lead runner, Grace Dailey (2:20.80). Along with Dailey, 6 runners return (including Ashley Delgado 2:22.60) from last year's team along with a talented freshman. College Prep finished in 5th place last year and looks to be on the rise with the improvement of front runner Brianna Bourne (2:23.65/5:16.02/11:13.33). She will have a solid pack behind her and may be in the hunt for their 2nd NCS title since 2007. Lick-Wilmerding has been one of the most consistent teams in this division and this year won't be any different. They will be led by Jill Reilly (5:20.24/11:32.06).
The University girls missed their first state meet since Division V started in 1996. That appears to be a momentary setback as they rebounded nicely during the Track and Field season. They will be led by rising sophomore Claire Jackson (2:29.92/5:30.80). St. Joseph Notre Dame will have best duo in NCS with Kiera Marshall (5:19.00/11:24.28) and Beatrice Levy (5:19.64/11:29.88) but lose the rest of their 2014 state qualifying team. Urban and Athenian finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively at last year's NCS meet. Urban do lose their top 2 runners from last year but appear to have a solid pack back for this coming season led by Coco Ocker (62.28). Athenian lost lead runner Grace Brown as she transferred to Campolindo but does return 3 of their top 5 runners from last season.
Individually, Rylee Bowen will be the strong favorite after winning both NCS and state titles last year. She has proven to be a tough competitor and will be tough to beat. SJND teammates Kiera Marshall and Beatrice Levy will keep her honest along with Sonoma Academy teammate Alyssa Goody, Athenian's Grace Brown, College Prep's Brianna Bourne, Lick-Wilmerding's Jill Reilly and Branson's Grace Dailey.
Division V Girls (Top 6 Advance to state)
1) Branson-Looking to rebound from disappointing 2014 NCS meet.
2) College Prep-Solid team looking to improve their 2014 5th place finish.
3) Lick Wilmerding-With inspired team running, could move into top 3.
4) Sonoma Academy-Health will be an important factor in them repeating.
5) University-6th place gets them to state but they are aiming higher.
6) St. Joseph Notre Dame-Very talented duo up front but will need help.
7) Urban-Team always under the radar that gets it done in November.
8) Athenian-May be dark horse to make the state meet at this point.
On the bubble: Head Royce, Marin Academy, Convent
Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2014 NCS meet time:
Rylee Bowen (1) Sonoma Academy 18:46
Alyssa Goody (3) Sonoma Academy 19:02
Kiera Marshall (4) St. Joseph Notre Dame 19:23
Jill Reilly (5) Lick-Wilmerding 19:33
Beatrice Levy (6) St. Joseph Notre Dame 19:45
Please feel free to chime in on the rankings above. I won't be offended if you strongly disagree as the above rankings are meant to be a launching pad for conversation. Fortunately section titles and state meet berths are decided by the runners themselves. Did I miss any teams or individuals? Any other impact freshmen that we should know about?