Is there a Ranking Higher than US #1 for Great Oak's Girls?
Holy cow. The Wolfpack didn't just win this meet, they annihilated the competition! US #13 Arcadia actually had a really good race, and they lost by 66 points to the Wolfpack; US #20 Southlake Carroll was another 32 points back. Scoring 34 points in a race of this caliber is a clear signal that Great Oak is starting to hit full steam, just in time for a few more major invitationals before the championship season begins.
A win of this magnitude doesn't happen without several strong performances. Evelyn Mandel continued to tear it up this fall, breaking 18 for the first time while running 5th against a field loaded with star individuals. Sandra Pflughoft, though, arguably had the best race of anyone at the meet: she finished 7th, clocking 18:06 - nearly a minute ahead of her time here last year. Here's a partial list of some of the great runners that Pflughoft beat Saturday: Chloe Hansel, Glennis Murphy, Candela Fernandez, Lauren Moffett, Kelly Bernd...well, you get the idea.
The absence of Fiona O'Keeffe naturally set her Davis squad back in the team standings; the US #18 Blue Devils still finished 5th, and would almost certainly have been in 3rd with their #1 gun in the lineup. It will be very interesting to see how Davis and Arcadia continue to battle over the next month-plus of the season; both teams are very good
It's also worth noting that Claremont had an excellent team race, finishing 4th with 185 points and averaging 18:55. That Wolfpack currently ranks 5th in the Southern Section using 5K times, and that sets up an excellent battle for the Division 2 title that bears watching over the next month.