Division 5 Boys (Teams)
A few teams will arrive at this meet with podium aspirations. The slight favorites will be the San Francisco University boys (photo above courtesy of Kevin Cruikshank) who just completed an impressive NCS section title this past Saturday. They also won the Clovis Invitational small school division with their usual display of strong pack running. The team that could compete with the UHS boys is the SS champion,Thacher. The Toads finished in front of last year's 3rd place state meet finisher, Valley Christian, Cerritos. Last year's state meet second place finisher, Flintridge Prep finished in 3rd place at the SS meet and can never be counted out. Lick-Wilmerding finished in 2nd place behind the University boys and were the 4th place finishing team at the 2016 CA state meet with everyone back from that squad. The Francis Parker boys won the San Diego Section quite convincingly and will be aiming for a top finish. The top two teams from the Central Coast Section meet, Crystal Springs Uplands and Nueva will both be aiming for a top 10 finish along with the NCS MOC 3rd place finishing team, College Preparatory.
Division 5 Boys (Individuals)
The dominant runner in this division last season, Cooper Teare, St. Joseph Notre Dame, won two state titles by a total of .003 in 2015 and a significantly bigger margin last year. There will be a new champion this year and the two leading contenders both compete in the same league. Evan Pattinelli of Flintridge Prep was the 2nd place finisher behind Teare and just won the SS individual title. League rival Xian Shively of Poly (Pasadena) beat Pattinelli at their league meet and has proven to be a very tough customer. The chase pack after the top two runners should include the top runners from the North Coast Section meet, Isaac Teuscher of Head-Royce, Sean Laidlaw of Lick-Wilmerding, Sonoma Academy teammates Andre Williams and Kheva Mann as well as L-W's Nick Harris. Central Coast Section champion, Nicholas Medearis of Crystal Springs Uplands as well as a herd from the SS meet (Jamie Moreland, Campbell Hall, Ryan Vreeke, Valley Christian, Cerritos, and Thacher teammates Ford Shaper and Colin Kirkpatrick) will be in contention as well.