Countdown to XC Day 8: La Costa Canyon



La Costa Canyon's 2018 season was messed up from start to finish. McKenna Brown battled through a difficult early season, finally hitting her stride at the very end - only to see teammate Kristin Fahy, who carried the load most of the season, run out of steam at the state meet. Now Brown has graduated and Fahy returns with unfinished business on her mind. Track season provides the main reason why I feel LCC will be right back in the title hunt in 2018 despite the loss of a superstar. Fahy and Jessica Riedman both clocked 4:50 in the 1600, leading 5 returning Mavericks who broke 5:30 and demonstrating that Riedman could be a #1-caliber runner in her own right this fall. In the 3200, Fahy blazed to a 10:16 while finishing 4th at the CIF State Meet, which makes her the top returner in the state and cements her status as an individual championship contender in November. The spring also showed us that the Mavericks have solid talent returning to support their two front-runners, although depth is a concern - they would benefit greatly from another top-5 caliber runner to push the middle of their pack. On the other hand, this has been one of California's best programs when it comes to improving from fall to fall, which makes it much more likely that a new runner will emerge or a veteran will step up. All things considered, this team has the makings of another podium finish in Division 3, and the potential is there for team title contention.



Team Statistics:

  • 5K Improvement Rating: 18th
  • 3 Mile Improvement Rating: 7th
  • 3 Mile Returning Rankings: 22nd
  • 3200 Returning Rankings: 5th
  • 1600 Returning Rankings: 4th


The purpose of the Countdown To XC is not to predict the top 30 teams in the state for the upcoming season (although we certainly hope that the top 15-20 teams are included in the countdown at some point). The goal is to recognize thirty teams to watch as cross country begins, using data to uncover squads with strengths that stand out from the pack. The countdown is also not meant to be in a strict order, because it's impossible to sort out several teams of similar strength at this point of the season.