Graduation can be the worst enemy for a boys' cross country program, but sometimes it turns out to be your best friend. In the case of Palos Verdes, it shapes both the team's composition and motivation for the upcoming season. The Sea Kings only had one senior on their 2017 squad - but they DID have 6 juniors, which means 2018 has to be their year to make it happen! This is shaping up to be a true example of a pack-running team, with a returning 1-5 split of just 41 seconds. The Sea Kings have demonstrated the ability to improve as a program from year to year, and have already shown significant progress through their track times: 5 returners went under 10 minutes in the 3200 and 7 broke 4:40 in the 1600 this spring, led by Nate Lantz and William Teets in both cases. Even more encouraging was the performance of the depth runners, with Frankie Reid (4:39/9:58), Christian Veerkamp (4:35), and Nick Holyfield (4:37) all looking like they're ready to join that pack. Between the leadership of that experienced rising senior class, the motivation of finishing 4th in 2017, and the urgency of bringing home a D3 title in 2018, don't be surprised if Palos Verdes comes out of the summer even better than we're predicting. The ceiling on this team is top 5 in the state overall.
| RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATEPLACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:55.50 | 2019 | ||
| 2 | 15:03.70 | 2019 | ||
| 3 | 15:18.40 | 2019 | ||
| 4 | 15:22.60 | 2019 | ||
| 5 | 15:36.80 | 2019 | ||
| 6 | 15:51.40 | 2019 | ||
| 7 | 15:56.90 | 2019 | ||
| 8 | 16:00.20 | 2020 | ||
| 9 | 16:09.00 | 2019 | ||
| 10 | 16:17.80 | 2020 |
Team Statistics:
- 3 Mile Improvement Rating: 8th
- 3 Mile Returning Rankings: 4th
- 3200 Returning Rankings: 7th
- 1600 Returning Rankings: 17th