DIVISION I BOYS
Teams to Watch (Full Rankings)
There is a reason the San Diego Section only has two teams in this division-it has not had a state Top 5 team since 2012 when Carlsbad placed third. Fact: the section has never had a Division I boys team champion. That said, the problem isn't so much the section's teams as depth compared to its neighbors to the North-the massive Southern Section. For example, Mission Hills had two runners in the Top 10 at the section meet but the drop-off after that made the Grand Canyon look shallow. Bonita Vista placed 13th at Woodward Park a year ago but that was a senior-laden team as was No. 19 Torrey Pines. All seven runners from the first five teams finished ahead of the first Mission Hills runner. You get the idea. This doesn't figure to be the year the section breaks into the SS dominance, either.
Athletes to Watch (Full Rankings)
Justin Mulvany (Otay Ranch) is the runner to watch here as he finished third in the section championships and almost cracked the Top 15 at state, placing 16th in 15:33.6, well ahead of the two graduated runners who beat him the week before. Mulvany just got better and better as the year progressed. The two Mission Hills runners mentioned above, Sean Caster and Jonathan Velasco, return after placing sixth and eighth at Balboa Park (2.96 miles) at 15:45.9 and 15:47.6 respectively. San Marcos' improving distance program returns Aiden Katson, who was sandwiched between Caster and Velasco in the section meet. The North County continues to produce quality runners and Vista's Jovanny Garcia -- just a sophomore a year ago --appears poised to make a run at the favorites.