Underrated Girls Teams:
Vista Murrieta
What a difference an additional Candaele can make! Freshman Devyn has joined Payton and father/coach Coley on the Broncos squad, and has helped the team elevate all the way to 11th in the 5K rankings and 4th in the 3 Mile. This team won the Rated section at Woodbridge with the 3rd-best CA team performance of the meet, and they put 5 girls under 20 minutes for 5K at a meet in Washington state. This is absolutely one of the top 10 teams in California and a likely top 5 finisher in Division 1.
Serrano
Speaking of star freshmen that have helped elevate their team, meet Tiani Goeson. With her up front, the Diamondbacks are ranked 5th in the 5K and 9th for 3 Miles so far this season. As I've said elsewhere in this article, the times from the Master's College course look a little too fast to be taken at face value, but that really doesn't undermine this squad's claim to contender status. Finishing 11th in the Sweeps race at Woodbridge was a good result; coming in 5th in Clovis was positively eye-opening (Serrano was only 24 points behind Buchanan). Division 2 is LOADED this year, but you have to include this squad in the conversation at this point, and that's an impressive improvement on their part.
St. Francis (SJ)
My evaluation of this team was caught between two possible futures: one with Isabella Fauria returning, and one without her. As a result, I put the Troubadours somewhere in the middle of their two potentials. Well, Fauria is back, and St. Francis looks even better than I imagined in that scenario: they finished 2nd only to Great Oak in Clovis, 7th at Woodbridge, they have already beaten major Sac Joaquin rival Vista Del Lago head-to-head while winning at Capital Cross. This team sits at 6th in the 5K rankings and 7th in the 3 Mile, and they run together VERY well in meets. Watch out for them in November!
Granada Hills Charter Girls
If you're not paying attention to the LA City Section, you should be - this team is for real. They went toe-to-toe with the Dana Hills girls last Saturday in Clovis, emerging with the 12th-best team performance. That bodes well for the Highlanders' ability to compete well in the Division 1 state meet down the line. They also rank 20th in California for 3 Miles right now after a solid performance at Woodbridge. This team definitely bears watching as more than an Honorable Mention candidate!
