1) Great Oak (Div. I)
Coming out of this past track season, we had Great Oak as slight favorites where even \coach Doug Soles admitted that "this could be the year where others can get us." Well, folks, after their dominating performance at Woodbridge, backed up at Bob Firman and then, with an exclamation mark at Clovis, we do not envision anybody catching them at this point. Even our national editors at Milesplit are leaning toward this group being ranked No. 1 in the USA! Tyler Tickner and Gabriel Abbes have elevated themselves to the top of our Top Individuals' list (below). Their 100+ point victory at Clovis was highlighted by an eye-popping 23 second-scoring spread and was the third fastest on the Woodward Park course! Cameron Hylton has been incredible along with Chris Verdugo. Sophomore Mateo Joseph was their No. 4 at Clovis while Ryan Shields jumped back into the scoring melee. Noah Nevens has added extra support as this squad definitely has their minds focused for the 1st of December and Nike Cross Nationals!
2) Newbury Park (Div. II)
We knew that this group would boast one of the best trios in California, and now that Jace Aschbrenner is 
on the mend, they are back on track of fulfilling those expectations. Nico Young is THE most improved elite runner in California but we already saw it coming after his phenomenal track season. Meanwhile, Ethan Ronk has been a valuable backup to Young all season. But where this squad continues to improve is in those crucial fourth and fifth scoring slots. Sophomore Nicholas Goldstein and freshman Colin Sahlman have joined up with Kyndall Long to build that support staff. Sahlman has been their No. 5 the last several meets and continues to close that gap between him and Young up front! As we highlighted back in August, the race for the Division II title is one of the most anticipated and very little separates the top three squads in that division at this point in the season!
3) Claremont (Div. II)
Claremont is loaded and perhaps, ran their best race of the season last weekend at the Manhattan Invite! With an interchangeable lineup, their top five all crossed within 11 seconds of one another on the 2.5 mile layout where they took third place. Aaron Reyes crossed first this last weekend, but it was Jacob Moran than out-leaned his own teammate, Ryan Cowgill at the finish for that second scoring slot. This was Moran's best race yet while another key to this squad is the emergence of sophomore Jack Keough-Lansford! Vicente Huerta is another valuable cog in the Claremont machine while Andrew Trafecanty was their fourth scorer in the victory at the Stanford Invite. This crew is as good as we projected going into September and continues to have NXN aspirations.
3) Loyola (Div. II)
One of the incredible stories thus far has been the fact that Loyola only returned one boy from their 
fourth place state meet squad but has now built a team that is even better! They were loaded at the JV level (as always) but these boys have exceeded our expectations. They have interchanged scoring positions all season long with Anthony Stone, Mason Ratkovich, and Roberto Ruelas sharing the pacing duties throughout the season. Vinnie Giachini, Zach Zambrano, Ethan Stauber have been in the scoring five while Hudson Godfrey ran his best race at the Bell-Jeff Invite and was their No. 3. As mentioned before, not much separates this group from the two other Division II powerhouses.
5) Dana Hills (Div. I)
The Dolphins moved up a notch after their dominating performance at the Orange County Championships. Simon Fuller has led the way for the crew but last weekend's success was defined by their minute scoring gap of 20 seconds. It was 74 seconds at Clovis the week before! The trio of Carrick Denker, Garrett Hough and Cole Stark have all occupied spots up front this season. But fellow senior, Hayden Stein bounced back for his best last weekend, putting behind a frustrating effort at Clovis the week before. Keep in mind that this group lost two runners that were projected to be huge factors for them! Coach Craig Dunn has done a great job keeping this group focused for another great postseason run.
6) West Ranch (Div. I)
We were already well aware of the dynamic duo up front in Isaiah Seidman and Evan Bates! Those two 
have lived up to expectations but it's been the development of sophomore Dylan Gatua and Trinity Classical junior transfer, Hunter Romine! The latter made an immediate impact with his impressive performance at Clovis, giving the Cowboys a solid four. Jonathan McDaniel has been their No. 5 and looking to close that gap to under 60 seconds on that front-running duo of Seidman and Bates! West Ranch looks to add an additional weapon in Golden Valley transfer, Alexis Romero as well.
7) Laguna Beach (Div. IV)
We already highlighted the accolades of Laguna Beach above, but last Friday, they proved that their solid performance at Woodbridge was NOT a one-race wonder. As impressive as they were at Woodbridge, Florida transfer Logan Brooks (4:31/9:46 last spring) emerged as a valuable addition to an already packed arsenal. Sebastian Fisher and Ryan Smithers have worked together up front all season while Brooks was only seven seconds behind them last week. Meanwhile, Zach Falkowski and Mateo Bianchi both broke 16:02 on the Woodward course last week as well. Cal Neilson is there for added depth as he was their third finisher earlier in September at the Lowell Invite. They moved up four spots here after last week's performance!
8) Crescenta Valley (Div. I)
Dylan Wilbur and Manan Vats were already projected to lead this group so no surprises there! But, Wilbur 
put himself on full display with his impressive victory at the Cool Breeze Invite. He and Vats have worked together up front as of late. Coach Mark Evans humbly shared with us how even he wasn't sure where this squad would go. Well, straight up the charts -- that's where! Grant Lauterback, Erik Faeustle, Jack Myers and Glendale transfer, Ameer Mohammed have molded themselves into one of the best in the section! Lauterback has been almost a minute faster from a year ago while Faeustle has seen an improvement of almost two minutes from 2017!
9) Long Beach Poly (Div. I)
After taking sixth at last year's state finals, this group has quietly churned along and kept themselves towards the top of Division I. William Frankenfeld is one of the section's best and will be right up there contending for a divisional title next month. But the supporting cast behind him has collectively stayed close to one another. Daniel Bautista finished as their No. 2 at Portland, ahead of Ronan McMahon-Staggs. But it was Alex Matos and Zane Witter finishing under 50 seconds behind front-running Frankenfeld that saw us move this group back into the top 10.
10) La Serna (Div. I)
Returning their entire squad from last year, the question mark for this group was how they would respond in 
competing in high level situations. Maintaining that tight pack, they missed the mark at Woodbridge, but at Clovis, they were 'dialed in' according to coach Joe Orr. Unfortunately, their top runner, Jesse Montez had been under the weather all week long and did not score in the affair. Marco Perez, Gerald Baltzer, Aidan Arredondo, and Andrew Hernandez finished within 10 seconds of one another and adding a healthy Montez in there, they would have finished right there with Crescenta Valley in our Southern Section-only merge from Clovis!
11) Thousand Oaks (Div. II)
We were and remain very high on this group! After a hiccup at Clovis, this group regathered themselves to capture the Ventura County Championships over a tough Simi Valley squad. Mitchell Mireles and Mitchell Burr have switched roles up front over the past several weeks with the improving Mireles winning last weekend's championships. The difference between Clovis and last weekend was Vianey Ellison, who bounced back with his best race to be their third scorer, just ahead of Ethan Bersley. Jay Lesny and Michael Cooper also rebounded well after Clovis to show why this group still belongs up towards the top of the Southern Section!
12) Palos Verdes (Div. III)
As mentioned before, this senior-laden squad is still the odds-on favorite to capture the Division III title 
next month. As interchangeable a lineup as you will find, William Teets has been their main man up front, but Wade Nygren crossed first at last week's Bay League Meet. The Sea Kings employ a tight scoring pack, regardless of the faces, with sub-20 second gaps. They hit a speed bump up at the Bob Firman Invite, but Nathan Lantz came back to perform well at the Clovis Invite. Ryan Shikiya was their No. 3 at Clovis while Brandon Farnsworth has also bounced between those third and fourth scoring slots! They hope to get Nick Holyfield back into the varsity mix in November. This group still has another gear in them!
13) Roosevelt (Div. I)
NXN qualifier from a year ago, the Mustangs have had the challenge of filling in the holes left by graduation. This is a young group, as we may see five underclassmen representing them next month. Juniors Raul Chavez and Michael Sahagun has solidified themselves up front as Chavez truly erupted with a 14:47 effort on the Riverside Championship course last weekend! Fellow junior Ricardo Sainz has tried to step in for the injured Aaron Lieberman. The crew is looking to get back on track after a few frustrating weeks as of late. While performing well at Stanford, Adrian Alvarez and freshman Andres Chavez are most likely to occupy that fifth scoring slot into the postseason. Getting a healthy Lieberman back into the lineup for November is a huge key if this group looks to make it back to the state meet.
14) Simi Valley (Div. II)
Just when this group seemed to be fading off the radar, they kicked it into gear at Clovis and backed it up with another solid runner-up performance at the Ventura County Championships. Josh Moncada has emerged as their lone front runner to compliment a strong pack. Ian Gerth, Nicholas Williams, Bradley Williams, Alejandro Diaz, and Matthew Ahn form an impressive group that runs six deep. At Clovis, with Moncada up front rolling, the rest of the group came in within nine seconds of one another and only 32 seconds behind! This effort had them sixth overall in our Southern Section-only merge. The Pioneers are jelling now and ready for a push to the state meet next month!
15) Saugus (Div. II)
This is one of the most improved squads in regard to where we had them projected back in August. A big reason for that is the development of sophomores Blake Gallardo and Josh Serrano who have alternated between those second and third slots this season. Up front, Jacob Kaufmann has been a solid force all season long. He was their only underclass scorer from last year's state meet podium squad. Josh Duarte, Lothar Hernandez and James Musasizi all have been in the scoring five while Zach Fineberg had his best race, stepping into their top five last weekend at the Manhattan Invite. Not much separates Simi Valley, Saugus and El Toro!
16) El Toro (Div. II)
The Orange County Championships team runner-up, the Chargers are led by Mitch Groff. Many had them projected outside the top ten for Division II, but the development of this squad has been impressive. Jonas Hartline and Juan Torres-Mondragon have interchanged in those second and third slots. Meanwhile, Khaled Ajaj, Daniel Guzman and Jason Leland have exchanged spots in those fourth and fifth positions. Groff fell victim to the mud slicked U-turn last weekend but it was good to see Hartline so close to him all throughout. They will have their hands full next month in looking for one of those state meet spots.
17) Trabuco Hills (Div. I)
They finished third at the Orange County Championships, and getting closer to the entire squad clicking all 
on the same day. Josh O'Neill bounced back well after a minor bike accident derailed his effort at Clovis the previous week. But behind him, the lineup has been interchangeable. The improvement of sophomore Landen Lee has provided an extra boost. Jacob and Josh Lowe, along with Kalen Yokoyama and Justin Bennett have all switched places throughout the season. Both Lowe brothers stepped up well last weekend as the group rebounded well from a flat performance at Clovis!
18) Murrieta Mesa (Div. II)
We had this crew projected to advance to their first trip to the divisional finals, but they obviously had higher goals. They impressed at Laguna Hills last month but substantiated themselves as a state meet contender last weekend with their second place finish at the Inland Empire Challenge! Their team time of 78:13 would have been the third fastest at last year's Division II finals (albeit, last weekend was ideal course and racing conditions), but it gives you an idea of how well they ran. Cole Havins had a breakout race with his 15:04 effort, but equally as impressive was their next four all breaking 16 minutes and within an 18-second bubble. Matthew Watts, Micah Chitraroff, and Edgar Lizarraga all had their best races of the season while their fifth scorer, Aris Valerio, was actually off from previous performances!
19) Arcadia (Div. I)
The Apaches were rolling along quite well until a speed bump at Clovis. They rebounded well at the Pacific League meet as Jacob Hsu put behind a frustrating race at Clovis to get back up there with Tianyan Pei and Jack Ruan. Meanwhile, Alec Fernandez had his best day of the season last week while they rested Soichiro Nagao. Ryan Chan has also stepped it up after Clovis. Don't count this squad out yet in regard to claiming a state meet spot next month!
20) Ayala (Div. I)
This is a squad that still hasn't put it all together on the same day. Front runner, Andrew Martinez is looking to kick it into gear next month, like what we saw this past track season! He and Jacob Villegas have swapped spots from time to time this season. Underclassmen Ko Akabori, Yael Grimaldi and Austin Lemus have secured the last three scoring spots. Look for Ryley Welch to jump back into that group while they are hoping to get another back from injury.
Just outside the Top 20: Arroyo, Capistrano Valley, Redlands East Valley, Woodbridge, Yucaipa.
On the cusp: Agoura, Aliso Niguel, Burbank, California, Canyon, Highland, Indio, JSerra, King, Newport Harbor, Redondo Union, San Clemente, Santa Ana, West Torrance.
Top 10 Individuals:
1) Kevin Ramos (Rubidoux)
2) Tyler Tickner (Great Oak)
3) Nico Young (Newbury Park)
4) Alexis Garcia (Newport Harbor)
5) Simon Fuller (Dana Hills)
6) Anthony Grover (JSerra)
7) William Frankenfeld (Long Beach Poly)
8) Evan Bates (West Ranch)
9) Gabriel Abbes (Great Oak)
10) Cameron Hylton (Great Oak)
10) Isaiah Seidman (West Ranch)
Others: Raul Chavez (Roosevelt), Ryan Cowgill (Claremont), Carrick Denker (Dana Hills), Peter Herold (JSerra), Mateo Joseph (Great Oak), Josh O'Neill (Trabuco Hills), Mason Ratkovich (Loyola), Aaron Reyes (Claremont), Ethan Ronk (Newbury Park), Daniel Rush (Golden Valley), Anthony Stone (Loyola), Logan Underwood (Canyon-Anaheim), Dylan Wilbur (Crescenta Valley).