Boys Countdown to XC Day 15: La Costa Canyon

First, a note of caution: you have to take LCC's returning 5K times with a small grain of salt, as many of them are boosted by running on two notoriously fast (but accurate) courses. Still, there is more than enough evidence of the Mavericks' returning talent to place them in the countdown. Having Caleb Niednagel up front is a huge advantage, of course; he finished 4th at the Division 2 state meet in 2018 and will be the #2 returner there behind Nico Young. As a team, La Costa Canyon finished 2nd at state, but they did lose the Stanford brothers, who will be hard to replace. The Mavericks need to cultivate more depth and tighten up their pack behind Niednagel, which they are fully capable of accomplishing according to recent year-to-year improvement. Finishing 2nd again in Division 2 is a tall order, but this team should be in the mix for another top 5 finish at a minimum.