Boys Countdown to XC Day 14: Clovis North

The Broncos have almost all of the elements that I look for in a top 10 team. They have a star up front in Isaiah Galindo, who finished 7th at the state meet and will be the #3 returner in his division. They have a strong returning squad, with 6 of 7 back from the team that finished 10th in D1 last fall. They have senior leadership in the form of at least four rising seniors in their projected varsity team for 2019. They have motivation after narrowly losing the Central Section title to Paso Robles. They have strong team results from the spring, when they put four guys under 10 minutes and three at 9:32 or better, including a 4:21/9:26 campaign from returning #3 Joshua Ochoa. (Galindo clocked 4:15 and 9:03, and should be considered a contender in every race he runs this coming school year.) I just have one concern about Clovis North: depth. They have gaps in their returning top 7 that also show up in spring track results, and our Improvement Rating metric isn't particularly impressed with their year-to-year progress. If the Broncos can find or develop one more runner in the 5-7 range and close that group on their strong top 4, that would unlock the full potential of a team that can be in the top 5 in Division 1. As is, they are the favorites for the Central Section crown and should move up well into the top 10 at states.