It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it will look a little different this time around - we just don't have as much quality data to approach it the way we have in the past. Instead, we will look at 25 boys and girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall in their section, in their division at the state meet, or even nationally. Unlike past countdowns, this year we're going to start with the clear contenders and then work toward some programs that might not be on your radar screen. As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email editor Jeffrey Parenti (email at the bottom of every MileSplitCA page) and we'll make the corrections.
Vista Murrieta ended the 2019 cross country season with a 13th-place finish in the division 1 state meet, after taking 7th in the CIF-SS finals. Unfortunately, all but one of the runners in their top 7 has since graduated. The Broncos have done a good job of reloading in the last 2 years: they will return 5 sub-16 runners in the 3 mile, which is good enough to rank 5th in the state. However, depth could be a concern in the upcoming fall season.
Lance Denhalter had a very strong 2020-2021 school year, clocking 14:51 and 9:28. He will be joined by fellow rising seniors Brandon Calderon (15:21/4:23), Nick Hernandez (9:27), and Tyler Clanton in a leadership group that should provide significant intensity to succeed in their final cross country season. Rising junior Andrew Hooee completes the returning top 5, but after them we see a bit of a gap to the rest of the returners. I would be a big help if fellow junior Scott Little or sophomore Connor Sybrandy can close up on the top 5 over the summer.
The Broncos' track results are a mixed bag, though. Their top 3 runners in both the 1600 and 3200 look quite good, but the times drop off pretty quickly behind them. On the other hand, the sheer number of returning 1600 times they recorded suggests a deep talent pool, albeit one that still needs quite a bit of developing. That leaves me with as many questions as answers coming into the summer, so we'll just have to wait to see if the promise Vista Murrieta showed this past winter can come to fruition in the fall.