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.
Despite having only two cross country meets in March, Palo Alto ranks 6th in the state in the returning team 5K. That's the kind of result you would expect from a team that has a lot of senior leadership to help maintain discipline and work ethic, and the Vikings do indeed have four members of the Class of 2022 in their projected top 7.
What makes this team particularly interesting to me is that neither of their top two returners are seniors. Rising sophomore Grant Morgenfeld led the team with a 16:05 in the winter, putting him firmly in the "star in the making" category. Junior Alexander Cao, who ran in the 2019 CCS final, established himself as a strong #2 runner, backed by seniors Mateo Fesslmeier, James Miller, and Kenji Tella.
Results from track season expand on this team's projected strength in the fall. Morgenfeld was joined by Miller, Cao, and Tella in going under 10 minutes (with Fesslmeier not far behind them). That's good enough to rank the Vikings 8th in the state in the returning team 3200. Palo Alto's returning team 1600 results are similar, putting them at 7th in California, and they bring more encouraging news in the development of rising junior Eoin O'Connell and senior John Bard, who can both help fill out the top 7 in the fall.
All of that tells me that the Vikings have enormous potential for the 2021 season. Will it be enough to challenge Bellarmine for the Division 1 title? That remains to be seen, but Palo Alto looks like a contender in that race and a state meet team to me.