It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it may look a little different this time around - our longtime data analyst Jeff George has moved on, leaving this energizing project to the MileSplit team in CA. Our collective goal is to briefly highlight 30 boys and 30 girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall. We will spotlight one team per gender per day over a 30-day period. Similar to past countdowns, we will provide a cross-sampling of teams from all 10 sections without regard to statewide or even division ranking (those will come later, as will articles previewing each section, and returning athletes to watch). As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email CA state editor Jeffrey Parenti (jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv) and we'll make the corrections.

Yosemite (CS/Division V)

Led by a trio of freshmen, a sophomore, and a few seniors sprinkled into the mix, the Badgers proved to be the class of the North Sequoia League with six of its runners crossing the finish line before any competitor could do so.

Ford Stegge, Jack Olney, and Ben Olney infused Yosemite as first-year newcomers, Noah Graffigna was the key second-year cog, and seniors Turner Williams, Sebastian Valdez, and Justin Beaumont were the experienced guys to round out the team.

Stegge won the individual league title. Ben Olney's fourth-place finish, along with Stegge and Jack Olney, ninth and 10th, respectively, and a 15th-place showing from Graffigna, setting a PR for 5000 meters in 17:37.50) helped Yosemite win the CIF Central Section Division 4 title.

At the CIF State Division 4 Championship race, Yosemite finished a respectable 14th in the team standings. Jack Olney was the top Badger, finishing 47th (30th in scoring). Ben Olney (53rd/35th) and Stegge (80th/56th) were next. Valdez and Williams' finish concluded the team scoring.

All three freshmen set PRs for 5000 in the State race. Jack Olney went 16:25.10, Ben Olney had a time of 16:29.80 and Stegge' time was 16:51.20 at Woodward Park in Fresno. The 14th-place finish was the best in 2021 by a Central Section school in Division 4.

The Olneys and Stegge are back for a second go-around. Graffigna is a junior and getting a fifth runner will be the deciding factor for how well the 2022 season can be for Yosemite.

According to the newest CIF Central Section division alignment, which was approved in June 2022, Yosemite will be running in Division 5.

Scoring is against all returning boys in the Central Section.