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.

Campolindo (NC/Division III)

The Cougars graduated three mainstays from their top seven in '21, including consistent No. 1 Rhys Pullen. However, there's a reason Campo has won 12 NCS Division 3 titles since 2003. Three rising seniors and regular scorers in '21, and four of the top seven return with two likely end-of-the-year objectives in mind:

* Defend the NCS title.

* Win the State D-III title that they missed by 13 points last November. 

Senior Alexander Lodewick ran No. 2 for the Cougars at NCS and at State and assumes the leadership role in '22. Blake Webster (pictured above) ran No. 3 at State and No. 4 at NCS for Campo and is back to push Lodewick for top honors. 

Connor McGhee ran No. 4 at State and No. 3 at NCS giving Campo three with sub-16 minute credentials for 5K. 

As a frosh, Maxson Cook ran No. 7 in the two big post-season meets and brings that experience into his sophomore year. 

Who steps up to challenge Cook and push for a coveted top-seven spot is the question.

Scoring is against all returning boys in CA.