CIF-STATE CROSS-COUNTRY
DIVISIONAL TEAM RANKINGS
By Rich Gonzalez, ESPNHS Editor

Released on Friday, September 30th at 4:00 p.m.

DIVISION I BOYS
Notes:  This division is starting to get more interesting. Trabuco Hills was without its #2
runner at the Bob Firman meet in Idaho. With him finishing at #2 in the order, they would
have beaten defending national champion Arcadia. There is a chance he might not be
back soon. Trabuco Hills was without its top runner at the Woodbridge meet and we gave
them a "pass" as they would've projected to beat Stockdale in that race. But Trabuco
Hills was without the same runner (injured) for the Bob Firman meet -- no second "pass"
allowed when both are pretty big meets. Trabuco Hills will need to re-prove itself against
top competition. In other words, Stockdale is the better "Mustangs" team so far.
1. Arcadia (SS)
2. Rancho Cucamonga (SS)
3. Great Oak, Temecula (SS)
4. Stockdale, Bakersfield (CE)
5. Bellarmine, San Jose (CC)
6. Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo (SS)
7. Long Beach Poly, Long Beach (SS)
8. Buchanan, Clovis (CE)
9. Vista Murrieta, Murrieta (SS)
10. El Toro, Lake Forest (SS)

DIVISION II BOYS
Notes:  Loyola, which had its co-#1 suffer a bad outing at Mt. Carmel, rebounded very
convincingly with a team-time course record at the venerable Bell-Jeff Invitational as
everyone clicked. We see Golden Valley as still having a slight edge. Bella Vista goes
from #11 all the way up to #5 after its Stanford win. Teams 5 through 12 are
VERY CLOSE together, but the fly in the ointment thus far is Peninsula, which
struggled at Stanford after a few solid previous outings. There is a clear gap between
the first four teams and the rest of those that appear in the rankings. The first four are
all national-class programs thus far this fall. Can Bella Vista close the gap?
1. Golden Valley, Santa Clarita (SS)
2. Loyola, Los Angeles (SS)
3. Ramona (SD)
4. La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad (SD)
5. Bella Vista, Fair Oaks (SJ)
6. Saugus, Santa Clarita Valley (SS)
7. Hart, Newhall (SS)
8. Woodcreek, Roseville (SJ)
9. Peninsula, Rolling Hills Estates (SS)
10. Madera South, Madera (CE)

DIVISION III BOYS
Notes: We expected Piner to be good, but not quite this good. Everything continues to
fall into place for the North Coast Section squad as -- if they were to race today -- it
would give youthful St. John Bosco a real good test. Palos Verdes is still the top
squad, but the margin has been sliced considerably. Campolindo is coming on well
earlier than usual after a merged score triumph at Stanford.
1. Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates (SS)
2. Campolindo, Moraga (NC)
3. St. John Bosco, Bellflower (SS)
4. Piner, Santa Rosa (NC)
5. Cathedral, Los Angeles (SS)
6. Cathedral Catholic, San Diego (SD)
7. Damien, La Verne (SS)
8. West Torrance, Torrance (SS)
9. Granite Hills, Apple Valley (SS)
10. South Pasadena (SS)

DIVISION IV BOYS
Notes:  Don Bosco Tech entered the season as the inside favorite, but a few short-term
setbacks have temporarily derailed their progress. At the same time, four other teams
have really enjoyed a fine opening month thus far. So now we have an entertaining
 five-team battle sizing up for the state crown.
1. Sir Francis Drake, San Anselmo (NC)
2. St. Mary's College, Berkeley (NC)
3. San Lorenzo Valley, Felton (CC)
4. Don Bosco Tech, Rosemead (SS)
5. Carmel (CC)
6. Crespi, Encino (SS)
7. Salesian, Los Angeles (SS)
8. Big Bear, Big Bear Lake (SS)
9. JSerra, San Juan Capistrano (SS)
10. Laguna Beach (SS)

DIVISION V BOYS
Notes:  We've all seen -- without surprise -- that St. Margaret's has established itself
as the fastest Division V squad in state history. Guess what? Desert Christian of
Lancaster is now just about the second-fastest squad in Division V history, not
far off the best squad from during the Woodcrest Christian dynasty. St. Margaret's
is no longer an overwhelming favorite forthe state title. In fact, it can probably now ill
afford to have a bad day. Some pretty hot action in Division V this year!
1. St. Margaret’s, San Juan Capistrano (SS)
2. Desert Christian, Lancaster (SS)
3. St. Joseph-Notre Dame, Alameda (NC)
4. Woodcrest Christian, Riverside (SS)
5. Flintridge Prep, La Canada Flintridge (SS)
6. San Francisco University, San Francisco (NC)
7. Xavier Prep, Palm Desert (SS)
8. Thacher, Ojai (SS)
9. Chadwick, Palos Verdes Peninsula (SS)
10. Pasadena Poly, Pasadena (SS)

DIVISION I GIRLS
Notes:  The only certainty here is that Great Oak is the top squad. After that, plenty
of questions loom. Can Sac Clemente improve its depth? We'll have to see. Can
Dana Hills get healthy? Most likely, but they won't force it. Is Ventura as good as
we're projecting? We believe so. 
1. Great Oak, Temecula (SS)
2. Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo (SS)
3. San Clemente (SS)
4. Granada, Livermore (NC)
5. Buchanan, Clovis (CE)
6. Ventura (SS)
7. Arcadia (SS)
8. Torrey Pines, San Diego (SD)
9. Vista (SD)
10. Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills (SJ)

DIVISION II GIRLS
Notes:  The ten teams listed below are collectively stronger than not only every
other section/regional/class in the country this year, it'll also be even stronger than
some of the NXN Regional Championships. YIKES! Powerful Sultana has now
taken up new residence behind "The Big Seven", but gets its chance to make it
the Great Eight when its freshmen fortified crew takes on #7 Woodbridge at
Yucaipa this weekend.
1. Simi Valley (SS)
2. La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad (SD)
3. Saugus, Santa Clarita (SS)
4. Tesoro, Las Flores (SS)
5. Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach (SS)
6. Redondo Union, Redondo Beach (SS)
7. Woodbridge, Irvine (SS)
8. Sultana, Hesperia (SS)
9. Thousand Oaks (SS)
10. Foothill, Santa Ana (SS)

DIVISION III GIRLS
Notes:  Campolindo looked very impressive in roaring to the divisional win at
Stanford with Carrie Verdon showing excellent fitness. Palos Verdes, however,
has shown to be slightly strong this fall and it creates for a very intriguing
showdown in Fresno come late November. Vista Del Lago looked superb at
Stanford and that was without super talent Clare Carroll, who has been nursing
an injury. With her in the mix, three teams could mix it up! Cathedral Catholic
looked very good at Mt. Carmel, but looked nowhere near as strong at Stanford.
1. Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates (SS)
2. Campolindo, Moraga (NC)
3. Vista Del Lago, Folsom (SJ)
4. Acalanes, Bonita, La Verne (NC)
5. Corona del Mar, Newport Beach (SS)
6. Cathedral Catholic, San Diego (SD)
7. Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego (SD)
8. Santa Margarita, Rancho Santa Margarita (SS)
9. Bonita, La Verne (SS)
10. San Luis Obispo (SS)

DIVISION IV GIRLS
Notes:  The most dangerous squad here might be San Lorenzo Valley. JSerra
is excellent but has some youth while Harvard-Westlake needs to work on its
depth after a great 1-2 punch. La Reina was missing multiple key girls at
Stanford, so don't read too much into their results there. The division does lack
some quality depth at this point in the season, but there's plenty of time!
1. JSerra, San Juan Capistrano (SS)
2. Harvard/Westlake, North Hollywood (SS)
3. San Lorenzo Valley, Felton (CC)
4. La Reina, Thousand Oaks (SS)
5. Mayfield, Pasadena (SS)
6. Flintridge Sacred Heart, La Canada Flintridge (SS)
7. El Segundo (SS)
8. Arcata (NC)
9. Del Norte, San Diego (SD)
10. Half Moon Bay (CC)

DIVISION V GIRLS
Notes:  Several programs have been nursing injuries, been missing runners, or
have taken selective competitive approaches in recent outings, making it a bit
misleading to some to just follow the raw results without some closer analysis.
Previously unranked Crystal Springs Upland was the big mover here after a
nice performance at Stanford, moving in at #7.
1. San Francisco University, San Francisco (NC)
2. Chadwick, Palos Verdes Peninsula (SS)
3. Thacher, Ojai (SS)
4. Xavier Prep, Palm Desert (SS)
5. Marin Academy, San Rafael (NC)
6. College Prep, Oakland (NC)
7. Crystal Springs Uplands, Hillsborough (CC)
8. Pasadena Poly, Pasadena (SS
9. Branson, Ross (NC)
10. St. Margaret’s, San Juan Capistrano (SS)