By Michael Newman

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Each week, we will be published an updated list of who we see are in the top 25 for both the Boys and the Girls. Regional lists have been increased to 10 schools and will be published every week up to the Nike Cross Nationals in December.

You can find updated lists each week on ILXCTF.com.

Top 25 Boys National Lists | Top 10 Boys Regional Lists

Notes

#2 Great Oak (CA) showed that they will push for the National Championship in December after a convincing win at the Roy Griak Invitational last Saturday. The Wolfpack was impressive with Carlos Carvajal (3^rd), Gabriel Abbes (5^th), and Jacob Korgan (7^th) finishing in the top ten with their top 5 runners in the first 24. The spread on their top five was only 33 seconds. #6 Wayzata (MN) packed it up and was the closest team to Great Oak as they scored 75 points to finish second. Even though one of their top runners Grant Price did not have a great race and was the team’s sixth runner, Wayzata still put their top 5 within the first 25 runners led by Khalid Hussein (11^th) and Andrew Brandt (12^th). The spread for their top five was only 13 seconds. It was Great Oak’s top three that was the difference.

The Bob Firman Invitational produced a tie as Utah rivals #7 Timpanagos and #4 Springville both posted scores of 96 points. Timpanagos won on the sixth-runner tiebreaker as Tyler Weber finished 62^nd. Brennan Benson (7^th) and Ben Berlin (15^th) led Timpanagos with top 20 finishes as their team ran a 61 second spread on their top five. Led by the fourth-place finish from Brandon Garnica, Springville was stronger through four runners as they placed 4 in the top 21 compared to Timpanagos 4 in the top 29. It was the fifth and sixth runners that were the keys for Timpanagos. The top five spread for Springville was 79 seconds. #18 Central Valley (WA) and #16 Bozeman (MT) were a strong third and fourth in the meet. Keep an eye on Bozeman, led by Duncan Hamilton who has the potential to finish in the top 21 at NXN, after his third-place finish in this meet.

Don’t sleep on #3 Milton (GA) after demolishing the field at the Winged Foot Classic outside of Atlanta. The Eagles have a strong top three as demonstrated in this meet as their top three runners finished in the first four. Sam Bowers led the team finishing second while also running under 15 minutes. Nicholas Yanek (3^rd) and Michael Malikowski (4^th) were within 40 seconds of Bowers in this race as their team had a 67 second spread on their top five. Their next big meet is the Furman Gene Mullin Invitational on October 7.

#9 Christian Brothers (NJ) started their season on a strong note as they won the Varsity I race at the Bowdoin Park Classic. Brian Hill led his team with a second-place finish. Their top five spread of 66 seconds will come down as the season progresses.

Three schools entered the top 25 this week. We already have mentioned Bozeman and their performance in Idaho. #11 Dana Hills (CA) opened their season in earnest at their own invitational led by the individual win from Jack Landgraf as he ran a fast 14:17 on Dana Hills’ 3-mile course. The Dolphins should be a team to watch in the chase for the California D1 State Championships at the end of November. #23 Blue Springs (MO) ran their best race this season in winning the Rim Rock HS Classic led by the individual win from Victor Mugeche and fifth-place finish from Oaklee Hauschild. It could be rough for this team to get out of the tough Midwest Regional in November. Their gap from their front two and the pack was 46 seconds with their top five spread at 105 seconds.