Cross Country: Southern Nevada Mid-Season Updates

We’re half way through the season and heading into the championship phase of the season, starting with Frosh-Soph Championships, October  14^th; and moving to Regionals, October, 30^th;  and State,  November 8^th. 

Few surprises as far as teams heading the field. Here is a Top 10 put together using results from athletic.net. There is a bit of subjectivity involved, but I based the standings from the best performances of teams and individuals racing both 5K and 3M distances. Unlike the Coaches Polls that are published on nvrunnerspace.com, I included all southern Nevada teams (i.e. The Meadow’s girls), not just D-1 and 1A teams.

Boys                                                    Girls

 1. Green Valley                                 1. Centennial

 2. Centennial                                     2. Arbor View

 3. Basic                                              3. Palo Verde

 4. Palo Verde                                                4. Coronado

 5. Arbor View                                   5. The Meadows

 6. Clark                                              6. Green Valley

 7. Shadow Ridge                               7. Foothill

 8. Coronado                                      8. Shadow Ridge

 9. Bishop Gorman                            9. Faith Lutheran

10. Durango                                      10. Desert Oasis

Surprises? Yes, Basic’s boys haven’t been this strong since Larry Burgess retired. And they’re doing it with a team effort, no Top-15 individuals. The other surprise among the boys, for me at least, is Clark; they’re the only 1A team to make the list. No real surprises among girls’ teams. The three Sunset teams leading the way standout, as you’ll see looking at the leading individual runners.

The following dozen runners are having the best seasons so far. For runners on the same teams, I’ve listed them by the “pecking order” on their teams.

Boys                                                    Girls

Dajour Braxton (Centennial)           Alexis Gourrier (Centennial)

Jake Holland (Bishop. Gorman)       Kayla Roberts (Centennial)

Robert Daesler (Bishop Gorman)   Brooke Locey (Desert Oasis)

Austin Rogers (Green Valley)          Madison Fletcher (Arbor View)

Lenny Rubi (Green Valley)              Nicole Snow (Arbor View)

Noah Landers (Palo Verde)             Isabella Sakai (Arbor View)

Garrett Meyer (SECTA)                    Emma Wahlenmaier (Palo Verde)

Josh Nyberg (Valley)                        Tori Landers (Palo Verde)

Jonathan Blaine (Shadow Ridge)    Jeneke Heerema (Meadows)

Tim Myers (Arbor View)                  Ellen Hirshberg (Meadows)

Chase Wood (Faith Lutheran)         Karina Haymore (Foothill)

Flimon Fre (Clark)                            Ingrid Zarate (Del Sol)

These lists too are somewhat subjective. But the names at the top are there for a reason. Braxton and Rogers have the best resumes. Holland and Daesler both ran extremely fast 5K times at a recent invitational in California. They have yet to prove themselves against their Nevada contemporaries. Rubi, the Gator’s #2 runner, gives Green Valley a terrific one-two. He, Myers, and Nyberg are the top sophomores on the list. Noah Landers leads the talented Panthers. Meyer, Wood, and Fre are the leading 1A runners in the South.

Among the top girls, Gourrier is the latest frosh sensation. She and Roberts, last year’s top freshman, will be tested at Regionals and State by the defending state champs, Arbor View, led by Fletcher, Snow, and Sakai. And Palo Verde, who counters with Wahlenmaier, Landers, and a team also deep in veterans. Locey is probably going to State as an individual; it will be her fourth trip. Heerema leads The Meadows team. She and Hirshberg, a freshman, (along with Bailey and Delaney Gosse and Krista Thompson) make the Mustangs a lock to win D-3 State again. Haymore, a sophomore transfer (from Arizona), gives Foothill a good shot of being the third team from Sunrise to qualify for State. Zarate, a newcomer as a junior, is currently the top-ranked D-1A girl in the South.

(Phil Lawton)