http://oh.milesplit.us/meets/virtual/2009/cc/hs/m/results?teams=9501,9700,9632,9395,10036,9918,9376,9875,9876,9673,9494,9490,9897,10010,10070,9387,10066&returners=1
Above is the virtual boys meet with all of the Regional Qulifying teams from last year competing along with Springfield Shawnee who I believe will be competitive next year if they are D2 for cross.
Here are my Boys team predictions. It should be very similar to last year. No clear favorite and 5-6 teams of similar talent competing for 4 spots. The contending teams will be basically the same as last year excluding Graham who graduated several key seniors.
1- West Milton- They return 5 runners from last year's team who finished 5th in the Region (only 4 points away from 3rd) and are my favorite to win the title this year. I was trying to decide between them and Brookville, but Milton beat Brookville at League, Districts, and Regionals last year. I think there team will be really hungry to win after finishing 5th at Regionals in XC and 5th in the 4x8 at Districts. The tandem of Sergei Brubaker and Logan Jackson could both place in the top 10. Their top 4 went 17:25, 17:37, 18:02, and 18:08 at last year's Regional. They almost beat Tippecanoe in the District Meet. Their returning top 6 all ran under 18:20 last year.
NO PRESSURE CCRUNNER609, LOL...Do you guys feel like the favorites?
2- Brookville. They return their entire varsity from last year's team who finished 6th in the region and only 8 points away from 4th. Sam Bench will be a front runner. He was a District Champion last year. They return 4 runners under 18 min (3 at Regionals) and their 4-7 runners all ran under 18:40 at some point last year.
3- Unioto- They return 6 runners from last year's team who finished 4th in the Region, losing only their #2 man to graduation. They will also challenge for a title. Adrian Ross will be the favorite individually. Their returning top 5 ran 16:23, 18:17, 18:23, 18:26, and 18:47 at the Regional meet. Their returning top 3 all ran under 17:30 last year and their returning top 7 all ran under 18:23 last year.
4- Tippecanoe- They return only 3 runners from last years championship team, but have a very strong group of underclassmen. Sam Wharton was All-Ohio in XC and finished 7th at state in the 3200 with a 9:35 as a freshman! He should place in the top 3 and possibly challenge for the individual title. Ricky Andrews ran 4:52 as an 8th grader and ran in the low 17s early last season, but was injured during the 2nd half of the cross season and all of track. He has a tear in his knee and had surgery or got a cortisone shot...one of the two. His health will likely be the determining factor on whether they make it to state. Grant Koch ran 17:54 last year and Nick Noone ran 18:11 last year. Michael Landwehr (brother of Katie Landwehr) and Jay Schairbaum both ran sub 5:10 in the 1600 as 8th graders.
5. Oakwood- They return 4 runners from last year's team who finished 3rd in the region. Their returning top 4 went 17:37, 17:59, 18:16, and 18:28 at last year's Regional meet. Their 8th man from last year ran 18:30 and will likely be their 5th man this year.
6. Springfield Shawnee- They didn't qualify to Regionals last year, but they were a very talented young team. They have 7 returning runners who ran sub 18:50 last year, all of whom were underclassmen. Their top 2 runners ran in the mid 17s last year and their whole team has a ton of potential. They had 5 guys break 5 minutes in the 1600 this spring with times of 4:39, 4:45, 4:45, 4:50, 4:51, 5:02, and 5:04. They also have another Greenwood running for them next year who ran 4:56 as an 8th grader.
7. Bellefontaine- They return 4 runners from last year's team who finished 9th in the Region. Their returning top 4 went 18:03, 18:05, 18:19, and 18:40 at the Regional meet last year, but they all ran sub 18 earlier in the year.
8. Alter- They return 6 runners from last year's team who finished 7th in the region. Their top 3 returning runners ran 17:17, 17:59, and 18:31 at the Regional meet last year. That same 3 ran 16:58, 17:17, and 18:22 earlier in the season. However, their returning 4 and 5 runners are very weak.
1st Team All-Region
1. Adrian Ross- Unioto
2. Sam Wharton- Tippecanoe
3. Sam Bench- Brookville
4. Todd Hewitt- Eaton
5. Jon McMaken- Graham
6. David Severance- Alter
7. Sergei Brubaker- West Milton
Girls
http://oh.milesplit.us/meets/virtual/2009/cc/hs/f/results?teams=9376,9875,9707,9792,9501,10189,9682,9378,9419,10036,9632,10070,9494,9383,10148,9395&returners=0
Above is the link for the virtual meet.
There are three locks in my opinion: Alter, Bellbrook, and Greenon. Alter will win a 7th straight title and Bellbrook and Greenon will battle for 2nd. 4th is wide open in my opinion but I think it again will come down to Tipp and Carroll. So, basically it is a repeat of Regionals last year.
1. Alter- What is there to say? They return their entire varsity team and will win a 7th straight Regional Title. They'll have 2 girls in the top 5 in Olivia Albers and Untener Grace. Their 5th girl went 21:22 at the Regional meet.
2. Bellbrook- They finished 2nd last year and only graduate their 7th runner. Courtney Swain will finish in the top 10 and their 5th runner ran 21:28 last year at Regionals. Their 3-5 can compete with Alter's 3-5, but Alter is too strong at 1 and 2.
3. Greenon- They finished 3rd last year and only graduate their 5th runner. Mary Wenzell will finish in the top 10 and their 4th runner ran 21:36 at the Regional meet. They will need their 5th runner to step up if they want to challenge Bellbrook for 2nd.
4. Tippecanoe- They graduate their 2, 5, and 6 runners from last years team. They have finished 5th at Regionals the last 2 years and I think this is the year they could get over the hump. I think Byron Kimmel will make them put in the work because if they don't, then he wont be too kind to them. Katie Landwehr SHOULD win the region, but who knows with her. She's ran poorly the last 2 years and has then came back to run great at State. They have a decent 2-3 punch in Peyton Miller and Jenna Kremer (21:44 and 21:48 at Regionals), but will need production from their 4 and 5 runners.
5. Carroll- They graduate their 1, 2, 5, and 7 runners but are a bigger school and seem to get great new runners ever year. They are projected to get 4th in the virtual meet. They have a good top 3 but also need production from their 4 and 5 runners. Their top 3 appears to be stronger than Tipp's in the virtual meet, but Tipp's top 3 returning girls outperformed them at Regionals.
First Team All-Region
I don't even want to guess because I'll be so wrong.