| 30 August 2010
As a former cross-country runner, I have a deep appreciation for the support. This might be the most grueling high school sport there is, but most of these runners don't get any attention until they reach the playoffs. We figured there are some cross country fans that read this blog so we decided to give this a shot. Post your feedback in the comments!
Metro Team Championships: Two-team race
This year it looks like it will be a two-team race for the Metro championship between Seattle Prep and Bishop Blanchet. Both teams had strong showings at the state championships last year with Prep finishing fourth and Bishop Blanchet finishing seventh.
Metro Top Returning Runners
Seattle Prep returns four varsity runners, including senior Sean McDonald who finished 22nd at State. Bishop Blanchet returns three of its varsity runners, including junior stand out Steven Robinson. Robinson owns the second best time out of the field of runners that competed in 3A state last year and placed fourth at the State Track and Field Championships in the 3200m. Two other Metro standouts will be senior Alex Duffy out of O'Dea and senior Abdallahi Abdi from Ingraham.
3A State Team and Individual Outlook
In the state as a whole, North Central is the front-runner again going for their fifth straight championship. Mount Spokane and Everett both placed at State last year and both will be returning five runners. Bellevue, Prep, Lindbergh, and Blanchet all have a strong chance to end up on the podium as well.
I talked to a couple of runners on their predictions for the individual state championship, and in 3A they said three guys stand-out from the rest: Steven Robinson (Bishop Blanchet-12), Casey Adams (North Central-12), and Nathan Weitz (Shadle Park-11).
Here is a list of the top five runners in Metro and in the State going into the season:
Metro (Name, Grade, School, Personal Record)
1. Steven Robinson, 11, Bishop Blanchet, 15:32
2. Abdallah Abdi, 12, Ingraham, 16:07
3. Sean McDonald, 12, Seattle Prep, 16:00
4. Alex Duffy, 12, O'Dea, 16:26
5. Matt Crawford, 12, Seattle Prep, 16:33
3A State (Name, Grade, School, Personal Record)
State (Name, Grade, School, Personal Record)
1. Casey Adams, 12, North Central, 15:31
2. Steven Robinson, 11, Bishop Blanchet, 15:32
3. Nathan Weitz, 11, Shadle Park, 15:47
4. Hunter Johnson, 11, Mount Spokane, 15:50
5. Vince Hamilton, 11, North Central, 16:01
Here are the preseason national rankings
Here is the preseason state coaches poll
