Week 2 XC Rankings - Week of 9/13/21

VTHSXC.COM Boys Vermont HS Cross Country Poll Results -Sept. 13, 2021

Boys Overall Top 10

1.BFA/U32

2.

3. CVU

4..Essex

5. SB

6.Craftsbury/St. Jay

7.

8. Montpelier

9. Midd

10. MMU/Harwood

Comments:

A bird in hand vs two in the bush? The old proverb well describes the coach's voting this week. Both undefeated #1 BFA and #1U32 received multiple votes for the top spot. While BFA has proven they are the real deal, including defeating the Raiders, some coaches seem to think that U32 has a higher eventual upside. Time will tell. The Manchester Invite on Sept 25th will be the next time these teams go head to head. Look for #3 CVU to push for the top spot as they have both a front runner in Servin and a strong and improving pack.

The middle of the rankings are even more confused than the top spots. Four teams occupy the next three spots with #4 Essex, #5SB, #6Craftsbury and #6St. Jay all getting votes in various places. The Chargers may be the story of the year as the tiny D3 school has assembled a top 5 able to compete with and perhaps beat the state's traditional D1 powers, schools with 5 times as many students as CA. Look for the Chargers to make a serious run for a New England’s spot this year.

The third tier, #8 Montpelier, #9 Midd, #10 MMU,and #10 Harwood are also super close together. These four, and likely others,could move up as the year progresses. Harwood has a legendary coach and Montpelier is very young, both of these variables augur well for major in season improvement.

On the individual side Evan Thornton-Sherman is the best runner in the state on both the track and the grass. Last Tuesday he ran solo to a course record 16;09 on the hilly U32 course. On Saturday he cruised to a 27 second victory over a solid field. While Servin, Tremblay, Mashtare, Hanson, Cilwik and Smart may dream of being overall state champ they will have to beat “ETS” to make that happen. Easier said than done.

Division 1 Boys Top 5

1. BFA

2. CVU

3. Essex

4. SB

5. St.Jay

Division 2 Boys Top 5

1. U32

2. Montpelier

3. Midd

4. Harwood

5. Mt. Abe

Division 3 Boys Top 5

1. Craftsbury

2. Bellows Falls

3. Stowe

4. Thetford

5. BFA Fx

VTHSXC.COM Girls Vermont HS Cross Country Poll Results -Sept 13th, 2021

Girls Overall Top 10

1. BHS

2. Harwood

3. EHS

4. CVU

5. SB

6. MMU

7. BFA St Albans

8. Middlebury

9. Bellows Falls

10. U-32

Comments:

The girls overall top 10 really has not changed much in a week. With BHS and Essex running a scrimmage meet and no results available they stay in their spots at #1 and #3. BHS has yet to compete with their full top 7 so they should remain in the top spot until anyone proves they can challenge them when they are fully loaded. Harwood won the Randolph Invitational this weekend besting CVU 31-62. Harwood is looking good and has a close group from 2-4 but will need to move their 5 up to contend with the ful BHS squad. Hard to know about Essex with only one set of race results but the rumor was that they had moved closer to BHS this weekend so they are obviously another team to watch for the top spot. CVU will need to move their 2-5 closer to their 9th grade leader Alice Kredell to make any noise against this top 3 but if the past has taught us anything it should be that championships aren’t handed out in September so there's still a long way to go.

South Burlington and MMU are in a very tight battle for the 5 & 6 spots. Both need to close their gaps in their top 5 and they also need to keep a close eye on BFA St Albans behind them. Last week BFA was incomplete so this week was their first race with a complete 7. With Loghan Hughes being a huge low number for them and Lauren Kate Garceau being a solid #2 behind her they just need to get the 3-5 a bit closer and they will be able to change for a top 5 spot.

Middlebury drops down to #8 behind BFA. Bellows Falls stays in the top 10 but it is hard to judge the southern part of the state because of the inability to see many results from that part of the state. U-32 rounds out the top 10 after winning their home meet on Tuesday. With limited results at this point in the season these positions may be in flux for a while but pretty soon there should be some more clarity on where teams belong!

Division 1 Girls Top 5

1. BHS

2. EHS

3. CVU

4. SB

5. MMU

Division 2 Girls Top 5

1. Harwood

2. U32

3. Burr and Burton

4. Midd

5. Lamoille

Division 3 Girls Top 5

1. Bellows Falls

2. BFA Fairfax

3. Rice

4. Hazen

5. ?? Thetford/Randolph