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The annual DyeStat Elite XC Individual Top 25 series (formerly Foot Locker Favorites and renamed given additional options available now) are national and regional rankings of cross-country runners based on distance-running accomplishments to date, with an emphasis on XC and 3200/2M track results, rather than a projection of how the Foot Locker Finals or NXN Finals will turn out (predictions run later in the season).
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Too good to ignore
Oct 9, 2009 Boys Rankings (through Oct. 3 meets)
The Top 25
Rosa's amazing 15:04 at Holmdel makes it impossible to keep him from the top spot, despite the fine efforts of Verzbicas and Wills, and makes for the first change at the top for either gender this year
Story and rankings by SteveU
| Joe Rosa stunned XC fans by smoking Craig Forys CR at Holmdel. Photo John Nepolitan
| It’s tough to justify moving the best of the best down a notch in the rankings, especially when they haven’t lost or really done anything to hurt their standing. While it’s true that Lukas Verzbicas IL has only raced once, a very fast time (14:19.76 4800m) against light competition, he also did an awful lot to justify his preseason ranking. And Zach Wills OH has won three times, including a scintillating 14:54.8 in beating ranked Futsum Zeinasellassie by 19 seconds, missing by only 7 ticks a CR by the redoubtable Chris Derrick.
But the verdict is in, and a new king – Joe Rosa NJ – is being crowned this week, even as he strives for what would be an even more impressive performance than the one that vaulted him to the top. There are a few courses around the country where a course record really, REALLY means something, and Holmdel Park in New Jersey is one of those. The previous 15:16 5k standard on the challenging course, a course used for everything that matters most in one of the sport’s strongest states, was held by one of the best runners of the decade in this country: Craig Forys. It’s hard to imagine that someone could come along and smash it (by 12 seconds) just two years later – and that the someone would also have a twin brother, Jim, that would tie Forys’ mark, too.
The 15:04 Rosa authored last weekend will stand as one of the great XC performances of the decade (at least), nationally – though it could be overshadowed Saturday by the West Windsor-Plainsboro North junior himself, if he sets a new standard at Manhattan, too. For that, plus a previous impressive course record a few weeks earlier at the Briarwood PA Invite, Rosa deserves a #1.
Jim Rosa, meanwhile, also takes a huge jump up with his 15:16 behind his brother – all the way up to #6. Jim, who ran faster times during most of track season than Joe, was seven seconds closer to Joe this week. Watch how the brothers do vis a vis each other is almost as interesting as watching the new standards for excellence each of them comes up with.
Texas Twists – At least five athletes seem to be in the hunt to be recognized as the best in the Lone Star State by the end of the year, and the Nike South meet is usually where it all gets sorted out before the run toward the state championships begins. That will only be partly true this year, with Cedar Park’s US#9 Parker Stinson. Marcus’s #16 Craig Lutz (defending champ), and Klein Oak’s HM Ryan Dohner in the field. But Flower Mound’s US#10 Connor Adams is not, nor is Coronado’s US#14 Donovon Torres.
Of course, Adams and Torres dueled last weekend, with Adams prevailing – 14:53.1-14:55.1 – at McNeil. Adams beat Lutz earlier in the season, though Lutz seems to be getting stronger. Stinson and Dohner haven’t raced any other top contenders yet. Stinson, whose preseason ranking was partly earned due to his 4A state 3200 title in 8:54 and his 10k USATF Jr title, will finally be tested to see if his harrier skills are up to the same level as what he did on the track.
Desert Dancing - Speaking of top in-state clashes, one of the best took place in Mesa AZ over the weekend - The Desert Twilight Distance Festival. Arizona’s ranked national class stars US#5 Brian Shrader and #17 Steve Magnuson (both 2008 Foot Locker Finalists) met for the first time this season, in a field that also included Sherod Hardt, Jose Luis Munoz, and others. The finishing order went about as expected (Shrader, Magnuson, Hardt, Munoz), except coming up for 3rd ahead of Hardt was Catalina Magnet junior Alejandro Montano. Montano was 6th in the 4A-II state meet last year, more than 50 seconds back of Shrader, but is closing the gap.
Hopefully, most of the top Arizona boys will be at Mt. SAC in two weeks, where clashes with the top Californians will further help sort out things nationally. Having other Western stars like Wade Meddles NV, Shane Moscowitz WA, and Cody Helbling ID would help even more. Many of California’s best, in turn, will be racing at Clovis this weekend, with the highest rankers being #7 Eric Olson and #13 Ammar Moussa, in a rematch of their Stanford clash. Previously ranked Garrett Rowe of Mtn View, considered by some to be among the top 2-3 Californians at season’s start, is also expected to be in the field.
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Athlete
| 1. (3) Joe Rosa, 2011, West Windsor-Plainsboro North HS, NJ | 2. (2) Zach Wills, 2011, Mason HS, OH | 3. (1) Lukas Verzbicas, 2012, Sandburg HS, IL | 4. (6) Brian Shrader, 2010, Sinagua HS, AZ | 5. (4) Elias Gedyon, 2011, Loyola HS, CA | 6. (18) Jim Rosa, 2011, West Windsor-Plainsboro North HS, NJ | 7. (8) Erik Olson, 2010, Novato HS, CA | 8. (9) Heyden Wooff, 2011, Camarillo HS, CA | 9. (5) Parker Stinson, 2010, Cedar Park HS, TX | 10. (7) Connor Adams, 2010, Flower Mound HS, TX | 11. (10) Jon Vitez, 2010, Haddonfield Memorial HS, NJ | 12. (12) Shane Moskowitz, 2010, Central Kitsap HS, WA | 13. (13) Ammar Moussa, 2011, Arcadia HS, CA | 14. (NR) Donovan Torres, 2011, Coronado HS, TX
| 15. (14) Futsum Zeinasellassie, 2012, North Central HS, IN | 16. (15) Craig Lutz, 2011, Marcus HS, TX | 17. (22) Steve Magnuson, 2010, Ironwood Ridge HS, AZ | 18. (16) Matt McElroy, 2010, Edison HS, CA | 19. (17) Wade Meddles, 2010, Sierra Lutheran HS, NV | 20. (NR) Brian Atkinson, 2010, Melbourne HS, FL
| 21. (19) Cody Helbling, 2010, Lake City HS, ID | 22. (20) Walter Schafer, 2010, Cherry Creek HS, CO | 23. (NR) Matt Mizereck, 2010, Leon HS, FL
| 24. (24) Tyler Byrne, 2010, North Harrison HS, IN | 25. (25) Scott Fauble, 2010, Wheat Ridge HS, CO | Honorable mention | Mohamed Abushouk NC Dylan Anthony AK Jeff Arnier TX Michael Atchoo MI Reece Ayers PA Luke Baker GA Colin Barker FL Aaron Bartnik MN Aaron Beattie IL Jacob Benn TX Sean Bone MI Michael Brajdic OH Christian Brown Otter ND Kevin Byrne NJ Nick Composto IL Domenic D'Aquisto CA Armando Del Valle FL Alex Dier NY Ryan Dohner TX Hugh Dowdy CA Ryan Eaton KY Travis Edwards CA Jeremy Elkaim NJ Kirubel Erassa GA Phil Fairleigh IL Brendan Farrell NY Dustin Fay CA Erik Fitzpatrick ID Dave Forward NJ Brandon Freyer NY Lukas Gemar MN
| Curtis Hanle OH Sherod Hardt AZ Dan Harris NY Alex Hatz NY Francis Hernandez NH Max Holman MS Jake Hurysz NC Ben Johnston WA Reed Kamyszek MI Will Kellar PA Brett Kelly ND Maksim Korolev MO Anthony Kostelac VA Pat Lesiewicz IL Philip MacQuitty CA James McIllece TX Clint McKelvey TN Anthony Manfrin IL Connor Martin IN James Martin IN Mike Mazzaccaro NJ Colin Mearns VA Brad Miles PA Erick Montoya FL Mitch Moriarity CA Jose Luis Munoz AZ Danny Nicolls CO Drew O'Donahue-McDonald WA Hale O'Herren IN Billy Orman AZ
| David Osborn IN Jantzen Oshier CA Andrew Palmer MD Conner Peloquin WA Drew Perilli NY Vince Perozzi PA Kyle Pittman NM Sam Pons CA Jacob Rainey TN John Raneri CT Heath Reedy CA Daniel Rosales CA Nick Ross RI Garrett Rowe CA Alex Saavedra NY Will Sanford FL Michael Scolarici IL Neal Smith TX Bryan Spreitzer NC Max Straneva NY Blake Theroux VA Adam Thorne WA Otis Ubriaco NY Tyler Udland NJ Justin Vilhauer CA Michael Wallace FL Aaron Watanabe NH Blake Williams NC Nathan Williams NV Mack Young WA Pat Zacharias NM |
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Top 25 Index
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