The Favorites

Searching For A Storybook Ending

The boys of Fayetteville-Manlius had their season start much like the girls.  25 or so boys came out for the team on that first day of practice.  But that is where the similarities stop.  Past experiences ran strong in a core group of individuals, as 6 of their top 7 were returning from 2013.  They had their frontrunner in Bryce Millar, who had taken distance running up a notch in the track seasons the spring before.  Pete Ryan had the right genes, brother of Nick Ryan, the two-time defending state champion, before the title was passed to his teammate Millar after graduation.  And Kyle Barber had the speed, demonstrated by his big leap in performances over the 400m hurdles on the track, a good indicator that it could translate to strength speed in cross country.  However, a back end was still needed.  Adam Hunt was far off the front in his junior year, and classmate Riley Hughes a mid-race runner for a majority of the season.  Even missing still, was that 6th man insurance policy.  And insurance would be needed, because not 20 miles away, another top team in the country was returning 6 of 7 athletes from the year prior as well.  Liverpool was a very real, and very evident threat, if Fayetteville-Manlius was unable to respond.

However, respond they did, and in a dominant style.  The Stotans race strategy seemed to switch, now focusing on how close the back four could be to Bryce Millar.  The answer was a resounding majority.  Barber's work over the summer had paid off, as did Ryan's.  Hunt, no longer content with seeing a sea of Orange ahead, joined the trio up top, and fifth-man Hughes stayed within contact of the front.  From the gun of the first dual meet of the season, set on September 10th, it was evident that there was a National Powerhouse blooming in Syracuse, with another not far behind.

Consistently strong, the boys of Fayetteville-Manlius ran a season of stories.  Winning McQuaid without their #2.  Smashing the Manhattan Course Record for Five-Man Average by over 12 seconds.  Winning their state meet by over 80 points, finally finding their insurance policy in sophomore Joe Walters.  But the boys of Fayetteville-Manlius had read this story before.  Their 2004 predecessors wrote their own stories before them, however the ending strayed from perfection.  They would finish second to York (IL) at NXN.  In 2014, the boys of Fayetteville-Manlius are back again, looking for that storybook ending.  A slight wake up call at regionals reminded them the story is not yet written.  It is up to them to stamp their signatures on many of their final seasons.

 

The Men In The Mirror

If Great Oak is the opposite to the FM Girls, then American Fork (UT) is the equal to the FM Boys.  They too have had an ever present force in their backyard, in the from of Davis.  What was once a clear victory at States, was now much closer at Regionals, after an off performance.  For those following speed ratings throughout the season, the two programs mirrored each other in composition.  Three guys strong out front, a formidable fourth, and a fifth-man who could handle many teams thirds.  The National Rankings were much of a toss up on top, each team one-upping each other in a rotating fashion.  And finally, both will have their chance to fight for a title that has eluded them by the closest margins.

The seeds of change began in 2007.  In that year, American Fork would finish second in the Utah state meet, and 10th of 17 teams in the first NXN-SW (then NTN-SW) regional championship.  They had never won a state title before, let alone place as high.  Next year, after another second at state, the American Fork team was back at NXN-SW. This time they moved up to fourth.  And finally, after a dazzling invitational season in 2009, American Fork didn't just win the state meet, they crushed the field, winning with only 36 points, 50 points ahead of second-place Pleasant Grove. American Fork boasted three of the top five finishers at state in Austin West, Clayton Young, and Robby Lee.  They've been to NXN ever since, never finishing outside the top ten.  Now in 2014, once again three of the top five finishers in the state in Zac Jacklin, Casey Clinger and McKay Jones, were wearing "AF" across their chests.

They come into NXN as the co-favorites, despite projections.  Unlike the teams they're close to, American Fork has been consistent.  They know how to get every guy in the lineup to fire on all cylinders.  In addition, they'll be coming down from elevation, to help even out the numbers up top.  While not an immediate effect, it will give them an edge after a lifetime of experience.  This race could be very close.  Each team has the experience with racing well at NXN, as evidenced below.  Will one walk up the stairs to the podium, or could another get the honor?

 

NTN / NXN	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
FM	2nd	3rd	X	X	16th	9th	2nd	12th	16th	4th
A Fork	X	X	X	X	X	8th	8th	6th	2nd	7th

 

Searching for Saviors

A funny thing happened one Saturday afternoon, during a stroll through the snow in the unpredictable Northeast.  Two teams, once thought down and out, punched their tickets to Portland, stamped with a strong showing at NXN-NY.  Both teams had significant injuries, that had some question their chances of relevancy all together.  For Saint Anthony's (NY), the injury came from the year prior.  Joe Tucker, brother of All-American Pat Tucker, saw much of his junior season on the track cut short.  Coming into the fall, many were unsure if he would be back running with the team, although any questions were soon answered come the first meet.  For La Salle Academy (RI), the loss came in-season, as Jack Salisbury, the teams #2, tweaked his leg at the ironically named Injury Fund Invitational in Rhode Island.  At regionals, both were back on the line, and both had significant impacts.  Salisbury would finish as the team's third man, amidst an impressive 20-second compression.  Their performance rivaled, and may have even bested, that of Fayetteville-Manlius on the day.  For Tucker, he too was their team's third man, finishing just a step or two off their team's second man.  They proved their Federation performance was no fluke, knocking off Liverpool from an automatic qualifier.  Both teams are in the hunt, and have the legs to pull off another upset.  With one race to go, anything's possible.