MileSplit50 Girls Team Rankings Countdown

No. 12 Bozeman (MT)

Analysis: While Bozeman's 11-year state championship run was snapped last year by upstart Hellgate (MT), chances are it ain't happening again this year. The Hawks, who finished second in Montana's Class 2A meet, return their top five girls from last season and six out of the varsity seven, including state runner-up Terra Trom and fourth-place Alex Moore -- both seniors in 2019. You can bet Bozeman is motivated not only to secure itself another state title, but to also compete with Bend Summit (OR), which came out of NXR Northwest in 2018 to win a Nike Cross Nationals title. Bozeman has the potential to get to Portland once again behind those two seniors. Last year's average time for this year's top returners is 18:38.43, and importantly, the spread was just 67 seconds. Bozeman has history competing on a national level, though it finished just sixth at last year's NXR Northwest meet. This year's sneaky team to jump up the rankings is also from the Northwest, though it isn't Summit -- it's Bozeman. 

Biggest question:  Can Bozeman put together an elite pack to compete nationally? 

A high-flying pack has the potential to make the Hawks a really dangerous team on a national scale. While most teams don't feature a blue-chip recruit like Katelyn Tuohy or Katelynne Hart, championship-level squads like Summit, F-M and Wayzata feature well rounded casts which complement one another -- and can lift each other up when it matters most. Bozeman has the potential. But if this team wants to compete at that level, it has to be five scorers, not three or four.