4A Girls Rankings
By: Ryan Raposo, John A. Ferguson HS, [email protected]
Team Rankings:
Commentary: Here is the beginning of the season team rankings. Looking at last year’s results, minus the seniors, plus strong track & field seasons, are what give us this very early season guesstimate. The top few schools look to be a lock, and then it’s a jumble from there! As usual, I will rank the top six teams from each region, 24 teams total, simulating a mock state meet structure. However, I’m sure there will be many changes and jumps in the next couple of weeks. Good luck this season everyone!
(Note: After looking at Week 1 results, a few very solid performances have shook up any type of preseason ranking, however, I will still use last year’s results to help fill in the gaps for most of the schools, and I will also guess that not every top team has been running all of their athletes just yet. Region 4 hasn’t even raced at all!)
Rank. (2014 State Finish) Team, Region = Comments
1. (1) Winter Park, 1 = The defending 4A State Champions return their entire squad from a year ago, plus a few new studs to add to the mix. Look for them to be shooting for a few state records this year! Go Wildcats!
T-2. (8) Dr. Phillips, 1 = The Panthers have been set-up to be the other podium team since last season, as they also return their entire squad. However, Sarasota has shifted into 4A and could possibly disrupt their goals.
T-2. (4, 3A) Sarasota, 2 = Welcome to 4A, Sailors! After a strong finish in the 3A meet last year, this squad has a legitimate shot at making the podium if they can catch DP. It really looks like a two-team race for second.
4. (3) Lourdes, 4 = After a strong performance at last year’s state meet, along with a great showing this track season in all of the distance events, the Bobcats look to stay as a top five team once again for 2015.
5. (NR) Plant, 2 = They’re baaaaaack! Never count out Coach Harrison and his Panther girls. They had a fantastic track season, a few girls really matured well, and they’ve opened the new season with a bang!
6. (NR) West Orange, 1 = They look fantastic in the computers, both last year and to start this year, but it’s not the rankings that matter if these Warriors want to be at the state meet this year and finishing in the top ten!
7. (NR) George Jenkins, 2 = Another team that came up a little short at the end of last year, the Eagles were another team with a strong track season that has them poised to be in the top ten hunt for this season.
8. (11) Sarasota Riverview, 2 = Narrowly missing their top ten goal in 2014, I know the Rams put in the work in the spring and in the summer and now they’re ready to bounce back into the top ten this season.
9. (13) Hagerty, 1 = The Huskies are coming back with a strong team and have opened the season well. If they can make it out of the Region of Death, top ten is a definite possibility.
10. (NR) Spruce Creek, 1 = Although they weren’t at the state championship last year, the Hawksput together a pretty good opening season meet and look to be able clear the ROD for now!
11. (4) Winter Springs, 1 = One of the top performing teams from last year, the Bears didn’t quite have the best track season and opened this past weekend a little slower than I thought they would be.
12. (15) Wharton, 2 = The Wildcats are coming off a very strong track & field season and although not currently ranked in the top ten, with a small push they can easily get there.
13. (5) North Port, 2 = A small drop off from last year’s final ranking as these Bobcats didn’t quite have the best track season or opening XC weekend either, similar to Winter Springs.
14. (2) St. Thomas Aquinas, 4 = Although they have the top end talent to be a top team, the combination of their #2 and #3 not running track and a coaching transition, drops the Raiders out of the top ten.
15. (9) Ferguson, 4 = Coming off a great track season like many of the above teams, these Falcons need to convert their track skills to the XC course. There is lots of upward potential for this team.
16. (17) Vero Beach, 3 = A fairly good track season and a fairly good opening season meet puts these Fighting Indians in the middle of the state pack, but more importantly, at the top of Region 3.
17. (15) Coral Reef, 4 = The Barracudas are coming off of a tough track & field season, along with three of their top girls having pretty big injuries. If they can get healthy, they’ll move up quickly.
18. (NR) Park Vista, 3 = The Cobras have started off 2015 fairly well and have put themselves in the hunt for a chance at the Region 3 podium finish, trying to hold off some close competition.
19. (NR) Boca Raton, 3 = The third Bobcat team on our list, these girls are also right in the mix for Region 3 dominance, if they can keep their eyes on the teams just ahead of them.
20. (22) Wellington, 3 = The Wolverines look to be a top twenty team, but don’t have much room for upward mobility unless they can challenge the teams in their own region.
21. (18) Jupiter, 3 = The Warriors are coming off a great finish at the state meet from last year, but losing their top athlete drops them down into the bottom tier, just missing out on top 20.
22. (16) Douglas, 3 = Even more drastic than Jupiter, these Eagles currently look to be the last qualifying team from the easiest Region. They have a lot of work to do if they want to repeat last year’s success.
23. (24) Coral Gables, 4 = Although they’re not coming from the easiest region, the Cavaliers benefit from being in a region without a lot of depth. They’d need a ton of luck on their side to push out of the bottom tier.
24. (23) Cooper City, 4 = Same as above, these Cowboys have the luxury of being in a region without depth, which means there is always a spot or two available to sneak in to the state meet with a decent performance.
Boxed Out (in no particular order):
Fleming Island, 1 ; Lake Brantley, 1 ; Lake Mary, 1 ; Olympia, 1 ; Mandarin, 1 ; Lakewood Ranch, 2 ; Newsome, 2
Individual Rankings:
Commentary: Here are the individual pre-season rankings! These rankings are based off of returning XC performances from 2014, as well as track performances in 2015 (which I always place a heavy emphasis on). Any girl with an *asterisk by their name is someone who I expect to have a break-out season! Keep an eye out for them as well as the girls listed at the bottom. Once we get further into the racing season I’m sure there will be a few shake-ups as well as new freshmen studs cracking the list. Have a great start to the season ladies!
Rank. Name, Grade – Team = Returning Rank 5k / 3200m / 1600m; Last Year’s Times; Comments
1. Rafaella Gibbons, 10 – Winter Park = 1 / 1 / 4; 17:39 / 10:42 / 5:02; Defending 4A State Champion 5k & 3200m!
2. Kayley Delay, 11 – Fletcher = 3 / 3 / 1; 17:58 / 10:53 / 4:57; She continues to amaze and can hang with almost anyone!
3. Alexa Cruz, 12 – St. Thomas Aquinas = 2 / 2 / 5; 17:56 / 10:48 / 5:03; Former 4A State Champion 5k & 3200m!
4. Sinclaire Johnson, 12 – Lake Brantley = 4 / 9 / 2; 18:03 / 11:28 / 4:59; Two-time 4A State Champion 1600m & 800m!
5. *Daniela Urzua, 11 – Lake Mary = 6 / 4 / 30; 18:33 / 11:07 / 5:25; Break-out season!
6. *Sabrina Quijano, 11 – Lourdes = 11 / 5 / 9; 18:57 / 11:09 / 5:13; Break-out season!
7. *Bailey Hertenstein, 10 – Riverview = 12 / 7 / 3; 18:58 / 11:19 / 5:01; Break-out season!
8. Hana Herdon, 11 – Winter Park = 5 / 8 / 15; 18:29 / 11:27 / 5:17; Count the Wildcats… #2
9. Katherine Kuhn, 12 – Winter Park = 6 / X / 6; 18:33 / X / 5:03; Count the Wildcats… #3
10. *Emily English, 11 – George Jenkins = 17 / 6 / 7; 19:11 / 11:16 / 5:04; Break-out season!
11. Elizabeth Jenkins, 11 – Winter Park = 8 / 12 / 12; 18:38 / 11:34 / 5:14; Count the Wildcats… #4
12. *Megan Hannah, 10 – West Orange = 20 / 10 / 14; 19:15 / 11:28 / 5:16; Break-out season!
13. Janet Annika Sison, 12 – Dr. Phillips = 9 / 11 / 16; 18:53 / 11:33 / 5:17; Top ten potential!
14. *Isabella Whelan, 12 – Buchholz = 24 / 14 / 19; 19:23 / 11:44 / 5:20; Break-out season!
15. *Sage Lyons, 11 – Sarasota = 28 / 16 / 18; 19:29 / 11:46 / 5:19; Break-out season!
Be on the lookout for these top returnees from XC and TF last year!
> Amber Pierce, 12 – Jupiter = #13 XC returnee
> Emily Nix, 12 – Winter Park = #14 XC returnee
> Victoria Jung, 12 – George Jenkins = #15 XC returnee
> Nicolette Worrell, 11 – Hagerty = #16 XC returnee
> Annika Mursten, 11 – Douglas = #19 XC returnee
Top returning XC girls that didn’t run track in 2015 (if someone has the scoop, let me know!)
> Lily Kloepfer, 12 – St. Thomas Aquinas = #10 XC returnee
> Danielle Van Liere, 11 – Fletcher = #18 XC returnee
> Briana Burnett, 11 – Timber Creek = #21 XC returnee
> Jaina Hawkins, 11 – Winter Springs = #25 XC returnee
Names you might not have heard of before, but you probably will very soon…
> Kaitlyn Solris, 11 – University = #8 returning 1600m runner (5:12)
> Gillian Minnehan, 11 – Plant = #11 returning 1600m runner (5:14)
> Bryanna Rivers, 11 – Wharton = #13 returning 1600m runner (5:16)
> Mackenzie Brown, 11 – Sarasota = #17 returning 1600m runner (5:19)
> Nicole Mcconnell, 10 – Monarch = #13 returning 3200m runner (11:39)
> Meaghan Slack, 11 – Mandarin = #15 returning 3200m runner (11:46)
> Anna Grzeszczak, 12 – Mandarin = #17 retuning 3200m runner (11:47)
> Kaylee Alfaro, 11 – Ferguson = #18 returning 3200m runner (11:49)
> Jamie Ivey, 12 – Dr. Phillips = #21 returning 3200m runner (11:57)
