| Top Ten NEO Teams Regardless of Division Third Rankings - Oct. 4th, 2002 |
| 1. ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY - Their balance is amazing and with the emergence and progression of some younger runners they will only get better. Wolff looks to be improving and led the SJA B squad to a win at the Patriot while the A team took second in the tough invitational seeded race at Great American. 2. STRONGSVILLE - Won an empty McQuaid invitational big as they should have. Starting to get some support from 3-5. Still have a ways to go to catch the top 5 in d1. 3. JACKSON - A team with tremendous potential that can't seem to get it together all the way. Still won Stark county. 4. BEAUMONT - Continuing their climb up the rankings. They beat CVCA and Perry at Medina with their 4th runner being on the B team and thus not counting and with several runners not at 100%. 5. MEDINA - Won their own invite in a landslide. Jendre seems to be tiring, but Gorsek is starting to emerge in XC and Ward and the younger Snell are coming into their own. 6. NORTH CANTON HOOVER - Second at Stark County to Jackson. They are quietly putting together a good team at Hoover. No true superstar, just solid performers in McCourt, Bourlas, et.al. 7. CVCA - A strong second at Medina. They'll need their pack to really drop to hold off a surging Perry squad and to stay close to Beaumont. 8. PERRY - Fick and Pirc are back, but nowhere near 100%. However, if they come on strong in the next 4 weeks, it's suddenly a 5 way struggle for the d2 title with Beaumont, Taylor, MicNic, and Wyoming. 9. KENT ROOSEVELT - Kent is back to being it's BiPolar self. If they get the same girl to run well two weeks in a row, let me know. But as it is, Sloan's lone consistency is enough to bring them along. 10. MAGNIFICAT - Chambers is looking tougher every week. But she needs to get some help if the team wants to get anywhere. OTHERS: St. Thomas Aquinas, GlenOak, McDonald, Brecksville, Brunswick, Gilmour Academy, Boardman, Hudson. |