Class 1A

[greatfuture2come]

Well you missed that whole conversation. I'm not mad. I didn't miss out on anything. I was very happy with the day. And the video you watched was the start, just coming out of the woods after 1 mile, and the finish. Nothing from the woods, the single-file running, or the river the kids ran through. Congrats to Delaney and Viano tho. They won by quite a bit. Maybe they can repeat at state? I think not.

Oh ya, tougher competition makes you a better runner. If I was to win every race with nobody pushing me, I wouldn't get to my best performance. And your 4x4 gator wouldn't have gotten through the 1st mile at Aurora.

And I took 1:20 off of the Edwardsville times. Not just a minute. So be happy. robinson could be, but ya know, the IHSA says what the heck and do whatever they want. Apparently they didn't feel that Olympia, Aurora Christian, or Rochester should go to state.

[xclegand]

and if i'm forrect robinson got 3rd in 2007 there a southern team arent they

[xclegand]

Correct*^^^

[splitman]

Originally Posted by xclegand

and if i'm correct robinson got 3rd in 2007 there a southern team arent they

New poster here...

Yes, you are correct, Robinson did take third behind Winnebago and Elmwood that year. But that was 2007, and this is 2009. Totally different ballgame. Two years can make a huge difference.

The simple fact is that the northern schools are much better on paper than the southern schools this year. Maybe Carlinville or Sparta will surprise us. We don't know. That's why we're all waiting for Saturday's finals to find out. These are predictions, these are opinions.

You think Carlinville is one of the best teams in the state. Well, that's your opinion. Personally, I think they could crack into the top five if they run a great race. Viano and Delaney are great runners, but that 3-5 pack could hurt them and shunt them down in the standings whereas Westmont, Beecher, Sterling, all those teams have a hell of a 1-2 or even 1-2-3 punch and their 4/5 even their 6th men sometimes are no slouches either.

Like it was said in previous pages, this weekend's Class 1A race is going to be very competitive. All the contenders for trophies are going to need their guys on top of their game. A bad day from any one school's top five can shake up things and produce unexpected results.

On another note, I'm surprised no one has posted any predictions for the girls' 1A race yet. Or are you guys still running numbers on them?

[Soloist]

[quote=splitman;3172211]New poster here...

Yes, you are correct, Robinson did take third behind Winnebago and Elmwood that year. But that was 2007, and this is 2009. Totally different ballgame. Two years can make a huge difference.
QUOTE]

AMEN!

[AllOutXC]

You guys from the north obviously have no idea what the Edwardsville course is like. I'm a high school runner and it is without a doubt the toughest course i've ever ran. All you ever run is those flat northern courses like Detweiller. Give the south more credit. Obviously some of em are pretty weak but come on. The top south teams always "exceed your expectations" Don't talk about the south being slow until you come see what we run

[Irun4fun2]

Well, as I agree with you on tha fact the south does exceed expectations, and is underrated a lot. I do believe that Detwillier is in Central Illinois and not the northern part. And your course my be tough, but I'm pretty sure you havent ran Beechers Regional course have you? Or maybe Seneca's course. Seneca has a rope and stairs to go up one of their hills on their course. There are many other courses up north that are super hilly and hard. I think until you run more meets up here, you might want to rethink about how tough your course is compared to others.

[xcruns]

As I make my predictions for state, I will go back onto what I said last week before sectionals. When making these predictions you need to include history as part of your decision. This is what will make calling the Girls race a tough one this year. There seem to be 4 teams in the hunt for the title: Elmwood, Eureka, St. Teresa and Winnebago (sorry Freeburg your 3-4-5 is too far back). And of those four teams, three of them are the top programs in the state. Elmwood, Eureka and Bago are the 3 best-coached teams in the state, and this should be a slugfest. Everyone has talked about the boys this year, but this could be the dream match up for the title! They all three are fairly close to each other in talent, and they all have the tradition of coming on very strong come the first Saturday in November. Any one of the top 4 teams has a shot to win this title. Even though the three top programs are involved, St. Teresa has a great chance to win it all.
1. Eureka – With Gold running well I have to see them as the favorite by a slim margin.
2. Winnebago – They have been the dominant team for the past few years. Don’t count them out this year.
3. Elmwood – They have the experience, and the talent. This could be their year.
4. St. Teresa – They are young! Watch out, they not only could trophy, but they have the ability to win it all.
5. St. Joe – If healthy they could be a contender for a trophy.
6. Oregon – Have really looked to have put it together.
7. Freeburg – Best 1-2 punch in the girls side, but need more of a supporting cast.
8. PORTA – Always run strong at state.
9. Aurora Christian – Could step up and surprise this weekend. They have an outside shot at the top 5.
10. Bloomington Central Catholic – Don’t count these girls out of the top five. They have looked good at times this year.


On the boy’s side, I know everyone is thinking Beecher is the run-away winner. We all know their top two are going to finish in the top 5, so it will come down to if their 4-5 can run with everyone else’s 4-5. Remember what I said about history…Beecher has not ran well at State. Speaking of history, I would not count out the defending Champions Elmwood. They have a solid pack top to bottom, and if they are healthy they could be the team to surprise and pull off the repeat. Canton is also a team that looks poised to make a run at the title. Their Achilles heel might be that their #5 could be back a little too far. So their 1-4 may need to pick it up a bit if they want a shot at the title. Don’t count Carlinville out of the mix either. They have two All State runners, and if they can get a great race from their 3-5 they could also contend for the title. Newman was all the talk early, but has leveled off. They need a big race out of their 3-4 guys to have a chance.
1. Beecher – If they get their big race from their 3-5 they will be this years champion.
2. Elmwood – They were running great at the end of the regular season. If they can do what they have done the last few years come state, they will trophy.
3. Canton – They have flown under the radar all year, and this is when they will show the state how good they actually are.
4. Newman – If they get a big race from 3-5 they could trophy.
5. Carlinville – They match up well with Newman, I just think Newman has a better 3-4 than Carlinville.
6. Westmont – They need to get Ardnt healthy, but their depth could also be an issue.
7. Knoxville – Another team that tends to run well at State.
8. Bureau Valley – Have come on strong at years end.
9. Monticello – Ran strong in mid season, but not as sharp as of late.
10. Robinson – Looked good last week at sectionals.

[Raiders01]

Originally Posted by greatfuture2come

And I took 1:20 off of the Edwardsville times. Not just a minute. So be happy. robinson could be, but ya know, the IHSA says what the heck and do whatever they want. Apparently they didn't feel that Olympia, Aurora Christian, or Rochester should go to state.

Enlighten me. How did the IHSA factor in as to whether or not these teams went to State?

[sweetpea]

Originally Posted by illini1

Your top three are right on if Westmont has regained its early-season form.

Nice to see that somebody finally has some sanity in running the numbers on Carlinville (they will be 6th at best and probably closer to 10th) and Sparta (they'll be lucky to crack the top 12 to 15). Those two are only "strong" in comparison to a pathetic South sectional.

In my opinion, I would put Robinson in 9th, Latin in 10th, Uni High in 11th and SJO in 12th simply because Robinson's first three guys will give them the scoring advantage (as long as their #4 & #5 don't completely crap out) over those pack-type teams at a faster state meet.

Obviously, if Latin, Uni, and SJO run well, they'll be higher. The same can be said for Monticello, BV, Canton and Elmwood. Those seven teams are almost carbon copies of each other, with some variation depending on the strength of the 1st runner and relative weakness of the 5th.

After #12, the rest of the teams aren't worth talking about.

Nice insights. I look for Robinson to be higher. I know that they have had some illness issues. If they get anytbing out of their fifth they will be the second best team to come out of Decatur. Westmont usually has a pretty good state meet and Beecher has not the last couple of years. So that could make a difference. I still believe Beecher is the best team if everyone runs their best. Looks like weather is going to cooperate, so it should be a great meet.