Below are the pre-season rankings for CCS Division IV. ScottsValley appears to be the best-combined team in this division as they will attempt to win the boys and girls section titles for the 3rd year in a row. The boy's race seems to be wide open after Scotts Valley. The same may be the case for the girls.
The division breakdowns for all CCS teams can be found at this LINK. The number of teams that qualify for the state meet in each section and division can be found at this LINK.
Division IV Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) Scotts Valley-Lose top 3 from last year's team but a strong track season sets them up to 3-peat here.
1) Scotts Valley-Lose top 3 from last year's team but a strong track season sets them up to 3-peat here.
2) Santa Cruz-Eli Fitchen-Young is the best individual in this Division and will lead team to the state meet.
3) Carmel-Junior Mack Aldi led the 2022 team to a 2nd place finish and will be back to lead another state qualifying team.
4) Archbishop Riordan-State team qualifier in 2022. Will be tested often in WCAL before the section final.
5) Harker-3 strong runners led by Veyd Patil could make this team dangerous with an improved support troop.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Half Moon Bay, Sacred Heart Prep, Saratoga
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Half Moon Bay, Sacred Heart Prep, Saratoga
Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2022 CCS meet time:
Eli Fitchen-Young (1) Santa Cruz 15:24.3
Mack Aldi (4) Carmel 16:05.8
Veyd Patil (7) Harker 16:15.7
Hideto Hara (10) Half Moon Bay 16:34.2
Giovanni Ochoa (11) Gonzales 16:37.3
Eli Fitchen-Young (1) Santa Cruz 15:24.3
Mack Aldi (4) Carmel 16:05.8
Veyd Patil (7) Harker 16:15.7
Hideto Hara (10) Half Moon Bay 16:34.2
Giovanni Ochoa (11) Gonzales 16:37.3
From Division V: Thomas Tasker (7) The King's Academy 16:14.9
1) Scotts Valley-Senior Ashlyn Boothby leads the way for the Falcons as they go for 3 team titles in a row.
2) Carmel-Next best team could give Scotts Valley a challenge with return of 5 of top 6 runners.
3) Half Moon Bay-State team qualifier last year returns top 4 from last year's section final.
4) Sacred Heart Prep-Will need a strong addition to contend for a top 3 spot.
5) San Lorenzo Valley-Historically strong team in this division.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Notre Dame (Belmont), The King's Academy
2) Carmel-Next best team could give Scotts Valley a challenge with return of 5 of top 6 runners.
3) Half Moon Bay-State team qualifier last year returns top 4 from last year's section final.
4) Sacred Heart Prep-Will need a strong addition to contend for a top 3 spot.
5) San Lorenzo Valley-Historically strong team in this division.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Notre Dame (Belmont), The King's Academy
Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2022 CCS meet time:
Ashlyn Boothby (1) Scotts Valley 18:10.5
Ava Ghio (4) Carmel 19:04.2
Ava Decleve (5) Scotts Valley 19:10.1
Deia Kerseg (7) Half Moon Bay 19:50.5
Sophie Cheung (9) Sacred Heart Prep 20:02.9
Ashlyn Boothby (1) Scotts Valley 18:10.5
Ava Ghio (4) Carmel 19:04.2
Ava Decleve (5) Scotts Valley 19:10.1
Deia Kerseg (7) Half Moon Bay 19:50.5
Sophie Cheung (9) Sacred Heart Prep 20:02.9
Please feel free to chime in on the rankings above. I won't be offended if you strongly disagree as the above rankings are meant to be a launching pad for conversation. Fortunately, section titles and state meet berths are decided by the runners themselves. Any impact freshmen that we should know about?
