SGV Girls Rankings II: Arcadia Out in Front

Again, this is why we run the races.  Arcadia ran very well in the tough Mt.SAC Team Sweepstakes, turning in the SGV’s best performance of the weekend.  Unlike the boys, where several ranked team’s stumbled on the famous 2.93-mile course, the girls teams all either surged forward or held their places.  Also unlike the boys, where there are some rather large gaps between teams in the rankings, the first five schools are very closely matched, as are the next four.

Mayfield, Glendora, and Claremont all had exceptional days, confirming their rankings.   Walnut and Rosemead had excellent performances at the Invite to move into the rankings – the Mustangs will challenge #5 Bonita for the Hacienda League while the Panthers are heavy favorites in the Mission Valley.

Flintridge Sacred Heart and El Rancho both ran well, but didn’t make the improvement needed to stay in the top ten, ranking very narrowly behind Rosemead, along with a resurgent Whittier.

SGV Girls Cross Country Rankings – #2/Post-Mt.SAC

1. Arcadia – Div. I (#3) – Arcadia rebounded from a tough week of racing twice over hard courses with the SGV’s best performance at Mt.SAC, improving by over 90 seconds from the previous week.  They’ll face a tough League Finals challenge and will need to progress to stay tops in the SGV
2. Mayfield – Div. IV (#4) – Confirmed their quality with a solid third in the Div. IV sweeps and the best SGV time on Friday.  The Cubs move from strength to strength as they’re ranked #2 in the CIF-SS this week.
3. Glendora – Div. II (#2) – A strong third in the first heat of the very tough Div. II races.  Their tight 1-5 gap and strength at Mt.SAC will help them in the big races to come.  Twice winners in the Baseline League, they’ll be challenged by Div. I ranked Rancho Cucamonga at Mt.SAC on Tuesday.
4. Claremont – Div. II (#8) – Confirmed their status as a team for tough courses with an excellent finish in the heat on Saturday afternoon.  They’ll have to run well to advance out of the loaded Sierra League on Tuesday at Mt.SAC.
   
5. Bonita – Div. III (#1) – Choosing not to run Sweeps at Mt.SAC, the Bearcats won their heat early on Friday.  Their performance was a very slight step back on a weekend where other teams surged forward.  Could be challenged by Walnut at the Hacienda League Final.
6. La Cañada – Div. III (#5) – Chose to run the flat Dog Days of Fall meet instead of Mt.SAC and were narrowly second there.  They’ll have a league deciding rematch with South Pasadena at Lacy Park on Thursday.
7. Walnut – Div. I (NR) – Led by two frosh and a soph, the Mustangs are excellent up front, but will need 4-7 to get closer to contend.  Nevertheless, an excellent 1-7 performance Saturday morning at Mt.SAC.  Next, they’ll try to unseat Bonita from atop the Hacienda League at Mt.SAC on Thursday
   
8. South Hills – Div. III (#6) – A bit of an off day at Mt.SAC, but the Huskies are still ranked in Div. III, so they’ll receive and at-large CIF bid regardless of their finish at the Sierra League.  Their scoring group has changed from week to week, they’ll need all five running well to advance at CIF.
9. South Pasadena – Div. III (#7) – Ran well at Mt.SAC in the Div. III sweeps, but their team time hides a pretty big 1-5 gap.  As with several others, they’ve moved down because other teams have moved up.
10. Rosemead – Div. III (NR) – Dropped easily their best performance of the year at Mt.SAC to move into the final spot in the rankings, but they’ll need to take another big step to stay there.