We're Sold on Great Oak's Boys, and They're Not the Only Ones
I have to admit, I thought that maybe the Wolfpack men were just a touch over-ranked coming into the meet. Don't get me wrong, I felt they were definitely in contention for best team in the state, but a #3 national rankings seemed maybe 3-4 spots too high based on what we've seen so far, especially after losing to previously unranked Timpanogos at Bob Firman.
Now, though, I am official on the Great Oak bandwagon. Running without one of their top 3 in Isaac Cortes, the Wolfpack still took home an 81-117 over Dana Hills. Spencer Dodds led the way with a 3rd-place finish, running 15:08 - 29 seconds faster than he ran on the same course last November. Cole Spencer was only two places behind at 15:19, a 30-second PR and a whopping 1:16 faster than his 2014 state meet time! If Cortes can run close to those two up front, this is a team with serious NXN potential.
Speaking of Dana Hills, they're also quite good. In my preview article I spoke about the mystery surrounding the Dolphins, who had either been at less than full strength or running against weaker competition up to this point of the season. They were truly tested for the first time in Fresno Saturday, and by just about any standard they passed, finishing 2nd in a field that included 5 nationally-ranked teams. The thing is, Dana Hills has yet to have its top 3 put it all together in the same race; this weekend Mason Coppi led the way and Jake Ogden had arguably his best race of the season, but Jack Landgraf did not run well. When all three click on the same day, this will be an extremely formidable team.
Jesuit is also for real. Sean Kurdy looked like he was back to full strength, and the Marauders finished third in this loaded race, defeated several teams that will be in the top 5 of their respective divisions when everyone gets back to Woodward Park later this season. Their score of 135 was only 18 points behind Dana Hills, and Jesuit was nearly 100 points behind the cluster of teams that finished 4th through 7th (all of which are really good, by the way).