Cross Country Season on Flotrack 2013Dec 10, 2013 by Isaac Wood
Which is the best state at XC?
Which is the best state at XC?
The Wood Report might be over for cross country, but you can still follow statistics guru Isaac Wood all year on his blog. His analysis track and field is unparalleled and according to the ladies of Florida State, he's quite the singer too. If really like to stay updated, be sure to follow him on Twitter too.
Every year, there seems to be a debate over which state produces the best cross country runners in the country. Of course, most states believe that they put out the best harriers around and they probably have some good logic to back up their argument. This year as I tuned in to the NXN and Foot Locker races, I started thinking the same thing. Which state really is the best at turning out the highest quality of cross country runners per capita?
- Click here to view the boys list (below).
- Click here to view the girls list (below).
So I decided to do some research. I came up with a criteria that I found to be a fair assessment of the top runners in the country. I took the results of the top-50 finishers from each Foot Locker Regional and the top-100 runners at NXN. Foot Locker is usually more oriented towards individuals and NXN more towards the team race (although some athletes are doing both and the trend is leaning towards NXN for individuals than Foot Locker anyway).
Based on the elite teams and individuals at NXN, I believe that the top-100 runners at NXN were most likely the highest quality of athletes in the race. Also, the top-50 from the Foot Locker Regional races makes sense to use because there are four regionals and of the four, only one lands on the same day as NXN (West).
After compiling the nearly 300 names per gender, I sorted the spreadsheet by state and came up with how many athletes from each state met the given criteria. With the number of athletes qualifying for the list, I then took the population of each state (there are other factors to consider when researching the best cross country running state in the country, but population across the board seems reasonable) and found how many runners in the given state met the criteria of the list per every 1,000,000 people.
Editor's Note: We thought about asking Isaac to change his criteria to reflect state gender population, but the results would have been pretty similar anyway. If you're interested, here's the census.
The number associated with the state is the amount of people per 1 million individuals that live in the state who are some of the elite high school runners in the country. The beauty of running is that you can either run that fast or you can’t and at the end of this week, the entire country will know, at least what region, in the U.S. has the best high school cross country runners in the land.
Every year, there seems to be a debate over which state produces the best cross country runners in the country. Of course, most states believe that they put out the best harriers around and they probably have some good logic to back up their argument. This year as I tuned in to the NXN and Foot Locker races, I started thinking the same thing. Which state really is the best at turning out the highest quality of cross country runners per capita?
- Click here to view the boys list (below).
- Click here to view the girls list (below).
So I decided to do some research. I came up with a criteria that I found to be a fair assessment of the top runners in the country. I took the results of the top-50 finishers from each Foot Locker Regional and the top-100 runners at NXN. Foot Locker is usually more oriented towards individuals and NXN more towards the team race (although some athletes are doing both and the trend is leaning towards NXN for individuals than Foot Locker anyway).
Based on the elite teams and individuals at NXN, I believe that the top-100 runners at NXN were most likely the highest quality of athletes in the race. Also, the top-50 from the Foot Locker Regional races makes sense to use because there are four regionals and of the four, only one lands on the same day as NXN (West).
After compiling the nearly 300 names per gender, I sorted the spreadsheet by state and came up with how many athletes from each state met the given criteria. With the number of athletes qualifying for the list, I then took the population of each state (there are other factors to consider when researching the best cross country running state in the country, but population across the board seems reasonable) and found how many runners in the given state met the criteria of the list per every 1,000,000 people.
Editor's Note: We thought about asking Isaac to change his criteria to reflect state gender population, but the results would have been pretty similar anyway. If you're interested, here's the census.
The number associated with the state is the amount of people per 1 million individuals that live in the state who are some of the elite high school runners in the country. The beauty of running is that you can either run that fast or you can’t and at the end of this week, the entire country will know, at least what region, in the U.S. has the best high school cross country runners in the land.
| Boys by State | Boys per Capita |
Place First Last State 6 Levi Thomet AK 69 Jacob Shiohira AR 31 Brendan Taylor AR 30 Nick Dale AZ 34 Lucky Schreiner AZ 2 Blake Haney CA 5 Estevan De La Rosa CA 9 Alan Yoho CA 19 Austin Tamagno CA 23 Aidan Goltra CA 59 David Luna CA 63 Gavin Diem CA 64 Phillip Rocha CA 74 Eduardo Herrera CA 80 Jacob Ogden CA 82 Miguel Villar CA 91 Mason Coppi CA 100 David Garcia CA 5 Trevor Reinhart CA 8 Blair Hurlock CA 9 Garrett Corcoran CA 12 Caleb Webb CA 14 Casey Celestin CA 15 Luis Ramos CA 21 Ruben Dominguez CA 22 Jack Van Sooter CA 23 Tal Braude CA 24 Robert Brandt CA 25 Andrew Tellames CA 26 Christian Ricketts CA 28 Chris Foster CA 32 Michael Teran CA 33 Anthony Ortega CA 35 Cole Smith CA 37 Noberto Osorio CA 39 Jeff Kirwin CA 42 Ryan Anderson CA 43 Aaron Zambrano CA 44 Frederick Huxham CA 45 Bannon Greer CA 4 Cerake Geberkidane CO 20 Zachary Alhamra CO 24 Bailey Roth CO 14 Connor Weaver CO 27 Liam Meirow CO 30 Carson Carson CO 32 Andrew Walton CO 39 Paul Miller CO 41 Dominic Compoz CO 46 Ethan Gonzales CO 37 Trevor Hopper CT 2 Christian Alvarado CT 3 Alexander Ostberg CT 8 Tai Dinger DC 79 Nicholas Diaz FL 7 Tyler Bennett FL 19 Sukhi Khosla FL 34 Zackery Summerall FL 35 Garrett Camps FL 40 Tyler Stahl FL 41 Alejandro Pedraza FL 43 Kurt Convey FL 44 Manuel Velazquez FL 45 Adam Bradtmueller FL 32 Austin Sprague GA 14 Kaleb McLeod GA 21 Daniel Navarro GA 33 Paul Dunlap GA 39 Kenan Farmer GA 29 Chandler Austin IA 38 Albert Meier IA 7 Thomas Pollard IA 16 Josh Evans IA 47 Daniel Soto IA 3 Elijah Armstrong ID 13 Jesse Reiser IL 30 Zachary Smith IL 35 Nathan Mroz IL 90 Stephen Garrett IL 92 Blake Evertsen IL 3 Jesse Reiser IL 6 Patrick Perrier IL 11 Zachary Smith IL 13 Nick Hess IL 20 Jack Carpenter IL 24 Dan Lathrop IL 25 Zach Hird IL 45 Graham Brown IL 49 Chris Korabik IL 28 Benjamin Veatch IN 31 Zachery Panning IN 65 Robert Browning IN 94 Benjamin Anderson IN 97 Michael George IN 5 Jackson Bertoli IN 9 David Dalton IN 22 Kaden Eaton IN 26 Mark Beckman IN 35 Seth Williams IN 43 Anthony Williams IN 25 Stuart McNutt KS 24 Patrick Gregory KY 38 Daniel Southard KY 37 Zachary Albright LA 41 Christian Stafford MA 14 Mohamed Hussein MA 15 Paul Hogan MA 19 Jamison Koeman MA 33 Owen Gonser MA 36 Joseph Mullen MA 47 Viraj Deokar MA 49 Daniel Moverman MA 52 Ryan Forsyth MD 72 Tyler Spear MD 81 Rhys Burgett MD 11 Chase Weaverling MD 27 Evan Woods MD 39 Brent Musselman MD 40 Danniel Belay MD 46 Ty Franks MD 5 Josef Holt-Andrews ME 6 Daniel Curts ME 29 Liam Simpson ME 34 Brayden Beardsley ME 1 Grant Fisher MI 10 Ryan Robinson MI 19 Ben Hill MI 23 Brian Kettle MI 28 Keenan Rebera MI 31 Alec Toreki MI 33 Calum Ahmed MI 34 Jesse Hersha MI 40 Zacary Benham MI 50 Mickey Davey MI 10 Obsa Ali MN 34 Connor Olson MN 47 Matt Lumbar MN 68 Logan Ramlet MN 75 David Ellenberger MN 95 Aaton Breyer MN 37 Chase Cayo MN 60 Evan Schulte MO 8 Noah Kauppila MO 45 Anthony Schmalz MT 47 Kade McCutcheon MT 2 Ben Huffman NC 3 Ian Milder NC 10 Patrick Sheehan NC 17 Ryan Brady NC 18 Tanis Baldwin NC 35 Justin Carbone NH 48 Josh Fontaine NH 14 Michael McClemens NJ 33 Thomas O'Neill NJ 42 Thomas Rooney NJ 56 Francis Bogan NJ 70 Blaise Ferro NJ 84 Nicholas Trigani NJ 87 Nicholas Termine NJ 4 Liam Mullett NJ 7 Scott Meehan NJ 9 Louis Corgliano NJ 17 Chris Luciano NJ 18 Kyle Kroon NJ 25 Dan Barlev NJ 26 Robert Stone NJ 28 Harrison Scott NJ 30 Edwin Rutto NJ 32 Luke Petela NJ 38 Trent Brinkofski NJ 42 Shawn Hutchison NJ 43 Matt Tuohy NJ 45 David Mugavero NJ 19 Kai Benedict NV 21 TJ Hornberger NY 36 Andrew Berge NY 43 Aidan Tooker NY 44 Michael Brannigan NY 46 Peter Ryan NY 50 John McGowan NY 53 Benito Muniz NY 61 Josh Dyrland NY 67 Bryce Millar NY 89 Daniel Muldoon NY 93 Kyle Barber NY 1 Mickey Burke NY 23 Ryan Udavadia NY 24 Jeriqho Gadway NY 37 Thomas Meehan NY 15 Michael Hall OH 22 Jacob Pickle OH 27 Evan Stifel OH 58 Connor Hendrickson OH 73 Michael Vitucci OH 4 Toby Hardwick OH 15 Garrett Crichlow OH 18 Mark Hadley OH 21 Robert Johnson OH 6 Ben Barrett OK 18 Reilly Bloomer OR 40 Kyle Thompson OR 45 Ahmed Ibrahim OR 78 Samuel Truax OR 1 Matthew Maton OR 13 Mitchell Butler OR 11 Anthony Russell PA 55 Kevin James PA 76 Griffin Molino PA 86 Alexander Knapp PA 10 Ross Wilson PA 12 Colin Martin PA 13 Colin Abert PA 16 Chris Cummings PA 20 Dominic DeLuca PA 21 Dominic Hockenbury PA 22 Andrew Marston PA 41 Christian Kazanjian PA 44 Scott Mason PA 50 Sam Ritz PA 8 Brent Demarest SC 20 Nikolas O'Brien SC 26 Gabe Haughey SC 46 Myers McKinney SC 2 Addison Dehaven SD 8 Taylor Caldwell TN 26 Coleman Churitch TN 49 Alec Thomas TN 54 Aaron Thomas TN 1 Aaron Templeton TN 12 Adam Barnard TN 15 Wesley Pectol TN 48 Lachlan Dickie TN 49 Zach Long TN 39 Frank Lara TX 85 Zachariah Hamstra TX 96 Chase Van Voorhis TX 9 Frank Lara TX 11 Jacob Pickle TX 25 Michael Guerrero TX 28 Chris PietraszkiewicTX 29 Blake Contreras TX 30 Alonzo Pollum TX 32 Erik Wingfield TX 7 Connor McMillan UT 48 Zachry Jacklin UT 57 Andrew Brewer UT 62 Michael Buckley UT 77 Casey Clinger UT 83 Skylar Williams UT 88 Josh Ward UT 4 Conner Mantz UT 7 Kramer Morton UT 11 Rory Linkletter UT 17 Clayson Shumway UT 36 Garrett Marsing UT 38 Austin Brower UT 41 Jacob Stone UT 49 Owen Gardner UT 50 Justin Sheets UT 99 Thomas Mulroy VA 4 Louis Colson VA 5 Mackenzie Haight VA 16 Andrew Hunter VA 22 John Stoney VA 23 Nathaniel Hall VA 27 Alex Fleckenstein VA 42 Andrew Eason VA 50 Micah Ellington VA 31 Sam Nishi VT 3 Tanner Anderson WA 6 Wolfgang Beck WA 12 Logan Carroll WA 16 Tristan Peloquin WA 51 Mahmoud Moussa WA 66 Andrew Foerder WA 98 Justin Janke WA 2 John Dressel WA 10 Joe Hardy WA 16 Nicholas Hauger WA 17 Devon Grove WA 20 Scott Kopczynski WA 27 Ian Andres WA 29 Jacob Vandenberg WA 31 Miler Haller WA 40 Peter Helman WA 48 Kees Von MichalofskWA 1 Taylor Wilmot WA 12 Olin Hacker WI 17 Ryan Nameth WI 29 Scott Seymour WI 36 Tannor Wagner WI 38 Mitchell Kwapick WI 42 J.P. Nelson WI 44 Taylor Floydmews WI 48 Kevin Ryan WI 36 Andrew Milliron WV 47 Matthew Brafford WV 71 Ricky Faure WY |
State Per 1,000,000 UT 5.6 ME 3 WA 2.6 NJ 2.4 MT 2 CO 1.9 IN 1.7 WY 1.7 IA 1.6 VT 1.6 DC 1.5 NH 1.5 OR 1.5 AK 1.4 MD 1.4 WI 1.4 TN 1.4 MN 1.3 MA 1.2 SD 1.2 IL 1.1 VA 1.1 PA 1.1 MI 1 WV 1 CA 0.9 CT 0.8 SC 0.8 OH 0.8 AR 0.7 NY 0.7 ID 0.6 FL 0.5 GA 0.5 NC 0.5 KY 0.4 TX 0.4 AZ 0.3 KS 0.3 MO 0.3 NV 0.3 OK 0.3 LA 0.2 |
| Girls by State | Girls per Capita |
Place First Last State 31 Karisa Nelson AL 44 Kyandra Chandler AR 15 Danielle Jones AZ 19 Gillick Tatiana AZ 9 Hong Abby CA 7 Maxwell Anna CA 40 Cahalan Ashley CA 3 Sarah Baxter CA 15 Starn Brooke CA 30 Turati Camila CA 11 Pietrzyk Caroline CA 44 Sofia Castiglioni CA 21 Graves Claire CA 34 Destiny Collins CA 31 Brenner Courtney CA 74 Haley Dorris CA 28 Abrahamson Emma CA 16 Holton Erin CA 87 Ashley Helbig CA 38 Fairchild Kelly CA 18 Derry Kendall CA 36 Bethan Knights CA 22 Jacob Lauren CA 35 Rawson Madison CA 37 Sodersten Mikayla CA 23 Myers Miranda CA 59 Leigh Moffett CA 4 Fiona O'keeffe CA 11 Sarah Robinson CA 17 Yamane Roni CA 82 Olivia Rosellini CA 32 Herrmann Sabrina CA 4 Ortega Sam CA 42 Flora Skyler CA 47 Hill Talley CA 24 Marissa Williams CA 61 Kaitlyn Benner CO 69 Holly Bent CO 88 Claire Green CO 7 Lauren Gregory CO 92 Audrey Lookner CO 68 Devynn Miller CO 70 Erin Norton CO 95 Audrey Oweimrin CO 6 Katie Rainsberger CO 2 Elise Cranny CO 3 Hannah DeBalsi CT 32 Sarah Healy CT 43 Erica Hefnawy CT 23 Gabrielle Richichi CT 50 Carly Schuyler CT 43 Caroline Barlow FL 35 Emily Edwards FL 40 Mackenzie Wilson FL 10 Karen Xiang FL 46 Lindsay Billings GA 17 Avery Bussjager GA 8 Kathryn Foreman GA 28 Jenna Gearing GA 48 Emma Grace GA 29 Morgan Ilse GA 2 Stephanie Jenks IA 47 Karissa Schweizer IA 3 Rebekah Topham IA 23 Mckenzie Yanek IA 25 Story Kara ID 45 Story Krista ID 22 Sam Mckinnon ID 6 Malaspina Mikayla ID 49 Hutchison Presli ID 36 Manzer Sierra ID 94 Elly Deturris IL 42 Maryclare Leonard IL 19 Madeline Perez IL 47 Olivia Ryan IL 30 Kelsey Schrader IL 33 Mimi Smith IL 7 Mailin Struck IL 20 Lauren Van VlierberIL 40 Malyka Abramson IN 10 Alex Buck IN 37 Mackenzie Caldwell IN 34 Gina Genco IN 64 Kelsey Harris IN 83 Haley Harris IN 41 Lauren Johnson IN 32 Isabelle Kennedy IN 21 Elena Lancioni IN 99 Stacy Morozov IN 9 Rachel Nichwitz IN 1 Kelcy Welch IN 91 Emily Bean KY 85 Bailey Davis KY 4 Gabriella Karas KY 22 Whitney O'Bryan KY 66 Madisyn Peeples KY 26 Amelia Reynolds KY 36 Erin Dietz MA 40 catalina dominick MA 35 Emily Kaegi MA 12 Olivia Lantz MA 25 Abbie Mcnulty MA 46 Caroline Sullivan MA 12 Ellie Gonzalez MD 52 Isabel Griffith MD 48 Nora McUmber MD 33 Jessica Narr MD 20 Megan Wilson MD 10 Kirstin Sandreuter ME 35 Lexa Barrott MI 22 Audrey Belf MI 6 Lauren Brasure MI 13 Meg Darmofal MI 48 Bailey Johnson MI 40 Sarah Kettel MI 24 Ellie Leonard MI 8 Kirsten Olling MI 18 Morgan Posthuma MI 46 Jennifer Rogers MI 43 Kerianne Schoff MI 16 Karrigan Smith MI 11 Amber Way MI 12 Valerie Wierenga MI 77 Mckenna Evans MN 63 Mary Franke MN 33 Anna French MN 78 Annika Halvorson MN 13 Bethany Hasz MN 53 Megan Hasz MN 65 Michaela Keller-milleMN 27 Kaytlyn Larson MN 54 Annika Lerdall MN 37 Bailey Ness MN 73 Alayna Sonnesyn MN 36 Jenna Truedson MN 19 Jamie Kempfer MO 31 Nicole Lee MO 5 Hannah Long MO 44 Sophia Racette MO 4 Taylor Werner MO 45 Katherine Mattox MS 28 Christina Aragon MT 35 Caroline Hardin MT 1 Morley Makena MT 76 Piper Meuwissen MT 97 Aja Starkey MT 24 Lily Anderson NC 18 Bianca Bishop NC 32 Sophia Ebihara NC 16 Sydney Foreman NC 37 Mary Grace NC 84 Elly Henes NC 41 Ralene Kwiatkowski NC 11 Kayla Montgomery NC 14 Grace Sullivan NC 80 Elisabeth Danis NH 26 Shannon Murdock NH 58 Hannah Parker NH 17 Mackenzie Barry NJ 22 Sierra Castaneda NJ 25 Kylene Cochrane NJ 47 Tara Connelly NJ 62 Grace Dwyer NJ 5 Briana Gess NJ 38 Eve Glasergreen NJ 41 Epiphany Grisbaum NJ 34 Julia Guerra NJ 16 Dana Klein NJ 30 Elizabeth Lansing NJ 30 Lauren Sapone NJ 18 Brennan Sharkey NJ 15 Courtney Thompson NJ 19 Marin Warner NJ 28 Lauren Zodl NJ 14 Hunsberger Kyra NV 41 Adams Lindsey NV 34 Dort Sara NV 27 Badger Sydney NV 20 Annika Avery NY 21 Denise Branch NY 31 Alexandra Cooper NY 29 Ang DeMeo NY 57 Jenna Farrell NY 13 Anna Flynn NY 56 Stephanie Gerland NY 48 Jennifer Gerland NY 81 Jessica Howe NY 46 Erin Jaskot NY 7 Jessica Lawson NY 9 Katie Lembo NY 86 Megan Menz NY 29 Alana Pearl NY 6 Megan Reilly NY 2 Anoush Shehadeh NY 100 Estela Smith NY 21 Sophia Tasselmyer NY 17 Abbey Wheeler NY 14 Annie Heffernan OH 45 Rachel Wentworth OH 9 Ella Donaghu OR 43 Hannah GindlespergeOR 5 Tsai Sara OR 1 Tessa Barrett PA 39 Jerrica Bauer PA 60 Kacie Breeding PA 27 Ella BreidenstinePA 11 Elizabeth Chikotas PA 14 Mady Clahane PA 37 Victoria Dippold PA 72 Erica Gray PA 45 Abigail Martin PA 51 Hannah Molloy PA 8 Regan Rome PA 4 Brianna Schwartz PA 10 Courtney Smith PA 31 Paige Stoner PA 44 Maggie Toczko PA 42 Olivia Young PA 24 Maddy Berkson RI 49 Amy Laverty RI 45 Emma Mcmillan RI 13 Sarah Gwinn SC 34 Logan Morris SC 38 Allison Cheeseman TN 23 Bailee Dean TN 36 Nicole Gardner TN 47 Makenzie Jones TN 50 Jessica Rizor TN 33 Emma Sloan TN 50 Antigone Archer TX 49 Safiya Belbina TX 38 Madie Boreman TX 98 Katie Burnham TX 27 Devin Clark TX 7 Devin Clark TX 42 Alexandria Cruz TX 27 Julia Heymach TX 41 Paige Hofstad TX 32 Madi McLellan TX 3 Natalie Rathjen TX 55 Morgan Szekely TX 21 Kelsie Warren TX 12 Bryson Aimee UT 89 Hannah Albrechtsen UT 67 Aubrey Argyle UT 39 Taylor Cox UT 79 Sierra Graham UT 44 Smith Jessica UT 3 Biles Lucy UT 9 Criscione Maddie UT 43 Kauffman Madeline UT 8 Mitchell MarLee UT 26 Morgan Mckayla UT 24 O'Very Miranda UT 2 Feeny Sarah UT 26 Alyssa Snyder UT 13 Dutson Tavia UT 71 Ashley Tyndall UT 96 McKenzie Weir UT 1 Caroline Alcorta VA 90 Bonnie Angermeier VA 20 Katharine Benfer VA 9 Molly BreidenbaughVA 5 Hannah Christen VA 25 Hailey Dougherty VA 12 Allie Klimkiewicz VA 6 Katy Kunc VA 30 Erin Saunders VA 15 Katie Sperry VA 19 Amanda Swaak VA 39 Annie Taylor VA 49 Anna Wasko VA 42 Quinn Bornstein VT 16 Autumn Eastman VT 29 Fuller Alexis WA 33 Aquino Brittany WA 48 Ledwith Gracie WA 46 Skay Mccall WA 20 RaynJoy Norton WA 39 Watson Ruby WA 1 Alexa Efraimson WA 23 Brenna Calder WI 25 Amy Davis WI 17 Morgan Florsheim WI 50 Katie Hietpas WI 26 Jennifer Parker WI 29 Jessica Parker WI 28 Kristy Terp WI 49 Carly Terp WI 2 Amelia Paladino WV 50 Holiday Kimberly WY |
State Per 1,000,000 UT 6 MT 4.9 ID 3.8 VT 3.2 RI 2.9 MN 2.2 NH 2.2 CO 1.9 IN 1.8 NJ 1.8 WY 1.7 VA 1.6 NV 1.5 CT 1.4 KY 1.4 MI 1.4 WI 1.4 IA 1.3 PA 1.3 WA 1 MA 0.9 NC 0.9 NY 0.9 TN 0.9 CA 0.8 MD 0.8 MO 0.8 ME 0.7 OR 0.7 GA 0.6 IL 0.6 TX 0.5 WV 0.5 SC 0.4 AR 0.3 AZ 0.3 MS 0.3 AL 0.2 FL 0.2 OH 0.1 |