MoCoRunning






Boys County Meet Poll Results
By: Ryun Anderson
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

80 fans voted for male individuals in Mocorunning's County Championship Cross Country Poll. Below are the composite results of that poll.

1. Evan Woods, Walt Whitman 2015
602 Poll Points

Woods' blazing 15:20 at the DCXC Invite is the fastest 5k by a Moco boy since Sherwood's Solomon Haile in 2008. Whether or not he can duplicate that time on the county course remains to be seen, but he enters the county meet with the chance to become the first Whitman boy to win the race since Andrew Palmer in 2009.

2. Diego Zarate, Northwest 2015
576 Poll Points

Zarate has not lost a race all season, but will have a major test against Woods on Saturday. His 15:42 earlier this season in eastern Maryland is the fastest performance recorded somewhere other than the DCXC Invite. His 12:37.7 2.5 Mile at the Manhattan Invitational is the fastest since Solomon Haile broke the course record in 2008 and is also 1.5 seconds faster than Andrew Palmer ran in 2008.

3. Alex Roederer, Walt Whitman 2015

452 Poll Points
Fans showed a little more faith in Roederer this time around than they did in the preseason poll. No duo has finished in the top five at the county championships since Walter Johnson had two in 2010.

4. David Fitzgerald, Winston Churchill 2015
408 Poll Points

Fitzgerald broke the 16:00 barrier in both major invitationals he ran this season (Adidas XC and DCXC Invite). While many are looking at the top two ranked above for this race, Fitzgerald is in a prime position for a huge breakout at the county championships.

5. Amir Khaghani, Walt Whitman 2015
308 Poll Points

As reported by runwashington.com, Khagani had a breakthrough at the DCXC Invite (15:56) when coaches forced him to race without a watch. Three boys in the top five would almost surely secure a win for Whitman this year.

6. Liam Walsh, Quince Orchard 2016
295 Poll Points

The first non-senior on the list, Walsh has a 16:05 5K under his belt already. A competitive county meet at a generous Gaithersburg course could be just the kind of race to put him in prime position not just for the rest of this season, but also looking forward to next year.

7. Patrick Munro, Wootton 2015
260 Poll Points

His win at the muddy Track and Trail Invitational over four of the other members of this list shoots him up five spots from his position on the preseason poll.

8. Sam Baker, B-CC 2015
227 Poll Points

"Steel" Baker is back on the list. B-CC will need his senior experience to lead a relatively inexperienced B-CC squad this year to defend their 2013 county title.

9. Dylan Kannapell, B-CC 2016
208 Poll Points

Kannapell went from not being an option in the preseason poll to the ninth spot on this pre-county list. His recent performances indicate that he could see a full-minute improvement from his 2013 mark of 16:57 by the end of this season.

10. Rohann Asfaw, Richard Montgomery 2017
190 Poll Points

The only sophomore on the list, Asfaw has held his own during his first cross country season under the spotlight. A couple big wins at the DCXC and Frank Keyser Invites promise a breakthrough race right around the corner for the promising Rocket. Could he be the preseason #1 entering 2015?


Other notables:
- Itai Bezherano, Walter Johnson: 18th at states last year, and sitting on a 9:34.9 3200m.
- William Kirk, Rockville: Won Urbana Invitational. Finished 10th at this meet last year.
- Lorenzo Neil, Paint Branch: The two-time MCPS Consortia Champion's record-breaking 16:27 at a hilly, muddy Northwood course on Saturday places him right back among the upper echelon of runners in the county.
- Michael Abebe, Northwood: Ran 16:32 behind Neil on Saturday. He's just waiting to burst onto the Moco scene.


64 fans voted for male teams in Mocorunning's Cross Country Poll. Below are the composite results of that poll.

1. Walt Whitman Vikings - 498 Poll Points
With a top three that could potentially all finish within the top five, the Whitman boys have to be the favorites heading into the race. Historical Note: The county title has eluded the Whitman boys for 14 years, but the school was truly a dynasty in the 90's. Whitman won 11 boys XC county titles between 1988 and 1999.

2. Thomas S. Wootton Patriots - 469 Poll Points
A deep and experienced Wootton squad could be Whitman's biggest challenge at Saturday's county race.

3. Walter Johnson Wildcats - 397 Poll Points
As deep as any team in the state, but the Wildcats would probably need a few runners to finish within the top 20 to have a shot at a county title.

4. Bethesda-Chevy Chase - 394 Poll Points
Preseason I predicted that the B-CC boys would need contributions from rising underclassmen to stay at the top, and that's exactly what they've gotten. Never count this team out.

5. Winston Churchill Bulldogs - 365 Poll Points
Probably the most improved team from last year, this senior-laden Churchill squad is positioned to climb pack into the top ten if not top five after a brief two-year hiatus.

6. Quince Orchard Cougars - 257 Poll Points
The Cougars have coaxed much-needed improvements from many of their runners, and their streak of years finishing in the top eight (dating back to 2008) could carry on this year.

7. Richard Montgomery Rockets - 229 Poll Points
This is not at all the RM team we expected to see in the preseason, but the next-man-up philosophy has carried RM through multiple injuries.

8. Northwest Jaguars - 222 Poll Points
The Jaguars have won nearly all of their meets this year to date, but it will be interesting to see how they fare against the elevated competition at the county race.

9. Paint Branch Panthers - 121 Poll Points
They haven't raced that much this year, but their win over Einstein at the Consortia Championships demonstrated that the Panthers still have enough depth to play for a sneaky top five spot at the county race.

10. Albert Einstein Titans - 94 Poll Points
Winners of the Bull Run medium school race over some pretty good teams and runners-up to Paint Branch in a close race at the Consortia Championship, the Titans cannot be overlooked heading into the county meet.

Other notables:
- Poolesville: With a potential to put four guys under 17:00, Poolesville could make the fans think twice about the Falcons heading into the championship season.
- Rockville: If they can coax their fifth guy to a sub-18:00 race, Rockville could sneak into the top ten.

Tie breakers: Fans were asked to predict the winning individual time and team score. The average responses were 15:37.4 and 66.7 points.





NameComments
bcc runner
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
06:44:56 PM
Bcc spent a lot of time voting on this poll
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
07:15:47 PM
How do you guys calculate the amount of points?
rog
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
07:16:59 PM
Very solid list
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
07:24:01 PM
Its going to be a good race
FACE OF STEEL
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
07:53:44 PM
Clarksburg...#WhereDeyAtDoe
mr minimal man
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:04:03 PM
Watch out for ma boy pj wolkrub reppin the wildcats
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:14:10 PM
Moco is so loaded this year
hermes
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:24:23 PM
My boy Zeus deserves some recognition
wolves
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:25:57 PM
Watkins mill might get a team score this year!!!
Zeus Swag
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:30:52 PM
Yo where is my manz jp zeusswag on dis list
Mr. Bez
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
08:51:08 PM
Correction: Itai ran 9:34, not 9:39
yo
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
10:27:19 PM
Zarate is not given enough credit in this preview He ran 1237 which correlates to 1545 , but at van Cortland the last half 1k of the 5 k course is very fast and flat so he would have run even faster. With a time of 1545 he would have placed 12th at last year's footlocker regional, and at Manhattan he achieved this in the rain and mud with no competition, If gaithersburg dries up Zarate should be around 1520 on the gaithersburg course that caters to his wicked speed and unbelievable toughness
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
10:57:46 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA this list what a joke, the only two that are accurate are the first two with them maybe switched
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
10:57:51 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA this list what a joke, the only two that are accurate are the first two with them maybe switched
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
11:13:27 AM
*face of steel
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
11:14:55 AM
Nice write up Ryun. Critics: Bear in mind that all articles on mocorunning.com are: 1. written by unpaid amateur writers (sometimes high school students) 2. written about unpaid amateur student athletes Amateur student athletes voted in this poll and voted for friends, teammates, and family members. I think Diego got plenty of love Yo.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
12:16:17 PM
Ryun Anderson is a boss. This was a great article and was extremely supportive of everyone. Some people really need to shut up and appreciate this list. It's a privilege to have this kind of list for Moco
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
03:33:46 PM
Fitzgerald is gonna take it all
Greatest ever
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
04:58:55 PM
The results of the list have nothing to do with the person who wrote the article. The writer just works with what the results given to him are.
Anonymous4
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
05:26:54 PM
First off, Zarate's 12:37 4k converts to 16:07 (mcmillanrunningcalculator) not 15:45. He was on pace for 15:45 but presumably he would slow down if he had to run another kilometer. On the other hand, he did win the race so it is very possible he could have gone faster. Second, I actually think this list is pretty sound. I would probably swap Walsh with Kannapell because running on the same courses (though not necessarily head to head) Kannapell has been faster. Additionally, I think Lorenzo Neil and Michael Abebe have the potential beat some of the runners on this list. One thing is for sure, this is an extremely deep year. In the past, 10th place at the county championship has been around 16:20 (last year it was 16:30); this year I would not be surprised if 16:20 is closer to 15th or even 20th place.
greece
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
07:11:29 PM
Ya'll about to see some minimalist lightning #zeus
bro
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
07:47:55 PM
@ anonymous, 1237 converts to 1545, on a normal course you would slow down in the 5th kilometer but that is not the case at van cortlandt park where the final kilometer is arguably the easiest on the whole course. The first 1.25 is all uphill, followed by .9 ish of rolling ups and downs, and the finish is a 600 flat straightaway, while the 5k course features a mile flat loop at the end which zarate could tear up likely in sub 3:00 for the 1000.
Esurance Grandma
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
07:58:38 PM
That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works.
jdsne29
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:03:38 PM
Walker and Agboola are gonna return for RM on saturday
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:14:10 PM
Man this field is stacked
Anonymous4
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:17:01 PM
12:37 is the SAME PACE as a 15:45. If you run a 4k all out at 12:37 on the track there is no way you can run a 15:45 on the track. I understand what you're saying about about the last kilometer of the VC 5k course being flatter but then the VC 5k course isn't as proportionally hard as the 4k because there is more flat.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:34:20 PM
You can't say Zarate isnt finna be smashed by Woods. This fool boutta be some cut once he faces competition, my boys Evan can easily take him to the kitchen even on a bad day. Zarate needa invest in some cooking classes unless hes tryna get cut up on Saturday...
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:39:46 PM
Zarate da type 2 put his sh0rts on bakwerds but den not kno wut 2 do n then cri
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:41:03 PM
In all honesty for the most part the top 5 are very accurate. Abebe should be in the top 10 doe. My boi gonna wreck this saturday
Preston Scherr
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:44:44 PM
I like running. My rabbit is my inspiration. Her name is courtney
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:47:30 PM
when u fill up ur water bottle but den u realice it was closed the hole time and theres a lot of spill in the hall n then u close it off so noone be trippin just like any1 who think zarate gon win be trippin
Patrick winter
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
08:51:10 PM
Preston scherr is my dark horse candidate to win the county. When the love of a girl motivates you, nothing can stop you. #prestonandcourtneyhc2015
Preston Scherr
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
09:04:04 PM
just to clarify I renamed my rabbit after the girl of my dreams before my race i will stroke my rabbit for luck and head off to the starting line to prove to myself i have what it takes to ask her out #bigplans #wishmeluck
Ghost of Andrew Murray
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
09:22:30 PM
I forsee alex roederer not living to face counties
Monday, October 27, 2014
07:53:54 PM
^^^^^^^^ But Zarate won, so do not talk trash if it is not telling the truth!
Thursday, October 06, 2016
06:04:10 PM
Zarate might have won counties in a rigged finishline decision... but he lost deservedly at states. Jokes I got bored

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