Sometimes I just lie in bed and can’t get cross country out of my mind. All kinds of thoughts run, at a good pace, through my mind.
Last night I started thinking about what the leagues will look like next year. Recently I was told the principles will meet in January and it may be decided then.
As I understand it there seems to be two options floating around. One is to have an upper league (NBL I) of six with the top teams in it and the rest in NBL II.
The other is a mega league with all 12 in it.
I personally have never seen how a league that big holds it’s league schedule. Eleven weeks of dual meets looks like a no go.
Some coaches love the set up recently with two center meets with everyone competing together, other coaches do not like that set up.
So as I’m laying in bed my mind starts trying to figure out another method that might fall in between these two.
So here’s my thoughts with which some will just laugh at, I’m sure, and I also have little doubt this is what will be used but since I spent my evening working it out in my pea brain I may as well share it.
Below you will see how the teams ranked by time from the 2017 finals.
If you wanted to take the time you could recalculate the team times using just the top five non-graduating runners to get a better look at the following year.
This would be a more accurate look at the boys teams but not so much on the girls side because of the bigger impact of incoming freshman girls have on a team.
The letter before each school would be dividing them up into three equal strength groups.
Those groups would then go one group verses another over three periods.
Meets would all be scored as dual meets verses the three schools in the other group and the only time the duals would count verses the schools in your own group would be in the third week. As an example only time Carrillo vs Healdsburg dual meet would be scored would be the one in week 3.
Every school would have at least one meet at Spring Lake to run the course before league finals. Every other year there would be at least one meet at Ukiah to the far North.
Anyway you can see I have to much thinking time on my hands and I should be thinking more about world peace but maybe you will at least get a good laugh out of this.
Jim
2017 finals times Boys Girls Combined
A Maria Carrillo 1:19:49 1:35:41 2:55:30
B Piner 1:21:51 1:45:31 3:06:22
C Montgomery 1:28:22 1:41:05 3:09:27
D Santa Rosa 1:27:03 1:43:43 3:10:46
C Ukiah 1:28:06 1:47:55 3:16:01
A Healdsburg 1:29:23 1:48:06 3:17:29
B Windsor 1:28:56 1:51:55 3:20:51
D Analy 1:34:05 1:50:08 3:24:13
D Cardinal Newman 1:31:50 1:58:39 3:30:29
C Rancho Cotate 1:40:39 2:20:46 4:01:25
B El Molino 1:32:35 Incomplete
A Elsie Allen Both Incomplete
Group A
Maria Carrillo 1:19:49 1:35:41 2:55:30
Healdsburg 1:29:23 1:48:06 3:17:29
Elsie Allen Both Incomplete
Group B
Piner 1:21:51 1:45:31 3:06:22
Windsor 1:28:56 1:51:55 3:20:51
El Molino 1:32:35 Incomplete
Group C
Montgomery 1:28:22 1:41:05 3:09:27
Ukiah 1:28:06 1:47:55 3:16:01
Rancho Cotate 1:40:39 2:20:46 4:01:25
Group D
Santa Rosa 1:27:03 1:43:43 3:10:46
Analy 1:34:05 1:50:08 3:24:13
Cardinal Newman 1:31:50 1:58:39 3:30:29
Week 1
A vs B Maria Carrillo, Healdsburg, Elsie Allen vs Piner, Windsor, El Molino
C vs D Montgomery, Ukiah, Rancho Cotate vs Santa Rosa, Analy, Cardinal Newman
Week 2
A vs C Maria Carrillo, Healdsburg, Elsie Allen vs Montgomery, Ukiah, Rancho Cotate
B vs D Piner, Windsor, El Molino vs Santa Rosa, Analy, Cardinal Newman
Week 3
A vs D Maria Carrillo, Healdsburg, Elsie Allen vs Santa Rosa, Analy, Cardinal Newman
B vs C Piner, Windsor, El Molino vs Montgomery, Ukiah, Rancho Cotate
Week 4
Finals at Spring Lake