2024 OATCC Polls

yj_runfan said:
On the other hand…. Who here doesn’t already know that Woodridge is good?
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That is very true, but now we have a discussion about XC, albeit about the past.

$oodridge makes sense, it's the anti $t.Vincent someone used to post, thank you for seeing the humor in it.

So back to the present, three all time great programs are scheduled to face off Saturday at Boardman D2 and
all three are running great this year. $oodridge and Lexington have had the most recent state championships but Bay is as close to contending for one as it has been in a few years.
If everyone is healthy and entered, I think Bay and $oodridge will be within a few points of each other, Lexington a clear third place.
 
One thing that impresses me is a program that stays on top across multiple coaching regimes. A great coach can build a top tier team but a truly top tier program continues on after a coaching change or two or three. That is very rare.
 
yj_runfan said:
One thing that impresses me is a program that stays on top across multiple coaching regimes. A great coach can build a top tier team but a truly top tier program continues on after a coaching change or two or three. That is very rare.
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So very true. Minster has been a fine example of that since the beginning of the girls' state meet in 1975
 
billcarson said:
That is very true, but now we have a discussion about XC, albeit about the past.

$oodridge makes sense, it's the anti $t.Vincent someone used to post, thank you for seeing the humor in it.

So back to the present, three all time great programs are scheduled to face off Saturday at Boardman D2 and
all three are running great this year. $oodridge and Lexington have had the most recent state championships but Bay is as close to contending for one as it has been in a few years.
If everyone is healthy and entered, I think Bay and $oodridge will be within a few points of each other, Lexington a clear third place.
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I can't type $V$M or Wal$h without the $.

I think it's Bay, Lexington, Woodridge at this time on paper. But close enough to be anyone's race. Can't really bet against Woodridge at Boardman. It's like a home course for them.

Lexington is really good through 5, but 6,7 look rough if they need depth. Might not with how good 1-5 is. 1 and 2 are clearly the top 1,2 at this point of these 3 teams. In a big race 5 could hurt them. Woodridge could put 7 in before their 5. Bay and Woodridge will be good enough at 1-3 that the advantage for Lex at 1-2 probably won't matter much. Really a race of #5's I think.

Woodridge and Bay look nearly identical but Bay will be better at 5 at this point of the season. I expect that to tighten up as the season progresses.

In theory. Lakeview should be throwing their hat into the ring, but they seem to start out fast and not progress as much as the others. Very inconsistent week to week. IMO.
 
yj_runfan said:
One thing that impresses me is a program that stays on top across multiple coaching regimes. A great coach can build a top tier team but a truly top tier program continues on after a coaching change or two or three. That is very rare.
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Unsure if I agree. You are saying that this program could be good regardless of the coach. I want to see a program that has done nothing and a coach take the team to the regional meet, or even better take them to the state meet for the first time.
Minster could be related to school dynamics, socioeconomic status, school culture, or community. For instance, Minster is great with Jesse Magoto. But I would also argue that she is a perfect fit for the community that embraces running. Don't get me wrong, I think Jesse has done an amazing job the last 20 years, but...

No soccer is the major factor that would help any high school cross-country team. Minster only has volleyball, cross country, and golf for girls in the fall.

Compare that to other schools in the fall:
Girls Tennis
Girls Golf
Girls Volleyball
Girls Cross Country
Competitive Cheer
Girls Field Hockey
Girls Soccer
 
EuclidandViren said:
Unsure if I agree. You are saying that this program could be good regardless of the coach. I want to see a program that has done nothing and a coach take the team to the regional meet, or even better take them to the state meet for the first time.
Minster could be related to school dynamics, socioeconomic status, school culture, or community. For instance, Minster is great with Jesse Magoto. But I would also argue that she is a perfect fit for the community that embraces running. Don't get me wrong, I think Jesse has done an amazing job the last 20 years, but...

No soccer is the major factor that would help any high school cross-country team. Minster only has volleyball, cross country, and golf for girls in the fall.

Compare that to other schools in the fall:
Girls Tennis
Girls Golf
Girls Volleyball
Girls Cross Country
Competitive Cheer
Girls Field Hockey
Girls Soccer
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Woodridge does not have Field Hockey.

Minster's CC girls are also beasts at Water Polo or so I have heard. At least better than Woodridge CC boys.

There are a lot of factors to culture and a good program. Coach is certainly a big part, but it always comes down to the kids and families. Success leads to more success.
 
Minster has basketball, bowling, and swimming listed for winter sports.

www.minsterschools.org

Minster Local Schools

Challenging today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders.
www.minsterschools.org www.minsterschools.org

Psycho you are correct. Education is very similar to athletics. Families play a larger role than the school district for academics and athletics.
 
EuclidandViren said:
Unsure if I agree. You are saying that this program could be good regardless of the coach. I want to see a program that has done nothing and a coach take the team to the regional meet, or even better take them to the state meet for the first time.
Minster could be related to school dynamics, socioeconomic status, school culture, or community. For instance, Minster is great with Jesse Magoto. But I would also argue that she is a perfect fit for the community that embraces running. Don't get me wrong, I think Jesse has done an amazing job the last 20 years, but...

No soccer is the major factor that would help any high school cross-country team. Minster only has volleyball, cross country, and golf for girls in the fall.

Compare that to other schools in the fall:
Girls Tennis
Girls Golf
Girls Volleyball
Girls Cross Country
Competitive Cheer
Girls Field Hockey
Girls Soccer
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I didn’t mention Minster. I wasnt talking about any particular school. Maybe you were thinking of someone else’s post.
 
CHCA-Eagles-Fan said:
Hey now, CHCA has a great squad this year and is really building a program under Esche
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Maybe at some point, they will show it. Guess we have to wait until Regional and State. They don't seem to take the regular season seriously, so how would the rest of us know? So, right now, you think top 10? Top 6? We shall see how the "don't show what you got" strategy works. Bay, Fairfield U, Woodridge and Lexington aren't going to be surprised. CHCA looks good potentially.
 
Cin CHCA is a top 10 team for sure in D2. I think we can all agree that the D2 post season meets are going to be filled with top tier teams. Fairfield Union, Bay, Woodridge, West Liberty-Salem, Lexington, Cin CHCA, Watterson, Versailles along with others. I know it's early on but D2 Boys is stacked!
 
CHCA does not have good D2 teams locally to push them every week. Running against D1 teams isn’t the same as battling teams you will race at district and regionals. When our team was good we had to do a lot of travel to find compitition.
 
yj_runfan said:
CHCA does not have good D2 teams locally to push them every week. Running against D1 teams isn’t the same as battling teams you will race at district and regionals. When our team was good we had to do a lot of travel to find compitition.
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This is exactly what CHCA has been doing. We ran at Tiffin and Troy in the last two weeks, both of which I don’t think we had ever been to before. Granted, we don’t touch the top four but we by no means “suck”. It’s a young team with only one senior in the top 5, and he’s pretty distinctly the #5. Not to mention one of our runners from the district-winning team last year is out and I’m unsure on the timetable for return
 
CHCA-Eagles-Fan said:
This is exactly what CHCA has been doing. We ran at Tiffin and Troy in the last two weeks, both of which I don’t think we had ever been to before. Granted, we don’t touch the top four but we by no means “suck”. It’s a young team with only one senior in the top 5, and he’s pretty distinctly the #5. Not to mention one of our runners from the district-winning team last year is out and I’m unsure on the timetable for return
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Keep posting about and cheer on your team.
It's not likely that the 6 Boardman teams will all finish in the top 7 at State again this year in D2
Although with Lexington and Rocky River back in D2 the top 10 will be quite an achievement.
 
Mr. Slippery said:
Years ago, I was an assistant for a coach who was a pollster. I agreed to do the research, and he did the voting. It was extremely time-consuming to sift through all the results, try to learn something about the courses that were being raced, and determine if any important runners were missing from a team's lineup. I treated the poll as a snapshot of how the teams were running at the time the poll was being tabulated. I did not treat it as a prediction of how the top teams would finish at the state meet.

In the case of my boss, he was voting only in the D2 boys poll. Maybe it was possible that a coach in charge of both genders would be voting in both the boys' and girls' polls, but you were not going to have a D1 coach voting in the D3 poll. The point being, there are more than 12 and as many as 72 coaches around Ohio (12 voters x 2 genders x 3 divisions) voting in these polls.

Lastly, the person in charge of tabulating the polls attempted to have a collection of coaches from all corners of the state, but at the end of the day, the tabulator can only go with who's willing. If you're a coach wanting to be a pollster, the best way to start would be to let your OATCCC District Rep know that you are interested.
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I admire how much you put into it, but I feel like it could definitely be simplified if you just start with the previous week and see if any ranked teams lost. If they only lost to teams they were supposed to, leave them there. Next you look at who overachieved and underachieved and that's where you have to dig to determine the rankings. Course conditions don't matter as much as who you're up against. And if a runner was missing, might as well assume a season ending injury. If they come back, they should be able to earn a higher ranking again.
 
LincolnXC said:
Gahanna Lincoln is headed up to race CVNP. Excited to see this course. Theme of the week "don't worry about time!!"
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So, What did you think? Unfair start + spectator unfriendly + 1 mile to 2.5 mile mark that is ridiculously hard. (Because of erosion at the lake, it's a little easier than it used to be.) Doesn't get any better. Added bonus this year was the rain that turned it into a mud pit in places. Perfection.

Nice job of your 2,3 holding off Woody's 4,5. Woodridge has to clean that up starting in a few weeks.

We ran 3 -4 dual meets a season on that course back in the 80's.

I ran the first 5k race there and it had an uphill finish. Kids were staggering to get to the finish, so it was a one and done. They change it to finish around where the start is for dual meets. Not sure when the downhill finish was added, but it's been there in the 2000's. There also used to be another significant downhill and uphill between the one and 2 mile marks. That only lasted 2 years too, but that was more of a distance thing and mowing issue.

I always loved that course.
 
psycho_dad said:
So, What did you think? Unfair start + spectator unfriendly + 1 mile to 2.5 mile mark that is ridiculously hard. (Because of erosion at the lake, it's a little easier than it used to be.) Doesn't get any better. Added bonus this year was the rain that turned it into a mud pit in places. Perfection.

Nice job of your 2,3 holding off Woody's 4,5. Woodridge has to clean that up starting in a few weeks.

We ran 3 -4 dual meets a season on that course back in the 80's.

I ran the first 5k race there and it had an uphill finish. Kids were staggering to get to the finish, so it was a one and done. They change it to finish around where the start is for dual meets. Not sure when the downhill finish was added, but it's been there in the 2000's. There also used to be another significant downhill and uphill between the one and 2 mile marks. That only lasted 2 years too, but that was more of a distance thing and mowing issue.

I always loved that course.
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Loved the course! Kids loved the course. Conditions were terrible. Course was tough, and every girl finished the race! Got to see some true grit from some of these kids.
The start made me laugh. Because our team is so big we had Box 1 and then box 19+. I told varsity they had to use box 1 otherwise they would be at a disadvantage! I assume the boxes are numbered backwards because of the disadvantage to the far left?(when looking at the course from the boxes)
They were showing me where the course used to finish uphill....crazy!
 
My top 10 D1 boys after last week:

1.) St. Xavier
2.) Hudson
3.) Mason
4.) Little Miami
5.) Beavercreek
6.) Wester. North
7.) Dub. Jerome
8.) Olen. Orange
9.) Dub. Scioto
10.) Centerville
 
Looks like Woodridge boys might be getting things together. Surprising how strong the freshman class has worked itself into. Looks good for a few more years perhaps. I know Bay was missing #1, but even if you put him in the race, Woody still wins. Woodridge was also without one of it's normal 1-5 guys. It will be 3 big weeks of Woodridge and Bay going at it. Will they make each other better than Fairfield Union?
 
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