Who's #1? Analyzing California XC Leading Into Mt. SAC


This week's episode highlights some impressive individual races over the weekend that are some of the best rated performances of the entire season. For the deep dive, Travis sat down with Jeff George of MileSplit California to get an updated look at the current state of California cross country leading into Mt. SAC this weekend. See all the topics below including the extended interview that goes into more detail on the teams and individuals to keep an eye on in California this season.

Speed Round

- Waleed Suliman | Aislinn Devlin | Katherine Lee

In short, a speed rating is a number attributed to an XC performance, roughly one point per three seconds, adjusted for overall race quality and depth. Using these numbers, we can compare apples to apples, in terms of XC performances.

Deep Dive - Jeff George from MileSplit California

- Why is Mt. SAC so important for California?

- CA teams need to show good performances on a tough course.

- Does a good/bad Mt. SAC performance make or break your season?

- Which teams have a lot to prove at Mt. SAC this weekend?

- Do more elite individuals need to race together to break the course record?

Related Links

Who's #1 Topic Links

Teams: Great Oak, Davis, Claremont, Dana Hills, Palos Verde, Serrano, Saugus

Athletes: Waleed Suliman, Aislinn Devlin, Katherine Lee, Phillip Rocha, Austin Tamagno, Cooper Teare, Brooke Starn, Luis Grijalva, Michael Vernau, Chloe Arriaga, Claudia Lane

Meets: Mt. SAC

Extended Interview with Jeff George


00:00 - Shift in California season means less racing at Mt. SAC

02:25 - CA reactions to the move away from Mt. SAC

04:15 - Could the change results in stronger performances from California teams at NXN?

06:30 - Difficulty of teams having to transition from CA courses to NXN conditions.

09:00 - Claremont's Roy Griak trip, conditioning for NXN?

11:00 - Does Griak trip give Claremont a resume booster for NXN wild card selection? Does California deserve more wild card selections?

13:00 - Difficulty of the FL/NXN qualifying process for California teams.

18:30 - Are there solutions for cleaning up the qualifying process?

21:45 - Most exciting things to watch in California this season and strength of underclassmen.