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As the rest of the country comes into play, the Southwest Region continues to dominate the conversation. Nearly 50% of all ranked teams hail from Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, with plenty more falling into the bubble category. While the top five teams still have some diversity across the country, it sets up the Southwest Regional Championship as the must-see meet of the year. With only a potential four slots on the plane to Portland, it will be one of the hardest-fought races in recent memory.
That's not to say the rest of the country has been boring. Great American XC Festival provided teams recovering from severe weather events an outlet to compete. Terre Haute saw some of the top individuals go head-to-head once again. Nike-sponsored events played host to major team battles in every corner of the country, ranging from the Pacific Northwest down to Texas.
While the Southwest has had its fair share of major invitationals so far this season, they now begin to settle into their championship portion of the calendar, filtering up from local to regional to statewide competition. Meanwhile, major invitationals on the coast, such as the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational and Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, are still set to provide the stage for major breakthrough performances.
We did have our first state championship of the year, as Alaska crowned their victors over the weekend. We've got 49 more states to go, and we're excited for all the action they'll bring.
Current At-Large Predictions
SW-3, SW-4, S-3, NW-3