The only thing that keeps El Toro out of the top 5 right now is the fact that their high returning 3 Mile ranking is based on some unusually fast courses, even for the Southern Section. The Chargers had great 3 Mile rankings last year heading into the Southern Section finals, and they looked like a state meet team coming out of the prelims round, but they weren't able to translate that into a state meet berth. Despite that, this is a team with a critical mass of building momentum, one that returns 6 of 7 (including 4 rising seniors) from the squad that saw their 2016 season end a week earlier than they had hoped. There is more encouraging information here, too: El Toro has a solid record of year-to-year improvement, and the team had very good 3200 results in the spring (which are almost always an indication of progress in the fall). Returning #7 runner Euan Kilpatrick clocked 9:40 on the track, one of 6 Chargers to break the 10-minute barrier. This is a very high ranking for a team that didn't make it to states last year, but this is also a team with very high potential. To get over the hill in 2017, El Toro will have to post season bests when it counts the most.
2017 Returning Stats:
- 5K Ranking: 8th
- 5-Year 5K Improvement Rating: 17th
- 3 Mile Ranking: 2nd
- 5-Year 3M Improvement Rating: 21st
- Team 1600 Ranking: 14th
- Team 3200 Ranking: 6th