Boys XC Preseason Rankings: #24

<p> <span style="font-size: 13.63636302947998px;">NCRunners is counting down the top 25 boys teams heading into the fall season. &nbsp;The full rankings will be released on the first day of official practice: Friday, August 1st. &nbsp;These are subjective rankings (not computer generated); they take into account returning team rankings, returning team averages, team rankings in the 1600 and 3200 from indoor and outdoor track, and a school&#39;s &quot;Improvement Rating.&quot; &nbsp;Improvement Rating is a custom metric developed by researching the improvement in a team&#39;s 5-person average from year to year, in comparison to that same team&#39;s ranking. &nbsp;Improvement Rating numbers and methodology will be released on the weekend of August 2nd.</span></p>

 

Though the West Carteret girls team has garnered most of the headlines lately, this could be the breakout for Jarrett Swearinger and his teammates.

 

	West Carteret (NC)
	1) Jarrett Swearingen		15:54.56	24
	2) Michael Carr		16:23.40	68
	3) Hunter Newman		16:25.00	75
	4) Elijah Woods		17:34.32	330
	5) Spencer Russell		18:14.36	577
	Average Time: 16:54.33 Total Time: 1:24:31.64 1-5 Split: 2:19.80
	6) Yoshi Obata		18:33.00	686
	7) Preston Brungard		18:43.00	727

Other than the epic 800's run by John Crossley a few years ago, the West Carteret boys have lived in the shadow of their better-known girls team for a while.  This looks like the year that the Patriots become known for stength on the boys' side, as this team has an excellent chance to win the weak 3A East and should be top 10 in the 3A state meet (outside chance at top 5).  Although they lost 3 seniors, including 2 from top 5, this team has quietly been posting strong improvements from year to year for a while now, and if that trend continues they will be tough.  The top end is particularly strong, but depth is a major concern; West Carteret needs big improvement at the 5-7 slots to have a chance to really make a splash this spring.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Team Rankings: 24th

• 5 Year Improvement Rating: 5.272 (21st)

• 3 Year Improvement Rating: 6.809 (16th)