seriously, what is in the water in the midwest that seems to produce these teams year in and out?
XC Legacy: 1981 National XC Rankings
| 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
1981 National High School XC Rankings
(Recap) In 2004 Nike changed the face of prep cross country with the implementation of Nike Team Nationals. After decades the hopes and dreams of avid cross fans were finally realized. Hosted by Nike, NTN allowed the top xc programs in the nation to compete in one true national championship race at Portland Meadows. Many state associations do not allow prep teams to travel so teams register as clubs in order to compete in this post season event.
The true excitement of national team cross country stardom began with the publication of the Harrier magazine in 1974. The Harrier was the premier national high school cross country report. In 1989 Marc Bloom's Harrier magazine began publishing the Harrier Super 25 National XC Rankings. It was this publication and the excitement it created that would play a part in inspiring the formation of Nike Team Nationals. The Super 25 Rankings allowed teams around the country a national forum and an opportunity to win the coveted Harrier Super 25 National XC Championship released through the Harrier report.
Delving back in time, it is clear that the Harrier was a source of inspiration for teams throughout the country before those first national rankings in 1989. From 1980 until 1988 teams throughout the country competed at a national championship level without the recognition as true national cross country champions. Track & Field News used to have the "National Postal Competitions". In these events five runners on a team would compete in a two-mile on the track. For this reason, York, IL, has claimed that they own the national championship every year from the late 1960's until 1989. This is quite perplexing considering cross country is not a track event and not all cross country runners participate in track. What is clear is that York is not the only team to have dominant programs before 1988.
XC Legacy is going back to the years from 1980 until 1988, seeking to fill in those missing seasons with national rankings based upon individual team xc performances. We will begin with the boy's national champions from 1980-1988, releasing a new story until we complete this important time period in prep cross country. Perhaps now a spotlight can rest on those teams who deserve recognition for superior national performances.
1981 Cross Country
In 1981 we see a continued dominance of Illinois and Indiana teams nationally with the two state powerhouses dominating the top five national ranking spots. We witness the final showing of a dominant Oregon squad from South Eugene which featured three (3) nine minute two-milers capping their ninth 4A team championship in 10 years at the Oregon State Cross Country Championship. At the '81 Oregon State Championships the Axemen dominated scoring 76 points led by individual victor and Kinney finalist Matthew McGuirk.
Out of California we have Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and Leigh (San Jose). In 1987 the CIF held the first-ever State Cross Country Championship. Before the 1987 CIF State Championship each section had its own championship meet. In 1981 Nationally renowned statitian Doug Speck and Harold Willman ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and Leigh (San Jose) as the top two programs in the state of California. Mater Dei scored an impressive 37 points at the Southern Sectional 3A Championship race with Leigh scoring 62 points at the Central Coast Section Championship race. In the Northern California Finals Leigh raced away in victory with five (5) competitors under 15:31 finishing ranked #2 by Speck and Willman for California.
1.
Carmel, IN
Indiana XC Champion
2.
York, IL
Illinois XC Champion
3.
Portage, IN
Indiana XC Runner-up
4.
Bloomington North, IN
Defending National Champion
4.
Bloomington South, IN
Indiana XC 4th Place
6.
Schaumburg, IL
Illinois XC Runner-up
7.
South Eugene, OR
Oregon XC Champion
8.
Mater Dei (Santa Ana), CA
CIF Southern Sectional Champion
Leigh (San Jose), CA
CIF Northern California Champion
1. Carmel, Indiana: National Champions
After being upset at the 1980 State Championship to Bloomington North the
Greyhounds entered 1981 returning five (5) sub 16 minute 5k runners. After storming through the Indiana Sectional, Regional, and Semi-State Championships Chuck Koeppen had the Carmel men primed for a special state championship performance. Entering the meet it is hard to imagine improving upon the almost unbelievable performance of Bloomington from the season before, but that is exactly what Koeppen's Greyhouds accomplished. (image: Indy.com) Impressive story on Chuck Koeppen
Quite possibly the single greatest team championship performance (1-5 spread) in U.S. history the Greyhounds produced a 7.3 second spread from the 1-5 varsity runners. Averaging 15:16 over the 5000 meter course Carmel avenged the 1980 defeat to earn the 5th team title in 6 seasons. Lets meet the 1981 National Championship team.
| Athlete Name/ Place | State Time (5000 Meters) |
| Adam Smith (10th Place) | 15:13.2 |
| Leonard Bareford (11th Place) | 15:15.1 |
| Dan Boston (13th Place) | 15:16.7 |
| Richie Garing (15th Place) | 15:17.8 |
| David Widmer (18th Place) | 15:20.5 |
| Jonathan Beasley (70th Place) | 16:05.2 |
| Mike Montero (98th Place) | 16:29.3 |
2. York, Elmhurst, Illinois
After a so-so 1980 state championship performance the long green line entered the Illinois State Championships on a quest for perfection. York would not disappoint with a superb 44-185 schellaking of Shaumburg. Newton's squad placed five competitors in the top 30 averaging 14:53 over the fast Illinois Championship 3-mile course. On average this equates roughly to a 15:22 5K average assuming it would be run on an extremely flat and fast course. While very quick, it was not as superior as the Carmel average over the Indiana 5000m Championship course. To put it short, Illinois and Indiana were once again the creme of the U.S. prep cross country running crop. Lets meet the National XC Runner-up York Team.
| Athlete Name/ Place | State Time (3-Miles) |
| Rex Armstrong (6th Place) | 14:35 |
| Doug Schroer (13th Place) | 14:48 |
| Mark Jerger (19th Place) | 14:59 |
| Dale Madsen (22nd Place) | 15:01 |
| Dan Newman (29th Place) | 15:05 |
| Joe Gross (36th Place) | 15:08 |
| John Driscoll (96th Place) | 15:33 |
3. Portage IN
After the performance of Bloomington North in 1980 it was hard to imagine Portage leap frogging the defending national champions. But that is exactly what Bill Wilke's team had in mind as they stormed through the 1981 season as the definitive #2 team in Indiana. Coming into the 1981 season Portage returned four (4) of their top five (5) varsity scorers. However it was the inconsistency of the 5th man and an off day by several runners that kept Portage from competing for the team championship.
At the Indiana State Championships Portage placed the top four (4) under 15:43 for 5000 meters. In what went down as the closest and deepest state championship final in the country Portage finished a mere four (4) points ahead of upstart defending national champion Bloomington North and only 14 points ahead of Bloomington South. Averaging 15:38 over the South Grove 5000 meter course Portage showed true team strength. Coming into the State Championships Portage was riding Sectional and Regional Team Championship victories but the true test would be a battle with Indiana perennial powerhouse Carmel and the two Bloomington teams.
Athlete Name
State Time (5000 meters)
Doug Collins
15:10.0
Mike Webber
15:26.3
Daniel Mulvihill
15:33.5
David Valentine
15:43.1
Ron Smith
16:20.5
Kevin Huber
16:36.9
Robert Abell
17:03.6
4. Bloomington North & South, Indiana
After a superb 1980 season Bloomington North returned their top two runners for another go at the Indiana State Championship. Hampered by the loss of key varsity runners Bloomington North was largely a force due to the individual performances of Kinney National finalists Marty Bassett and Jeff Grove. Two of the truly great individual competitors Bassett and Grove ran second and fourth at the State Championships in 14:47.2 and 14:56.1 over 5000 meters. However, the team strength was the issue as the Bloomington North team would battle rivals Bloomington South all season long.
What is interesting about Bloomington South and Bloomington North are that they are near identical teams. At the Sectional and Regional Championships Bloomington South claimed team championship victory. On the other hand at the following Semi-State Championships Bloomington North rebounded to claim team championship victory. In what can only be called a true team match-up the two Bloomington teams were on a collision course with Carmel and Portage at the Indiana State Championships.
With equal depth the two teams finished out of the running as Carmel ran away with the team championship. However, as expected at the State Championships Bloomignton North would rise to the occasion narrowly finishing third to Portage with four(4) points of seperation 148-152 in the Indiana State Championship final while defeating Bloomington South by 10 points.
In a head to head match-up based upon State final results Bloomington South defeats Bloomington North 27-28 points. But in a similar match-up Bloomignton North defeats Portage 25-30, conclusion: Indiana has four nationally dominant teams. At the Indiana State Championships the Charles Warthan led Bloomington North team averaged 15:32 while Bloomington South averaged 15:38 over the 5000 meter state course. For this reason, it is impossible to differentiate who was truly the better team so we rank them with a tie for 4th in the nation.
| Bloomington South, IN | Time/Mark | Bloomington North, IN | Time/Mark |
| Ken Waterhouse | 14:43.0 | Marty Bassett | 14:47.2 |
| Eric Rush | 15:27.2 | Jeff Grove | 14:56.1 |
| Dan Gornall | 15:43.9 | Mike Minnett | 15:32.7 |
| Alan Mather | 16:02.9 | David McMillan | 16:12.6 |
| Chris Goss | 16:15.7 | John Ruff | 16:16.6 |
| Doug Wilson | 16:40.8 | Kenny Williams | 16:16.9 |
| Randy Viola | 17:11.0 | Jon Tichenor | 16:28.4 |
6. Schaumburg, Illinois
Finishing second to York at any state meet is no meager accomplishment. Arguably the most dominant program year in and year out, to compete head to head with the men from Elmhurst almost always equals a national top ten ranking. So it was with Schaumburg in the 1980 Illinois State Championships. Finishing second to York, largely due to a large gap between the 4th and 5th runner Schaumburg's average over 3-miles equalled roughly to a 15:44 5k average was the sixth fastest in the nation.
| Athlete Name | State Time (3-Miles) |
| Mike DiVerde | 14:43 |
| Brett Gaurrerro | 15:07 |
| Jeff Suhy | 15:14 |
| Alex Barbour | 15:25 |
| Dan Skala | 15:40 |
| Jim Tedesco | 16:05 |
| John Gorzak | 17:11 |
7. South Eugene, Oregon
Truly one of the great state championships in the nation, the Oregon State Championship has stood as a benchmark for U.S. distance running since Bill Dellinger's inaugural victory in 1949. Other U.S. greats such as Steve Prefontaine and the great McChesney family helped put Oregon distance running and South Eugene High School on the national map.
Since 1972 the South Eugene Axemen claimed eight (8) State Championships in nine (9) years. Standing as the most dominant team of the previous decade the Axeman entered 1981 with one thought in mind, avenge the 1980 State Championship loss to Sunset. In that 1980 final South Eugene narrowly lost to Sunset by 10 points. In 1981 the Axemen were determined this result would not happen again. The 1981 State meet would be coach John Gillespie's final state championship appearance before moving on to a coaching position at the University of Oregon.
The Oregon squad from South Eugene which featured three (3) nine minute two-milers entered the State Championship against a tough Sunset squad. Team championships demand a collective effort combining individual achievement to capitalize on a moment of opportunity to seize greatness. With the falter of Sunset's top runners John McCarthy and Matt Moss, South Eugene ran away with the 4A team championship. Led by individual victor Matthew McGuirk South Eugene scored a 76-102 team victory over the defending state champions Sunset sending coach Gillespie out in style. McGuirk led the Axemen to a ninth 4A team championship in 10 years and what would be the last for truly one of the dominant U.S. prep cross country programs.
The Oregon State Championship course was a tough 5000 meters, perhaps one of the most difficult in the nation. Known in the early 80's for slow times it by no means is an indicator against a teams strength and depth. For example, in 1980 South Eugene's Dan Mazo ran 16:09 (15:47 in '79) over the state course but went on to finish 7th at the Kinney Finals running 15:07. In the 1981 Kinney final McGuirk would run a 15:05.7 for 5000 meters to place 9th. What we know from the "books" is simply that this was a difficult course. As a further indicator of South Eugene's strength McGuirk would go on to run a 8:21 3000 the following spring to claim the state championship. This is also the team of runners who would go on to set the U.S. 4x1500m National Record (16:03.7) the following spring.
| Name of Athlete / Place | State XC Time | 82' 1500m time | 82' 3000m time |
| Matthew McGuirk (1st) | 16:02.1 | 3:54.5 (4x1500m) | 8:21.11 (8:54) |
| Will Kimball (11th) | 16:36.5 | 3:58.5 (4x1500m) | 8:42.78 (9:17) |
| John Chambers | 16:58.0 | 4:05.1 (4x1500m) | 8:39.39 (9:14) |
| Ken McChesney | 17:13.5 | 8:40.80 (9:15) | |
| Kevin Long | 17:18.4 | ||
| Terry Trainer | 17:29.9 | ||
| Eric Mason | 17:39.8 | 4:05.6 (4x1500m) |
8. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) & Leigh (San Jose), California
Out of California we have Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and Leigh (San Jose). In 1987 the CIF held the first-ever State Cross Country Championship. Before the 1987 CIF State Championship each section had its own championship meet. In 1981 Nationally renowned statitian Doug Speck and Harold Willman ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and Leigh (San Jose) as the top two programs in the state of California. Mater Dei scored an impressive 37 points at the Southern Sectional 3A Championship race with Leigh scoring 62 points at the Central Coast Section Championship race. In the Northern California Finals Leigh raced away in victory with five (5) competitors under 15:31 finishing ranked #2 by Speck and Willman for California.
Honorable Mention (in no particular order):
Salesianum, DE; Bernards, NJ; Crescenta Valley, CA; Abington Heights, PA; Kent Roosevelt, OH; Daniel Boone, TN; Archbishop Malloy, NY; Murray, UT; Conroe McCullough, TX; Stevens Point, WI; Tuba City, AZ; Magnolia, WV; Highland, ID; Wichita-Kapaun, KS; Greencastle-Antrim, PA; Dodge City, KS; Ferris, WA *We thank those who submitted these superior team championship performances
Stay Tuned: 1982 National XC Rankings
*If you have a team from 1982-88 that you feel is national top 10 calliber please email me with details ataylor@milesplit.us
