Boys Cross Country: Buckley Rankings

The Kevin Buckley Rankings
CHSAA Cross Country Team Rankings

The Buckley Rankings (City Champs Edition)

A. The first set of rankings come directly from “Tullyrunners Speed Ratings” (combining top two performances by the runner); each runner then gets a placing based on the numbers (runners beyond 7th athlete are displaced…all those Chaminade, St.Anthony’s & Farrell runners who are better than your 4th & 5th guy; if “back scorers” did not get a speed rating, I added 10 points for the next scorer, and 20 points for last scorer (if there is no 4th scorer with a ranking)(if you can somegow figure out this byzantine scoring method
than we can move on.org)

B. The next set of rankings is based on my biases and handicapping predictions (this is from the same man who predicted Dewey over Truman, and Mitt Romney)(my last winner at the racetrack was Bucephalus, owned, trained and ridden by Alexander the Great)

A. Tully Runners/Buckley Nonsense:
1. Chaminade (68)
2. St.Anthony’s (79)
3. Monsignor Farrell (117)
4. Fordham Prep (178)
5. St.Peter’s (179)
6. Kellenberg Memorial (180)
7. Bishop Ford (182)
8. Holy Trinity (194)
9. St.Joseph by the Sea (244)
10.Iona Prep (254)

B. Buckley Predictions: (if I were a betting man and these were my wagers)

1.St.Anthony’s (3-1)…the odds are good for a possible upset; lost to Chaminade in
NS Sectionals, but the pre-season favorites have enough talent to breakthrough here;
$100 to win on the Friars at 3-1 (they have a better chance than John McCain)

2.Chaminade (1-2)…odds-on logical favorite, but you won’t get rich betting on them;
Coach Carriero should have gotten the Republican nomination for the job he did thusfar
this season (”Bill” would have done better in the swing states than McCain and carries
less “baggage” than both candidates)

3.Monsignor Farrell…(12-1)…they have to finish 3rd; great balance, but not enough punch
to win this; need a nor’easter to move beyond this spot; Coach Cuffe, our future Treasury
Secretary in the Obama Administration, will not be happy about this

4.Fordham Prep (all other teams are listed in “the field” at 25-1, this is a sucker’s bet, for
nobody else has a remote chance of winning…sorry)…major disappointment of the year,
but they invariably run very well at this meet

5.Kellenberg Memorial…I must back my own team to qualify for the State Meet; the
Firebirds appear rejuvenated and angry after abyssmal showing last week; if top three
are in the top 20, then Firebirds can make it

6.Holy Trinity…why not as high as 4th???; if break up Kellenberg’s top three, they will
beat my #5; have run very well, with lesser talent, in this race in recent years

7.Bishop Ford…seen working out on back hills on Saturday; top 2 get very low numbers,
other scorers are suspect (”round up the usual suspects”)

8.Iona Prep…coming on, but I just think it is too much to ask for in this team effort;
obviously, the Tully speed ratings do not reflect the quality of the Gaels; why can’t they
even beat Fordham Prep?

9.St.Peter’s…individuals post good times at various meets, but never on the same day;
if put it all together next Saturday, outcome can be different than this prediction

10.St. Joseph by the Sea…can beat a couple of teams listed above, but not really a
state berth challenge

N.B. you can throw a blanket over teams #4 thru #9 for the two last state qualifiers; I
feel Fordham Prep has a slight advantage, but a dogfight will occur; for the losing
teams (and their coaches) there will be “a weeping and gnashing of teeth”
-special mention to John Donodeo, Dave Wood and Pat Dormer, who are always good
fodder for comedy, who failed to even get mentioned above

***all predictions/polls above come with a margin of error of 4% (this is close to the
Gallup, Rasmussen, Clear Politics, AP and Pew surveys)
***remember to “vote early and vote often” (see “swing states”)