How the Madera boys' cross country team could get ranked as the No. 22 team in the nation and during the same week fall from No. 3 to No. 4 in the state is mind boggling.

But when they toe the starting line today at the Mt. SAC Invitational against eight of the top ten ranked teams in California, Madera will once again have the opportunity to send a message to the rest of the state that, whether ranked third or 30th, they can race with any team in the state.

Top-ranked Royal High from Simi Valley will likely be focused on exerting some revenge against a Coyote boys team that defeated them two weeks ago in winning the Clovis Invitational, albeit without their No.1 runner in Dylan Jaedtke.

Amazingly, the team that jumped ahead of Madera in the state rankings, El Camino High out of Oceanside, has yet to race the Coyotes head-to-head until today and we will find out just how deserving they are of making the leap.

Madera senior Benny Madrigal will also have the opportunity to test himself against a huge contingent of runners who will challenge for the top individual spots at the California State Meet at Woodward park in Fresno the last week of November.

Madrigal, who placed eighth in the Division I race at last year's State Meet and entered the season as the No. 3 returning runner in Division I, finds himself ranked No. 8 in the state behind runners that he has beaten in previous races.

Luis Medina from Arroyo High School who defeated Madrigal by a mere three seconds in winning the Clovis Invitational is ranked No. 4 in the state.

The Mt. SAC Invitational should provide some very interesting team as well as individual matchups in the last of the big three Nike sponsored invitationals prior to the State Meet.

Paul Stanford Paul Stanford is the sports editor for the Madera Tribune. You can contact Paul at 674.8134 ext. 225 or e-mail at pstanford (at) maderatribune.net The Madera Tribune online subscription To subscribe or log on, CLICK HERE. For more information first, CLICK HERE.