The Abington Heights boys and Crestwood girls occupy the top spots for the first Century Dental Associates Cross Country Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
Four programs are responsible for the top four teams in each set of rankings.
Abington Heights, Crestwood, Holy Redeemer and North Pocono have both of their teams ranked in the top four.
The “preseason” rankings, were released prior to the start of conference meets, but after opening weekend invitationals for more than half the district’s teams. The rankings were revealed Tuesday at noon and will be updated weekly on Mondays throughout the season.
The rankings group all teams together. In each of the two leagues in District 2, all schools face each other during the regular season.
Abington Heights did not compete in the Lackawanna League because of COVID-19 precautions last season. It did, however, sweep the District 2 Class 3A championships. The Comets open the season ranked first in boys and second in girls.
Crestwood combines the top-ranked girls team with the number-four boys team.
The Crestwood girls, defending Wyoming Valley Conference champions with a 16-0 record, finished second to Abington Heights in District 2 Class 3A last season. They also had some graduation losses, but the Comets filled those spots well and opened the season with the second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers at the Cliff Robbins Sr. Invitational where they would have been the runaway winner if team scores were compiled.
Holy Redeemer starts out second in boys and third in girls.
North Pocono is third in boys and fourth in girls.
The Abington Heights boys began their season Friday with a fourth-place finish in a strong, 16-team field at the Lions Invitational at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem.
Holy Redeemer is second in boys after placing second in both the WVC and district Class 2A last season. The Royals were fourth out of 17 teams Saturday at the Northampton Invitational.
When the Lackawanna League went with divisions last season to shorten the schedule during the pandemic, North Pocono took advantage of Abington Heights’ absence to win Division 1 boys. The No. 3 Trojans were second behind the Comets in the district Class 3A meet last season.
The Crestwood boys also had the strongest performance at the Robbins Invitational Saturday at Misericordia University, although the boys race was much more balanced among many teams.
Montrose opens in fifth after winning Lackawanna Division 2 and placing second in the district in Class A last season.
WVC champion Lake-Lehman, which was third in the district in Class 2A, is sixth.
Seventh-ranked Mid Valley has some holes to fill from graduation after winning Lackawanna Division 3 and a district title on the way to seventh in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state meet in Class 2A. The Spartans did, however, outperform most district teams at the Robbins Invitational.
Delaware Valley, Elk Lake, Dunmore, Dallas and defending district Class A champion Holy Cross fill out the rankings.
Top-ranked Crestwood was not the first girls team to turn in an impressive invitational performance on the first weekend.
No. 2 Abington Heights, the five-time defending district Class 3A champion, won the Lions Invitational in Bethlehem.
The top three teams in last season’s district Class 2A race begin in the same order in the third, fourth and fifth spots of the rankings.
Two-time defending district champion Holy Redeemer, which was second in the WVC last season, opens in the third spot.
North Pocono and Honesdale, which won Lackawanna Division 1, are fourth and fifth.
Dallas, which was third behind Crestwood and Holy Redeemer in the WVC, is ranked sixth.
Montrose, another two-time defending district champion, is coming off a fifth-place state finish in Class A. The 2020 Lackawanna Division 2 champs open the season in seventh.
Scranton, Lake-Lehman, Lakeland, Mountain View and Valley View complete the rankings.
Lakeland won Lackawanna Division 3 last season. It was third, behind Montrose and Mountain View in the district Class A race.
The season-opening rankings with conference records and district finish from last season:
CENTURY DENTAL ASSOCIATES CROSS COUNTRY POWER RANKINGS
Boys
| Rank | School | 2020 Conference Record | 2020 District Finish |
| 1. | Abington Heights | 0-0 | 1st in 3A |
| 2. | Holy Redeemer | 14-1 | 2nd in 2A |
| 3. | North Pocono | 6-0 | 2nd in 3A |
| 4. | Crestwood | 13-3 | 6th in 2A |
| 5. | Montrose | 5-0 | 2nd in A |
| 6. | Lake-Lehman | 16-0 | 3rd in 2A |
| 7. | Mid Valley | 7-0 | 1st in 2A |
| 8. | Delaware Valley | 5-1 | 3rd in 3A |
| 9. | Elk Lake | 4-1 | 3rd in A |
| 10. | Dunmore | 3-4 | 5th in A |
| 11. | Dallas | 11-5 | 7th in 2A |
| 12. | Holy Cross | 6-1 | 1st in A |
Girls
| Rank | School | 2020 Conference Record | 2020 District Finish |
| 1. | Crestwood | 16-0 | 2nd in 3A |
| 2. | Abington Heights | 0-0 | 1st in 3A |
| 3. | Holy Redeemer | 14-1 | 1st in 2A |
| 4. | North Pocono | 5-1 | 2nd in 2A |
| 5. | Honesdale | 6-0 | 3rd in 2A |
| 6. | Dallas | 14-2 | 7th in 2A |
| 7. | Montrose | 5-0 | 1st in A |
| 8. | Scranton | 2-4 | 4th in 3A |
| 9. | Lake-Lehman | 8-8 | 10th in 2A |
| 10. | Lakeland | 7-0 | 3rd in A |
| 11. | Mountain View | 3-1 | 2nd in A |
| 12. | Valley View | 3-3 | 4th in 2A |
