Kevin Smith is a master of disguises.

Shifting personnel in and out of the lineups for meets big and small, the Oak Park High cross country coach leaves for the imagination the true strength of his teams.

The Oak Park girls' team is listed No. 5 in the preseason Nike Team Nationals state rankings.

Quite possibly, Oak Park could be better than that.

Although we may not find out until late November, when Smith brings his top seven to the starting line at the section finals.

"This could be an exceptional team," said Smith.

Exceptional has been a standard at Oak Park. Over the last six years, the girls' program has won three titles, placed second twice and had one third-place finish at the CIF State Championships in Fresno.

The 2005, Oak Park had the 10th fastest team time in course history at Fresno's storied Woodward Park and was runner-up to Division III champion and nationally ranked Corona Del Mar in the Division III final. Oak Park's performance, the second best of the day, earned the team an invitation to the NTN.

Oak Park returns seven of its top 10 runners from the 2006 state runner-up team. Marissa Diehl and Melissa Skiba were 12th and 22nd at the state meet, while Kirsten Jackson finished 34th. Julie Kopstein and Sarah Kiner were Oak Park's No. 6 and No. 7 runners.

Courtney Lightfoot, who missed the 2006 cross country season while recovering from a broken foot, is back to the form that brought her a third-place individual finish at the 2005 state finals.

During Oak Park's summer camp at Mammoth, Lightfoot smashed the program's course record, set by Bree Strenkowski last year, by 17 seconds.

That is just the front line of the Oak Park program.

Waiting in the wing is a group that Smith says "could be one of the best freshman classes in program history.

"There are three or four who will make a significant impact."

That freshman class includes Xceret Osario, Candace Matsunaga, Devon and Riley McCullough, Lindsey Courtney and Erinn Tempelis.

"It is a great group of young ladies," said Smith. "They come in every day, smile, nod and work very hard."

As Oak Park makes its usual rounds to major competitions such as Stanford, Clovis and Mount San Antonio College, Smith will mix the young runners with veterans. Sticking to the formula that has allowed his teams to be fresh for the postseason, the Oak Park coach will limit the number of races for his runners.

Oak Park wasn't the only Ventura County team to make the NTN state rankings. The Ventura boys' team is ranked No. 1 and the early favorite to win the Division II state title.