There has been a lot of anger, disgust, and even distrust revolving around the new VHSL regional alignments. The epicenter of those emotions will definitely be in 6A regions C and D this upcoming XC season with two of the top 10 teams in the state slated to miss out on state competition.
With only the top three teams in each region advancing to the state meet it means some big names might miss out on having a shot at making the podium at states. Region C will have 18 teams while D has 17 teams. The unfairness stems from Region A having 12 and Region B having eight. That means the respective percents advancing will be 25%, 38%, 17%, and 18%.
Leading the way in the preseason the top 10 teams in 6A for the girls are: James Madison, Oakton, George C. Marshall, Lake Braddock, Riverbend, Cosby, W.T. Woodson, James Robinson, West Potomac, and South Lakes.
By region it is D, D, D, C, B, B, C, C, C, D for your top 10 teams in the state. That means on paper West Potomac and South Lakes, though ranked 9th and 10th in the entire state could miss out on competing at states. Both while being ranked higher than any "A" region or the third "B" region team. In fact you'd have to scroll down to 12th (Colonial Forge) for the final "B" region team and down to 18, 20, 28 for the "A" region teams.
Regional Virtual Meet Rankings
| VHSL 6A (55) | VHSL 5A (55) | VHSL 4A (52) | VHSL 3A (48) | VHSL 2A (52) | VHSL 1A (54) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|