Remember, this is only how it looks from the rankings heading into the regionals. This is not a prediction based on any analysis of races held during the season. If a team has fewer than five ranked runners, it is assumed that their first unranked runner would finish three to five places behind the last ranked runner, their second unranked runner would finishe six to ten places behind the last ranked runner, etc. Runners run above and below their ranking in every meet, and the Regionals will be no different. The important thing is that if you have five runners, get them to the starting line. Your region may be depending on you.
Region I: This Region should advance four teams. Ritchie and Webster should battle for the top spot. I show Ritchie with the advantage. Those two should be well above the remainder of the field. Williamstown appears to have a solid edge for the 3rd spot. The 4th spot is up for grabs. I show St. Marys as the favorite for that spot. I am projecting 20 runners to advance from this region. The current top 20 are Brettley Harris, Daniel Cooper, Austin Hayes, Hunter Riffle, Jakeb Van Horn, Seth Backus, Hunter Deem, Tanner Gorby, Chandler Antill, Chase Uppole, Trey Heaster, Brady Gorrell, Richard Butler, Travis Pickering, Richard Stalnaker, Cole Clutter, Jacob Monn, Austin Hall, Cooper Brady, and Kyle Humphrey. Runners within 60 points of the top 20 that aren't on an expected advancing team that will be looking to snag an individual spot are Cameron's Ben Hart (22nd), Fairmont Senior's Matt Strand (27th), East Fairmont's Blake Ashcraft (28th), Fairmont Senior's Nate McCartney (29th), Paden City's Dean Frye (30th), Oak Glen's Hunter Gorby (31st), North Marion's Fred Harrison (32nd), and Weir's Tyler Virtue (33rd). There are 38 ranked runners in Region I.
Region II: This Region should advance four teams. Bridgeport is far and away the top of the field. I have Frankfort in 2nd, just 8 points ahead of Philip Barbour. Just another 5 points back is Berkeley Springs. Keyser should also be in the mix for a team spot. I am projecting 16 runners to advance from this region. The current top 16 are Steven Shetler, Leland Henderson, Jimmy Lacaria, Michael Duez, Ian Frailey, Arryn Tennant, Troy Pallay, Devon Alt, Timmy Kinney, Hunter Kasekamp, Trevor Matko, Jeremy Robertson, Jack Funk, Drake Bolle, Caleb hawkins, and Jason Detrick. 8 of those are from Bridgeport, who will obviously only be able to run 7. That would move Corey Bunch into that 16th spot. Runners within 60 points of the top 16 who are not on an expected advancing team who will be tying to take a spot are Trinity's Daniel Dawley (21st), Robert C. Byrd's Austen Zorick (25th), and Keyser's Preston Leatherman (26th). There are 41 ranked runners in Region II.
Region III: This region should advance three teams. Sherman appears to be at the top of the field. PikeView and Westside appear to have the best shot at the other two spots. I am projecting 11 runners to advance from this region. The current top 11 are Jason Weitzel, Jesse Canaday, Zachary Canaday, Justin Cochran, John Bard, Nick Carrier, Michael Hayworth, Jacob Cline, Dakota Cecil, and Justin Grimmette. There are only 10 ranked runners in Region III, so there aren't 11 for me to list. As only 10 are ranked, there are no runners within 60 points of the top 11 that are trying to take an individual spot.
Region IV: This region may advance four teams. For that to happen, all four of Herbert Hoover, Ravenswood, Sissonville, and Tolsia must get a full lineup to the starting line. I'm going to assume that they come through. I have Nicholas holding the top spot. Wirt has the edge over Buffalo for the 2nd position. I have Charleston Catholic with a narrow grasp on the questionable 4th spot with Roane just 3 points behind. I am projecting 14 runners to advance from this region. The current top 14 are Hayden Harrison, Glenn McMillan, Caleb Pell, Matt Christiansen, Josh McClung, Caleb Shirey, Jackson Reed, Logan Kerby, Joe Yeager, Jonathan Wileman, Devin Rich, Zach Marcum, Thomas Hart, and Juvenal Perez. Runners within 60 points of the top 14 who aren't on expected advancing teams who will be trying to slip into one of the individual positions are Herbert Hoover's Matthew Hopkins (17th), Scott's Nikoles Mulligan (20th), and St. Joseph's Owen Huffman (23rd). There are 23 ranked runners in Region IV.