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 places behind the last ranked runner, their second unranked runner would finish six 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. If you can come up with 7, get them on the line. If you only have 3, get them on the line. Your region may be depending on you.
Region I: This Region should advance three teams. University again looks to be the class of the field. Morgantown and Preston should battle for 2nd. I ranking data actually has them tied with Morgantown winning the tie-breaker. No one else is really close, so it was be a major upset for someone to sneak in for the 3rd spot. Individually, only 10 will advance. The current top 10 are Zoe Shetty, Allie Martin, Caroline Kirby, Lea Hatcher, Emma Troischt, Chloe Stark, Zara Zervos, Abigail Murray, Athena Young, and Emma Williams. There is no one within 60 points of these 10 that are not on an expected qualifying team. The closest is John Marshall's Ally Hicks (15th). There are 40 ranked runners in Region I.
Region II: This Region should also advance 3 teams. Hampshire appears to be far and away the top dog in the field. Things get much tighter for the next spots. I show Spring Mills in 2nd with Hedgesville in 3rd. I have just 11 points separating them, but with Musselman and Jefferson not far off in that battle at just 9 and 13 points back, respectively. Individually, only 10 will advance. The current top 10 are Jayden Judy, Addie Labombard, Alex Kile, Danielle Davis, Blake Hull, Aleynah Miller, Janette Salvador, Maggie Odom, Dakota Johnson, and Carolina Wilson. Again, there is no one within 60 points of these 10 that isn't on an expected qualifying team. The closest is Washington's Carmen Bermejo-Alvarez (13th). There are 22 ranked runners in Region II.
Region III: This Region looks like it will only advance two teams. However, Capital has 7 runners showing on their roster on the WVSSAC website. They haven't ran more than 4 in any meet that I've seen, so I'm going on the assumption that they'll still just have 4. If they do get 5 to the line, a 3rd team would likely advance. The WVSSAC site is not always a good barometer because some schools are really, really bad at updating their rosters. It looks pretty clear that Woodrow Wilson and George Washington should take the two spots. Individually, only 10 will advance. The current top 10 are Maddy Childs, Olivia Ward, Katherine Sutton, Maya Schneider, Savanah Hughes, Kaya Wharton, Gillian Breeden, Hailey Ross, Tori Parks, and Alex Humphrey. Runners within 60 points of the top 10 that aren't on an expected advancing team are Capital's Emma Magee (12th) and St. Albans' Jessica Miller (13th). There are 21 ranked runners in Region III.
Region IV: This Region should advance three teams, which means there is going to be a pretty good team sitting at home. Cabell Midland looks to be the favorite for the Region. I show Ripley edging out Parkersburg for the 2nd spot by 3 points. Hurricane appears to be a distant 4th as I show them 33 points behind Parkersburg, but I certainly wouldn't rule them out. Unfortunately, only 10 individuals will advance. The current top 10 are Victoria Starcher, Madison Trippett, Olivia Collett, Anya Miller, Abby Herring, Brynn Smith, Emma Jenkins, Danielle Ray, Gretchen Mills, and Asha Bora. Only one runner not already on an expected advancing team is within 60 points of the top 10. That is Huntington's Winnie Mayes (11th), who would be ranked in the top 3 of Regions II and III. There are 50 ranked runners in Region IV.