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 five places behind the last ranked runner, their second unranked runner would finishe 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. If you have 7, get them to the line. If you only have 3...get them to the line. Your region may be depending on you.
Region I: This Region will advance two teams. Ritchie is easily the class of the field. The 2nd spot is up in the air. The rankings have it scored as a tie. A lot could hinge on St. Marys' Jacob Elder, who hasn't ran since 9/15. And of course, since both St. Marys and Wheeling Central each only have two ranked runners, the 3-4-5 placement will really be what determines this. Going from memory, I know that Wheeling Central has another that has been close a couple times. St. Marys has 2 or 3 others that have been ranked at one time or another, so I'm going to give them the edge. 10 individuals will advance. The current top 10 ranked runners are Aidan Scott, Brady Layman, Haygen Baker, Isaac Slater, Heath Knight, Jacob Elder, Tatem Elliott, Blake Stanton, Creed Knight, and Jeremiah Dalton. The only runner within 60 points of the top 10 who isn't on an expected advancing team is Wheeling Central's Patrick Childers (12th). There are 15 ranked runners in Region I.
Region II: This Region will also advance two teams. Doddridge, having gotten clearance to run, is the clear favorite. The 2nd spot is very much up in the air. This analysis goes strictly by the rankings and no other team has more than one ranked runner. Therefore, the analysis gives the spot to the team that has the highest ranked runner. That is Notre Dame. They show as having a 2 point advantage over Gilmer. However, it's going to be the 2-3-4-5 runners who determine this. Tucker, while not having a ranked runner, could very well wind up taking the spot. 10 Individuals will advance. The current top 10 ranked runners are Carter Lipscomb, Trent Gola, Carter Bowie, Chase Ammons, Brennan Miller, William Atkinson, Ashton Nardella, Josh Berke, Peyton Dixon, and Jacob Chapman. There are no other ranked runners. There are 10 ranked runners in Region II.
Region III: 2 Teams will advance from this Region. It looks like Charleston Catholic is the top team as the only one having more than one ranked runner. Webster gets the nod for 2nd as the only other complete team to have a ranked runners. 10 Individuals will advance. As there are only four ranked runners in this Region, I can only list the current top 4. They are Trey Stanley, Nicholas Shaf, Hayden Kreitzer, and Devan Lawson. There are 4 ranked runners in Region III.
Region IV: This Region will also advance two teams. Williamstown looks like they're comfortable in the top spot. Wirt County looks to be pretty solidly in the 2nd spot. 10 Individuals will advance from this Region. The current top 10 are Zach Cannon, A.J. Petrovsky, Michael Cline, Cade Curfman, Adrea Skeens, Patrick Reilly, Alex Cockerham, Dawson Winsett, Anthony Schoo, and Chase Trembly. There are no other ranked runners within 60 points of the top 10 who aren't on an expected advancing team. There are 12 ranked runners in Region IV.