Boys Team Rankings - Top 10
Bentonville
Fayetteville
Har-Ber
Rogers
Mountain Home
Cabot
Ft. Smith Southside
Lakeside
Jonesboro
Vilonia
Honorable Mentions: Bentonville West, Conway, Bryant
There really is no doubting who the top team in Arkansas is. Bentonville may seriously be one of the best teams the Natural State has ever seen. Sporting an incredible 15:23 average time and 23.80 second 1-5 split, the Tigers are the best team in the state.
Fayetteville has only gotten better over time this season and their peak could not have been timed any better. The Bulldogs have five scorers who have run top 30 times in the state this season and they should be the next team in behind Bentonville at state.
Har-Ber is the team that could play spoiler in the 6A state championship race. While the state's "Big 3" programs are slated to finish in the top 3 according to Milesplit's "XC Team Scores" feature, Har-Ber has the pieces to knock one, if not multiple, of these teams off the podium. Watch for the Wildcats next Thursday.
Don't forget about Rogers. Noah Gorden and Henry Woods have cemented themselves as one of the best duos in the state, which pairs up well with three other sub-16:30 runners. This Rogers squad has positioned themselves for a podium position at state.
Mountain Home is the best non-6A team in the state. Led by William Hill and Hendrix Hughes, no team in 5A or below has a better pair up front. The rest of the squad has only gotten better as the season has gone on and the Bombers will be looking to win their third state title in the last five years.
Cabot has quietly put together a spectacular season, which will culminate in an improvement from this squad's 7th-place finish at the 6A state meet a year ago. Ft. Smith Southside has four runners under 17 minutes this season and also should improve upon their 11th-place finish at last year's state meet.
Lakeside HS and Jonesboro are two incredibly different teams. While Lakeside has the best runner in the state leading their squad, Jonesboro sports a 47-second 1-5 split, which is among the top 5 in the state. Both of these teams should improve upon their finishes from last season next week.
The final spot in today's rankings went to Vilonia, inching ahead of Bentonville West, Conway, and Bryant. All four of these schools will play a big role at Thursday's Fall Classic and all stand a chance to finish better than where they are ranked.