Girls Team Rankings - Top 10
Bentonville
Rogers
Fayetteville
Bentonville West
Ft. Smith Southside
Cabot
Har-Ber
Mount St. Mary Academy
Conway
Bryant
Honorable Mentions: Russellville, Episcopal Collegiate School, Lake Hamilton
For most of the year, Rogers has occupied the #1 spot in my rankings, but you can not deny results and Bentonville has shown on multiple occasions that they are in fact the best team in the state.
The two teams have matched up three times this season and the first came at the Chile Pepper Festival. While a larger race favors Bentonville, the Tigers still emerged victorious in the following head-to-head matchup between the teams at the Mountie Classic.
Perhaps the most intriguing storyline next week at the state meet will be the duel between Bentonville and Rogers.
While the two powerhouses have been in the limelight all season long, Fayetteville has put together a terrific fall campaign. The Bulldogs are led by Emelia Hesselgren and Kayli Fitzhugh, two of the top 7 runners in the state, and will be a tough team to beat for the final podium spot in 6A.
Bentonville West sits 6th in the Milesplit "XC Team Scores," but comes in 4th in this edition of power rankings. The Wolverines finished 4th at the Mountie Classic on Tuesday, fending off #5 Ft. Smith Southside and #7 Har-Ber in the process, two more teams that have only gotten better as the season has progressed and will be fighting for top 5 positions at the state meet.
Cabot continues to impress this season, coming in ranked 6th. The Panthers are led by Cady Masters, the multi-sport sophomore who has emerged as a top individual in the state this season.
Mount St. Mary Academy is coming off a slew of upsets, knocking off Conway, Bryant, and several other top programs in the state on Tuesday. Virginia Milwee continues to impress this season and makes this team a legitimate threat to play spoiler next Thursday.
Conway and Bryant round out today's rankings on the girls side, fending off Russellville, Episcopal Collegiate School, and Lake Hamilton, three more programs who all appear poised to compete well against the best competition in the state next week.