For years Virginia has remained one of the few states that has not had a subjective ranking system for the teams on a weekly or biweekly basis. This is all going to change this season with MileStat leading the way.
In a perfect world this would be a coaches only ranking system but since it is only its first year we at MileStat are going to push the envelope with some new ideas to make this the most unique and all-inclusive subjective rankings of any state. Included in these rankings will be four components each with differing valuations. When all four of these values add up together the total number is what is used to create the points attributed to the team. We are only starting with a team ranking and may move onto to a top 5 individual rankings as well if this takes off. Each person will vote for their top 5 on their own ballot but we will list up to 25 teams that receive votes.
Now that you know how it is going to work let's take a look at the points breakdown by the numbers.
1,000 Points
This number of points is what an absolute perfect score would look like. That means that the team was on every single ballot as the top team. After 1,000 points working down the points will be based on a combination of the percentage of ballots they are on in a given position times the total possible number of points, 1st is worth 100%, 2nd is worth 80% and so on.
400 Points
This is how many points will be used on the objective side of things. This point total will be tabulated via MileStat's database, head-to-head matchups, and overall ranking as a team in the system based off of times this season, not personal bests. You really have to perform to make it high in this area... this is like the computer component of the BCS.
100 Points
This small group of points will be my own ballot as the Webmaster of MileStat. I will base these on an unbias perspective of not only what a team has ran thus far this season but also where I think they are going this season. I necessarily will not value time as the only measure of success... if a team is winning and unbeaten that deserves some recognition. I will also try and be as transparent as possible with these.
400 Points
This group of points, equally the largest, will be comprised of the coaches' votes. Each team has one vote for boys and one vote for girls. This includes every team in the state both private and public schools. To vote all you need to do is email me: NJEZ@MILESPLIT.COM and let me know your top 5 teams and your school affiliation. There are no rules against voting for your own team but let's keep things realistic and honest. That is how these rankings will take off. Remember coaches: your participation level in this dictates how successful this will be.
100 Points
This last grouping of points is reserved for a select few student-athletes who want to vote this season. To be considered as a voting member you need to email me and let me know why you want to vote and why you deserve a spot on this poll. This goes without saying that this is a committment for the entire season and we expect everyone who applies to be well aware that this involves action every two weeks until the end of the season.
Email me with questions and applications! NJEZ@MILESPLIT.COM