Currently leading the state with solid marks are the Ocean Lakes Boys and West Springfield Girls. Both teams are obviously currently favored to win the 6A titles but the question is still out there... who has the best 4x800m relay in the state?
State Rankings: Boys 4x800 - Girls 4x800
Over the past two weeks this answer has slowly started to show. Most recently it was Ocean Lakes grabbing our attention with their 8:00.54 victory at the VA Showcase (Deep Run second). One week before that it was West Springfield on the same track taking home the VA #1 spot with their 9:28.46 mark.
Both teams have shown consistency over time which leads us to believe that this is just the start of something good and come nationals should be much better. That being said, we certainly haven't seen everyone's cards yet.
On the girls' side the big name missing here is Western Branch. They have already gone 9:31 this season at a weekday meet and you can almost be positive that they will run faster... but when? Adriana Shockley is their fastest 800 runner but also a 300, 500, and 55H runner as well meaning her attendance is iffy at best this state meet.
West Springfield and Lake Braddock on the other hand are much more likely to load up at the state meet when athletes are peaking.
The final team to watch on the girls' side is definitely George C. Marshall. They have yet to show any of their cards yet but if you have Heather Holt and Ashley Holt on the same relay you can almost certainly assume they will be close to the 9:00 mark.
On the guys' side of things it is once again Western Branch who we are looking to most. They return everyone from their 7:51 outdoor performance last year and seemingly have gotten faster. They've only gone 8:03 this indoor season but have a "B" team that would be VA #7 right now as well. Chase Osborne is definitely a part of this "A" unit but his attendance at States is also iffy meaning Ocean Lakes or even Lake Braddock could be the team to beat at states.
Speaking of the aforementioned Lake Braddock, they also went 7:51 last outdoor season and return all of their big names (3/4). You can most certainly expect them to also break the 8:00 mark this indoor season but the question will be by how much.
Deep Run and Loudoun Valley are also names to consider this season as they have all the pieces for a very fast relay, the question will be though to they actually run them together.
Here are our power rankings for the these relays. This is based on who we think has the best 4x800s at peak time in the season... not necessarily who we think will win states or place highest at nationals, purely who we think has the best 4x800 in Virginia.
MileStat.com Boys 4x800 Power Rankings
- Western Branch
- Loudoun Valley
- Lake Braddock
- Ocean Lakes
- Deep Run
MileStat.com Girls 4x800 Power Rankings
- George C.Marshall
- Western Branch
- West Springfield
- Lake Braddock
- Grafton