The majority of focus this year, like most, has been on the big powerhouse programs and their respective relays. There are two dark horses though in this race for the best 4x200 and they are Episcopal and St. Stephen's School.
Despite being ranked VA #16 and VA #17 this year, we feel they are severely under-ranked. The reason we think two 1:32's should be weighted differently is because of the locations where they were run. Episcopal's time was run at their home track and SSSAS's time was run at Georgetown Prep's track. Both of which are not known to be particularly fast and are flat.
When you equate for that difference you get times closer to 1:29 than 1:32. Their times rank #5 and #8 in the state for flat track performances and are the only ones run somewhere other than Boo Williams and PG Sportsplex which are known to be very fast surfaces.
The other team from VISAA very much in the mix is Fork Union led by Ebruba Etta. This quartet currently sits at VA #2 with their 1:29.24 clocking at the VA Showcase.
Though we don't know if one of these teams can compete to win a national title we do know though that when they get on a banked track the times will drop significantly. Keep an eye on them at VISAA states and down the road hopefully at the Armory.
