5 Biggest State Team Matchups This Weekend

Nov 11, 2019

2. Blacksburg vs Loudoun Valley

Our second biggest matchup to watch of the weekend is going to be the Girls Class 4 title hunt between defending champions Loudoun Valley and last year's runners-up Blacksburg. Last year's title came down to a few seconds and saw the score between them be 44 to 48.

That win last year for Loudoun Valley has quite a bit of significance. It was their team's first team title but it also ended two big streaks. First it ended their own runner-up streak of four years and two classifications but it also ended Blacksburg's streak of seven team titles in a row. If Blacksburg had won it would have been the longest streak in State meet history but now three teams are tied at #1 with seven.

This year's race will be the same and just as tough. Here is the current Virtual Meet for Class 4.

Current Girls Class 4 Virtual Meet:

PLACE		TEAM	POINTS	SCORERS	SPLIT	AVERAGE
	1	Loudoun Valley	45.5	2+5+8+13.5+17 (20+22)	1:16.20	18:29.30
	2	Blacksburg High School	56	1+6+15+16+18 (29+30)	1:22.00	18:38.82

As you can see upfront is Loudoun Valley by 10.5 points. That margin and all the other metrics bend in Valley's favor but it should be noted that last year's virtual meet had the meet going 43 to 62.5 in Valley's favor. Despite that 19.5 point edge, Blacksburg managed to close it down to just four. This year though the margin is much closer and we're predicting another close one.

If Valley were to win it would be the first time a team has beaten Blacksburg in two consecutive years since 2010 when Hidden Valley notched two back-to-back. Blacksburg has won 10 and finished second four times since 2005.

Loudoun Valley is great and has remained our number one team in our power rankings from pre-season until now but it should be noted that they aren't just going up against some good team, they are going up against a powerhouse.

Blacksburg on the other hand is going up against the best in the state. There is no other way to put it than to call Loudoun Valley the best in the state. They have the defending state champ in Ricky Fetterolf plus last year's third and 11th place as well. Add in super star transfer Ava Gordon and you can see why they are a juggernaut of a team themselves.

Almost all XC races are won in the rear, which team has the most depth. This one though might just be front focused. The top two finishers from both schools are going to need to go 1-2 to have a solid chance at beating their tough competition.

Anytime you need to go 1-2 to win a team title you know it is going to be good, this one though might just be great.