Unofficial Rankings: Div. C

[blakinator8]

I think that Munster is totally being under-rated in this thread. They've had a really impressive season this year- I'm sure they would have won Wright State with stacked teams. Not to mention a composite score (between 3 teams) of 24 points at Regionals, and a score of 61 at State. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the top five.

[digly152]

I think that Acton and West Windsor Plainsboro High School North will be in the top 5, if not, top 10.

[John Richardsim]

I'm still struggling to see Acton-Boxborough in the top ten. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Massachusetts Division C, and their performance at the MIT invitational was impressive regardless of any of the reasons previously argued, but their score at the MA state competition wasn't their best (it was still very good when ignoring bungee and scrambler, but then again, 2 significantly lower placing events is plenty enough to set a team back at nationals). On top of that, for the past 5 years of Acton-Boxborough attending nationals, their overall placing has only varied between 28th and 36th, and for a team to go from 33rd to top ten in only a year is a bit hard to envision.

But once again, I'm a big fan of Massachusetts Division C, and even if Acton-Boxborough breaking top 10 at nats is far-fetched, it would still be something I would love to see.

[Crazy Puny Man]

I think that Munster is totally being under-rated in this thread. They've had a really impressive season this year- I'm sure they would have won Wright State with stacked teams. Not to mention a composite score (between 3 teams) of 24 points at Regionals, and a score of 61 at State. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the top five.

As much as I appreciate the compliment, I still feel like top 5 is a bit of a long shot for us. It'll be really hard to beat one of the returning top 5 from last year (sure, we did beat Solon/Centerville at Wright State, but Seven Lakes won the tournament last year and finished behind Solon at nationals), so a lot can happen between now and then. balsa suggests that Troy is going to improve immensely leading up to nationals too.

Of course, speculation is still fun! I predict that the top 5 will remain the same as last year (Troy/Mounds View/Harriton/Mira Loma/Solon), except replacing Solon with a TX team e.g. LASA or Seven Lakes

I'm still struggling to see Acton-Boxborough in the top ten. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Massachusetts Division C, and their performance at the MIT invitational was impressive regardless of any of the reasons previously argued, but their score at the MA state competition wasn't their best (it was still very good when ignoring bungee and scrambler, but then again, 2 significantly lower placing events is plenty enough to set a team back at nationals). On top of that, for the past 5 years of Acton-Boxborough attending nationals, their overall placing has only varied between 28th and 36th, and for a team to go from 33rd to top ten in only a year is a bit hard to envision.

But once again, I'm a big fan of Massachusetts Division C, and even if Acton-Boxborough breaking top 10 at nats is far-fetched, it would still be something I would love to see.

I do see a lot of potential in Acton; invites certainly indicate that they can tussle with NY teams (although, like I said, a lot changes between then and now).

Now, if I had to predict the top 10, my picks would be...(in no particular order)

Troy (CA)
Mounds View (MN)
Mira Loma (CA)
Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)
Grand Haven (MI)
Harriton (PA)
Seven Lakes (TX)
LASA (TX) - of course, TX states is TX states so these two teams aren't certain
West Windsor Plainsboro North (NJ)
Munster (IN) - a bit biased here hehe

Honorable mentions: Northville (MI), Centerville (OH), Stevenson (IL)

But really, there are about 18 strong contenders vying for 10 spots, so...

UPDATED: see following post

[wjnewhouse]

Some of you guys might want to reconsider your top tens; Solon won't be coming to nats this year: https://www.dropbox.com/s/10fxkcextjgbn ... s.pdf?dl=0

[Azn]

My top 5 are
1) Irvine High
2) Canyon Crest Academy
3) Mounds Gu
4) Penncrest
5) Troy

I think Troy will do pretty well in Bridge Building which will help them get 1st.

I would have to disagree (not that Troy won't do well in bridges, i'm sure they will, but I don't think this will help anyone win overall).

Bridges is a hard event to "do well" in (top 3-6 ish), but it isn't very hard to do "okay" in (top 10-15 is). Don't get me wrong, bridges/towers/boom were always my favorite, BUT in my experience the events that contribute most towards doing well overall are the events that other teams can easily tank.

For example, last year at nats Mounds View came in 2nd place with 5 medals, while Harriton came in 3rd with 9 medals. The reason Mounds View did so well was because they had much better consistency (almost all of their events were in the 10-20 range), while Harriton had several events that fell under 30th place, despite the 9 medals.

[jkang]

Some of you guys might want to reconsider your top tens; Solon won't be coming to nats this year: https://www.dropbox.com/s/10fxkcextjgbn ... s.pdf?dl=0

Still in shock that they aren't

[Asteroidea]

Yeah them coming in 4th was pretty surprising, but Mentor and Centerville were really close! Though I think Centerville could have had a much lower score if they didn't have that event that got 36.

[ckssv07]

Just for you guys to think about.
I see a lot of people putting Harriton near the top which I think is perfectly accurate, but I don't see anyone put another team from PA in anyone's top 10. This year we have 6-7 extremely strong teams competing for the 2 nationals spots, and my feeling is that generally both teams who go from PA tend to place in the top 10, but with no one being guaranteed a spot this year, those top 6 teams are all most likely driving extremely hard to secure their spot. I feel that this inevitably creates a situation where the 2 teams who make it out will be even better than normal, which honestly is a pretty scary thought. Also, for some idea on how competitive this is, Penncrest got 5th at their regionals, while Bayard Rustin got third at regionals, while also winning mentor just a few weeks before, beating Fayetville and Solon.

[schist99centz]

Just for you guys to think about.
I see a lot of people putting Harriton near the top which I think is perfectly accurate, but I don't see anyone put another team from PA in anyone's top 10. This year we have 6-7 extremely strong teams competing for the 2 nationals spots, and my feeling is that generally both teams who go from PA tend to place in the top 10, but with no one being guaranteed a spot this year, those top 6 teams are all most likely driving extremely hard to secure their spot. I feel that this inevitably creates a situation where the 2 teams who make it out will be even better than normal, which honestly is a pretty scary thought. Also, for some idea on how competitive this is, Penncrest got 5th at their regionals, while Bayard Rustin got third at regionals, while also winning mentor just a few weeks before, beating Fayetville and Solon.

So where exactly do you rank the second team from PA in your top 10?