The rankings are based upon what the coaches see out there in the results. Often results are hard to find for some coaches when a team does not go out and run in the larger meets. The main meets that Seaholm has run are Oakland Cty where they were 2nd to Troy by 2 points and MSU, where they finished 14th, behind many top 10 D1 teams. The Oakland Cty meet had only 2 top ten ranked teams (Troy and Seaholm), while most of the other top ranked teams were competing at Portage. So it is hard to see where those two teams fit into the scheme, when the courses provide different times. Usually head-to-head competition is the best way to compare teams, as you have indicated. The larger the meet, the better the indicator of how the team would fair at the MHSAA LP Finals.

It is not unheard of to see a team go hidden until the regoinals and finally show up at the state finals. A prime example would be Otsego boys. They did not run one large meet in 2008 and remained unranked most of the season. They ended up third in D2 men last year.

We thank you for your interest, and questioning the rankings. For your sake, maybe Seaholm will surprise the rankings panel.