The Preseason MileSplit50 Top 25 Girls Team Rankings

No. 9: Valor Christian (CO)

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Analysis: Seven returners are back from a team that finished third at the Colorado Class 5A Championships, fourth at the Team Southwest Regional and 16th at the Garmin RunningLane XC Championships. The team's top two runners, Brooke Wilson and Keeghan Edwards, are objectively stars in their own right, with each having broken 17 minutes for 5K a season ago. 

But the next three returners -- Taylor Rorick, Jordan Blankenship and Bella Vogl -- have all crossed 19 minutes for 5K, too, making this team extremely deep. While Valor will be breaking in a new coaching staff, we expect this squad to be among the best in Colorado and it should be expected to compete for a state title. 

Biggest Question: State. 

Unfortunately, while Valor Christian is as deep as ever, so too is Arapahoe. Cherry Creek might be surprisingly good this year, too, even after they graduated some of their top runners. So a state-title run won't be easy in Colorado's toughest division. 

Schedule: 

Liberty Bell, September

Pat Patten, October

Regional Championships, October

State Championships, November

Nationals, December

X Factor: The team's 3-4-5. 

This group could ultimately win Valor Christian a title. If the majority of the lineup have great performances on the most important days of the season, Valor Christian will leave 2022 feeling really good about itself. 

MileSplit50 Girls Team National Rankings Countdown