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Does Hereford Have an Advantage at the State Championship?

louis November 8, 2021


Does Hereford High School have an advantage at the State Championship? 

A field with trees and grass in the backgroundA dirt road with trees in the background 

Note:  Originally published October 20, 2020.  A few more data points have been added.  It does not change the conclusion.  However, if you see ‘past decade,’ the original reference is to 2010-2019

After a discussion at the appellate court at Utica Park, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari and decided to take up this case.  The case in question concerns whether or not Hereford High School maintains an advantage at the State Cross Country Championships due to the fact that this is their home course.  The question that shall be addressed and ruled upon is:  Does Hereford High School have an advantage at the State Championship meet due to the venue?  

A dirt road going through the middle of a field.A house sitting on top of a grass covered field.

History of the State Championship Meet 

The State Cross Country championships have predominantly been held at Hereford High since 1980, with the exception of the years 1991, 1992, and 2013. 

The course itself largely remained the same from 1990-2010, when construction of the water tower in 2011 changed the beginning of the race.  The state championship was held at McDaniel in 2013, while the course at Hereford thereafter saw significant changes due to remodeling of the school and fields.  

Team Analysis 

This analysis of both the Hereford girls’ and Hereford boys’ success at the state championship meet will be analyzed from 2010-2019. In order to determine the full results of a season, we will look at five results per year to get a more significant look at each year’s team and corresponding results.  For each squad, we will look at results from:  a random invitational to compare Hereford to other schools on a course besides Bull Run; Bull Run results to compare Hereford to a larger field; county championship results; regional results; and finally we will look at the results of the state championship meet and see how that fits into the larger picture.

Hereford Girls 

 

Year Class Random 

Invite

 Course Bull Run Course Balto Co. Champs Course Regions Course States Course
2021 2A 1st Frank Keyser Large School Boonsboro 2nd/Elite Hereford 1st Dulaney 1st Randallstown
2019 3A 4th/Small Frank Keyser 7th

Elite

 Hereford

 

 2nd Dulaney 1st Dulaney/Barnhart 3rd Hereford

 
2018 2A 1st/Small Frank Keyser 2nd/elite Hereford

 

 1st Balto Co Ag Center

 

 1st ??? 1st Hereford

 
2017 2A 2nd Gunpowder Falls/Jerusalem Mills No Bull Run

 

 Hereford

 

 1st Balto Co Ag Center

 

 1st Balto Co Ag Center 1st Hereford

 
2016 2A 2nd Spiked Shoe No Bull Run Hereford

 

 2nd Dulaney 1st Cromwell?? 1st Hereford

 
2015 2A 2nd Scorpion Crawl 3rd/elite Hereford

 

 1st Dulaney 1st Hereford 1st Hereford

 
2014 2A 5th Barnhart 8th/elite Hereford

 

 3rd Dulaney 1st  Cromwell Valley Park 2nd Hereford

 
2013 2A 2nd Barnhart No Bull Run Hereford

 

 1st Dulaney 1st ??? 1st Hereford

 
2012 3A N/A No MD Invitationals 2nd/elite Hereford

 

 1st Dulaney 1st Jersulem Mill

 

 5th Hereford

 
2011 3A 1st Barnhart 5th/elite Hereford

 

 1st Dulaney 1st Jersulem Mill 1st Hereford

 
2010 3A 2nd Centennial/HOCO 4th/elite Hereford

 

 1st Hereford 1st Jerusalem Mill?? 1st Hereford

 
2009 3A 4th Barnarht/Dulaney 8th/Elite Hereford 2nd Dulaney ?? ?? 2nd Hereford

 

Hereford Boys 

 

Year Class RI Course Bull Run Course Balto Co. Champs Course Regions Course States Course
2021 2A 8th Frank Keyser Large School Boonsboro 6th/Medium Hereford 3rd Dulaney 1st Randallstown
2019 3A 3rd/Small Frank Keyser 13th/Elite Hereford

 

 3rd Dulaney 4th Dulaney/Barnhart 10th Hereford

 
2018 2A 8th/Small Frank Keyser 6th

medium

 Hereford

 

 2nd Balto Co Ag Center

 

 1st ??? 9th Hereford

 
2017 2A 13th Gunpowder Falls/Jerusalem Mills No Bull Run Hereford

 

 3rd Balto Co Ag Center

 

 2nd Balto Co Ag Center 12th Hereford

 
2016 2A 18th Spiked Shoe No Bull Run Hereford

 

 5th Dulaney 1st Cromwell?? 8th Hereford

 
2015 2A 5th Scorpion Crawl 4th/medium Hereford

 

 3rd Dulaney 1st Hereford 6th Hereford

 
2014 2A 10th Barnhart 2nd/medium Hereford

 

 2nd Dulaney 1st Cromwell Valley Park 3rd Hereford

 
2013 2A 11th Barnhart No Bull Run Hereford

 

 4th Dulaney 1st ??? 6th McDaniel

 
2012 3A N/A No MD Invitationals 4th/elite Hereford

 

 1st Dulaney 1st Jersulem Mill

 

 1st Hereford

 
2011 3A 1st Barnhart 2nd/elite Hereford

 

 1st  Dulaney 1st Jerusalem Mil 1st Hereford

 
2010 3A 1st Centennial/HOCO 6th/elite Hereford

 

 1st Hereford 1st Jerusalem Mill?? 1st Hereford

 
2009 3A 2nd  Barhnart/Dulaney 7th/elite Hereford 3rd Dulaney ?? ?? 5th Hereford

Individual Analysis 

Outside of team success, we also take a look at individual success for more data to determine whether or not Hereford has an advantage at the state championship meet due to venue.

Hereford Boys  

 

Year Individual Top finisher Number of top 10 finishers Number of top 25 finishers

 

 States Team Finish Course
2021
2019 39th 0 0 10th Hereford

 
2018 31st 0 0 9th Hereford

 
2017 48th 0 0 12th Hereford

 
2016 41st 0 0 8th Hereford

 
2015 10th 1 2 6th Hereford

 
2014 11th 0 2 3rd Hereford

 
2013 9th 1 1 6th McDaniel

 
2012 3rd 2 5 1st Hereford

 
2011 5th 2 5 1st Hereford

 
2010 1st 2 4 1st Hereford

 
2009 3rd 1 1 5th Hereford
2008 13th 0 2 4th Hereford
2007 21st 0 1 6th Hereford

Hereford Girls 

 

Year Individual Top finisher Number of top 10 finishers

 

 Number of top 25 finishers

 

 States Team Finish Course
2021
2019 11th 0 2 3rd Hereford

 
2018 1st 3 4 1st Hereford

 
2017 1st 1 4 1st Hereford

 
2016 2nd 3 4 1st Hereford

 
2015 3rd 2 4 1st Hereford

 
2014 8th 1 3 2nd Hereford

 
2013 2nd 1 4 1st McDaniel

 
2012 4th 1 2 5th Hereford

 
2011 2nd 3 6 1st Hereford

 
2010 1st 3 6 1st Hereford

 
2009 7th 1 4 2nd Hereford
2008(same stats as 09) 7th 1 4 2nd Hereford
2007 1st 3 3 2nd Hereford

Conclusion 

While the court recognizes the geographical training advantage (which is not limited to the Bull Run course) of the Hereford High School cross country team, the justices on this bench have ruled in majority that Hereford does not have an advantage at the state meet due to venue. As seen in our analysis, having the state meet at Hereford does not preclude other teams or individuals from winning titles.  The success of the Hereford girls compared to the Hereford boys also indicates the course itself does not determine success at the state championship meet.  If the course gives an advantage, the boys’ and girls’ success should be more balanced.  A few notable figures include: the Hereford boys have no top 25 individual finishers in the past four years at the state meet;  the Hereford girls finished fifth in 2012 at Hereford and in the following year won the state title at McDaniel;  the Hereford girls won all ten regional championships in the past decade.  Furthermore, not extraneous to the case at hand, the Walter Johnson girls won five consecutive 4A titles from 2013-2017.  The court asks:  What advantage did Walter Johnson have during those years?  The results from both the Hereford boys’ and Hereford girls’ teams throughout their respective seasons are in line with their post seasons results, more specifically the state meet.  The Court does not have enough evidence to overturn precedent.  Thus, the state meet shall remain at Hereford. 

It is so ordered. 

A cow standing in the grass behind a fence.A field with trees and the sun setting in the background.

 

Questions, concerns, corrections, dissents, and applications to join the Supreme Court may be sent to louisfoudos@gmail.com.

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