HS: Spring state, region rankings, June 11

by Sheldon Shealer

June 11, 2018

Albemarle (Va.) boys and First Colonial (Va.) girls finish atop their respective state and regional rankings as the Virginia high school season drew to a close on Saturday.

Albemarle won the Group 5 boys state title, edging Deep Run on penalty kicks following a 3-3 draw. Meanwhile, Cosby upset favored Oakton in the Group 6 final. Since Cosby lost to Deep Run during the regular season, that vaulted the Group 5 champ Albemarle and runner-up Deep Run into the Nos. 1-2 positions, while Cosby settled in at No. 3, with Oakton and Blacksburg rounding out the final Virginia Top 5.

The Virginia Group 6 tournament played out largely as expected with First Colonial and James Madison meeting in the final. First Colonial spent most of the season at No. 1 in the state until a postseason loss allowed Madison to grab the top spot. In the final, First Colonial won to give the Beach District a rare girls soccer state title and return First Colonial to the top of the state and regional rankings.

In another interesting state final last weekend, Ankeny Centennial (Iowa) girls edged rival Ankeny (Iowa) in the Class 3A final 3-2, where all the goals were scored in the first 27 minutes. Centennial was carved out of the Ankeny school district five years ago. Had that not happened, these two teams would have been one powerhouse program, as each lineup features several NCAA Division I-bound players. Centennial coach Chris Allen claimed his fourth state title as head coach with the first two coming at Ankeny before opening up the new school for the 2014 season.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE COMPLETE SPRING HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

SPRING REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (June 11) | GIRLS (June 11)

SPRING STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (June 11) | GIRLS (June 11)