*Introducing: the Zarate-Woods Clause I considered introducing this rule when Diego Zarate won the county title in 2014 by a fraction of a second, but the math of the ranking system determined that Evan Woods was still #1. Later at the state championship meet, Evan Woods won the 4A state title but the formula put Zarate on top due to a stronger regional race. It could be debated forever who actually had the best season, but when runners are so close, the most recent winner in a major championship race should get a little bump.
The Zarate-Woods Clause is a two-parter:
A. The individual Montgomery County champion will be awarded a bonus if the formula does not automatically push the county champion to the top. The bonus will be such that the individual champion's new base score will be equal to the score of the highest ranked MCPS runner plus a point bonus equal to the number of seconds by which the individual champion won the race. The individual Montgomery County champion will not be automatically ranked ahead of any runner that did not compete in the Montgomery County championship meet including any highly ranked private school runners.
B. An individual state champion who places first at the state championship meet may be awarded a bonus no greater than 25 points and equal to the minimum amount of points necessary to move ahead of ranked runners defeated head-to-head at the state championship meet. The bonus will not allow a state champion to move ahead of any runner not entered in the same race as him or her.