Well, the first “girls lacrosse state rankings”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/reference/current_polls_glax_070418.shtml just came out. I hope you find it as funny as I do. And I have no idea who puts it out, but there’s obviously no input from anyone in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Here are the highlights for me:
1. Yorktown is ranked in Class A. However, the Cornhuskers have moved down to Class B since winning the state title last year. I put this one on the top because it isn’t a value judgment—it’s a shocking mistake, which indicates how much faith should be put in this poll.
2. North Salem is ranked in Class C and Rye isn’t. No offense to North Salem, but I don’t think they are better than Rye, the two-time defending sectional champions. Of course North Salem’s record is better, since they play in an easier division, while Rye is in the Section 1 power league and has played only the top Class A and Class B teams in the area, so obviously someone just looked at the records and didn’t do their homework.
3. Nyack is the only Class B team. Again, I don’t want to take anything away from the Indians, who have had a very nice season so far. But I think even coach Al Pesner would be shocked to see his team placed ahead of power league teams Yorktown and John Jay.
Needless to say, I think this will be the first and last time I post the state rankings. They simply cannot be taken seriously, and as a New York State sportswriter myself, I am very disappointed. (incidentally, the site that puts out the rankings, “newyorksportswriters.org”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/ , is one of first sites I go to every day—a truly great resource for high school sports in the state).
12 Comments
harold, please keep posting the rankings. after all, it is just information. it might be good info or bad info, but it’s just info. we can laugh if they continue to mess it up and applaud them if they finally get it right…but we should be continually apprised of what they are “thinking” (and i use thast term loosely).
Jeez, if Nyack’s in the state rankings, TZ should be in there too. Come on now, TZ beats Nyack in everything. The state ranking really are hilarious if Nyack’s in them.
Well isn’t this kind of funny… Nyack is in the state rankings for Class B, when they are a Class C school this year. To top it all off, the rankings have their record as 2-0-1 and I’m aware that the record is not up to date, but they had a loss within their first three games to Tappan Zee. I agree with Dutchielove, the rankings are pretty funny.
north salem is playing the schedule it was given, being a first year varsity program. they did go 15-0 as jv program last year. they did beat harrison this year also, which is a class b school with an established program. And tuesday night(april 24) they will be featured on MSG network at 10:30. i think they desreve a lot of credit for such a young program.
I agree with vince. The North Salem girls are very good this year and are building a Class C powerhouse in their first year. Harold, have you been to any North Salem games? This team has the same chemistry as their soccer team that was the state runner up this year. Watch out, they may make you eat your words.
I was hoping my post wouldn’t look like I was denigrating Nyack or North Salem. I was just saying that I thought Rye needs to be ranked above them, considering they are the two-time defending champs.
Believe me, I would love if a program like North Salem rose up and challenged Rye. It would make covering the Garnets in the Class C playoffs a lot more exciting (the scores last year for Rye: 15-5, 17-4, 11-6. 17-5 and 4-18).
Just wondering why you are bothering comparing two completely different schools. You made a good point that Rye is defending champions- whereas North Salem is a first-year varsity program. That is exactly why North Salem is in the league they are in because of it’s first year status; and deserve any recognition given to them—whereas Rye has an established program. North Salem doesn’t decide what schools they play or don’t play. You are wasting your time comparing these two particular schools.
Fair point. However, comparing different schools is precisely the point of rankings.
That being said, if it was up to me, there wouldn’t be any state rankings, since it’s impossible to see all the teams, and like you said, every school has its own circumstances.
Congrats Harold, your denigrating talk of North Salem pushed them out of the state rankings and ahead of them are three teams that are either .500 or below. It takes a lot of bad-talk and neglect to push an undefeated team out of the state rankings in exchange with teams that aren’t even posting winning records.
lax mania,
I wish I had that much power.
Also, I don’t think that I was denigrating North Salem. All I wrote was that “I don’t think they are better than Rye, the two-time defending sectional champions.” This doesn’t mean North Salem shouldn’t be ranked at all, just that they shouldn’t be ranked ahead of Rye. I didn’t consider this an outlandish statement—ask any lacrosse coach in the section if they would rather face Rye or North Salem. If they played each other’s schedules, the records would be reversed.
Finally, I agree with the earlier post by “lax”—there’s no point comparing the two schools. Their circumstances are totally different. Just enjoy the season, and don’t worry about what some anonymous state pollster thinks.
lax mania, i haven’t seen north salem play yet this season, but i know some of the girls on the team and i have heard some nice things. i suspect they will have a great season and wipe up in the league they play in. they might even beat rye, which doesn’t seem as dominant this season as they have been in the past. but you can’t annoint them as a lax powerhouse until they play some decent comp. so far this season, they have played only two teams with winning records. i am not taking anything away from the north salem girls…they are doing fabulously in their first varsity season…but the jury is out until they play some of the stronger teams. sit tight—if the girls are as good as you think they are then the recognition will come.