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National High School Girls Team Rankings - 12/11 Final RankingsPublished by
Senior-Laden Wayzata Team Completes Four-Year Journey With Second National Championship By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Wayzata began the season at No. 8 but with experienced seniors who were part of a 21st place team two years ago and ninth-place team in 2024. By the time Wayzata reached its state meet and the NXR Heartland regional, it was clear that the Minnesota champs were player for the title. And this is a school, and program, with a legacy. Back in 2013, Wayzata broke through as the first team outside of New York to win the girls team championship. On Saturday, belief in one another and stepping up in a time of adversity gave Wayzata just enough to defeat Niwot, 142-147, in one of the closest team battles in meet history. Miley Clark, the team's No. 3 at the Heartland regional, ran out of steam and fell 200 meters before the finish line and didn't complete the race. Instead, sixth runner Addison Neitz became the team's fifth and finished 49th to complete the victory. Maddie Gullickson was seventh overall and scored two points. Preseason favorite Lone Peak of Utah was one of several highly ranked teams to have an off day, but still finished four points shy of the podium in fourth place. Niwot's girls were five points away from producing the meet's second program sweep and joining Fayetteville-Manlius NY (2014) in an exclusive club. Union Catholic finished third and may be the early favorite for 2026 with all seven runners eligible to return. As it was, UC became the first team from the Northeast region to stand on the podium with a top-three finish. The NXN order of finish sets most of the final Top 30, but there is also some room for teams that didn't advance out of their regional meets despite having fantastic seasons and national-caliber lineups. Some of the next-best teams in strong regions have a spot on the list because of how well the region performed at NXN. The strength of the Southwest, for instance (four teams in the top seven) pulled in three more teams from Colorado: Mountain Vista (2024 champion), Boulder and Classical Academy. Wayzata may have reached the mountaintop, but the Colorado-Utah high altitude teams continued to flex in 2025. Top 30 Final Rankings 18. Webb School of Knoxville TN More news |
