Sure, there can be studs at the A level, too, but show me an state champion A-size public school anywhere in the country that has the kind of depth on its xc team that the AAAA teams at the state meet in the same state have. At best, they are extremely rare.[/quote]
I agree that size of school matter, although I coached a AA school in NM and we were the 4th best team regardless of classification behind 2 AAAA schools (Alb. Academy and Los Alamos) and a AAAAA school (Gallup), and our top boy was the 3rd fastest of the day.
Back to this story--it's funny as hell to see a kid in Jordan's winning a race, although the winning time wouldn't have put him in the top 20 in the larger division, so it's not like this kid is a phenom. The small schools are just weak.