If individual unattached runners are counted in a XC race, will that skew the final team results? For example, 3 unattached runners finished ahead of the first team runner. The 4th place finisher would be 1st in team scoring, but fourth overall. Does this matter to score that runners as 1st or 4th place?
unattached runners are always or should always be thrown out of team scoring
It effects the results but doesn't skew the results in the same way every time. If unattached runners all finish before any team runner then it doesn't matter, but once you have unattached runners beating runners from some teams but not runners from other teams it will change the scoring dynamic.
The scoring may be skewed, but will the results. In other words, will the 2nd place team still be 2nd, just a higher score if some unattached runners finished ahead of them?