I've always felt that the Central Section has a bit of an advantage at the state meet. After all, they can run at Woodward Park many times during the year, including at their section finals. They also wrap up their playoffs earlier than many other sections, which gives runners more recovery time before the CIF State Championship. On the other hand, this section continues to put its teams at a disadvantage at the state level by moving repeat champions up to higher divisions, forcing them to compete against much larger schools. It seems like the rule is designed to punish successful programs and reward teams that don't do as well. Despite that handicap, Central Section teams and individuals still manage to compete well at the state championship, and this year the section boasts a few legitimate title contenders. Flip through the slides to see the division-by-division previews!