Virtual Dual Meet Tournament Set For Second Round

March Madness Virtual Meet Tournament
Jeffrey Parenti


Everyone's set and ready for Round 2 of the Virtual Dual Meet Tournament. (Credit: Dan Tyree)

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While most of the top-seeded teams remain in the MileSplitCA March Madness Virtual Dual Meet Team Tournament, the first round certainly had its share of drama.

Just how we like it!

Before we launch into the second round, let's reset the scene. 

On what is traditionally called "Selection Sunday" of the NCAA basketball tournament, in light of what clearly was going to be an extended shutdown of our 2020 outdoor track and field season in efforts to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, we decided to use the bracket concept and create a 32-team virtual dual meet tournament for both boys and girls teams in California.

This event is scored only on results in the MileSplit database from the 2020 outdoor season. In the best of cases, a team got to compete four times before the season was stopped. In most cases, a team only took the line in competition twice. But for the way this is scored, strong marks across multiple events by multiple athletes will win out. 

We used the MileSplit Power Ranking formula to help us seed the tournament, sticking with the majority of the top 32 in the Power Rankings and mostly in order. How the Power Rankings rate teams and how well those teams compete in a head-to-head dual score format aren't necessarily in sync. 

And that's OK. The Power Rankings seedings gave us a foundation to launch the event while allowing for upsets. A team with a single super athlete may have scored high in the rankings but wouldn't be able to carry a team in a dual format. 

As an example, here is a look at seed-based upsets, tight matchups and blowouts from the first round:

First-round girls meets:
  • Upsets: 17 def. 16, 24 def. 9, 20 def. 13, 18 def. 15, 23 def. 10, 26 def. 7, 27 def. 6. 
  • Closest contest: No. 18. Norco (SS) over No. 15 Pittsburg (NC), 65-57, and No. 4 St. Francis (SJ) over No. 29 Moorpark (SS), 72.33-63.66.
  • Biggest blowout: No. 14 Mission Viejo (SS) over No. 19 Millikan (SS), 114-22.

FIrst-round boys meets:
  • Upsets: 17 def. 16, 18 def. 15, 26 def. 7, 19 def. 14. 
  • Closest contest: No. 26 Canyon Country Canyon (SS) over No. 7 Silverado (SS), 73-63. 
  • Biggest blowouts: Both 114-22, No. 3 Buchanan (CS) over No. 30 LB Poly (SS) and No. 18 Mission Viejo (SS) over No. 15 South Hills (SS). 

The remaining 16 boys teams are:

Amador Valley (NC), Buchanan (SS), Canyon Country Canyon (SS), Central (CS), Chaminade (SS), Golden Valley (SS), Great Oak (SS), Harvard Westlake (SS), Jesuit (SJ), Loyola (SS), Mater Dei (SS), Mission Viejo (SS), Santa Margarita (SS), Trabuco Hills (SS), Upland (SS), Vista Murrieta (SS). 

The remaining 16 girls teams are:

Buchanan (CS), Central (CS), Citrus Valley (SS), Clovis North (CS), Etiwanda (SS), Los Altos (CC), Mission Viejo (SS), Norco (SS), Roosevelt (SS), St. Francis (SJ), San Pasqual (SD), Santa Margarita (SS), Upland (SS), Vista del Lago (SJ), West Hills (SD), Yucaipa (SS).

A reminder of the scoring rules:

Virtual meets are scored based solely on 2020 results using the standard dual meet scoring points format of 5-3-1 for individuals and 5-0 for relays. Athletes are scored in no more than four events (although the processing program does not include relay names). Teams are limited to three athletes per event. 

Check out first-round matchups: 

March Madness Virtual Meet Tournament


LET THE SECOND ROUND BEGIN ...