If I’m being honest, I didn’t know much about private high school sports in the DC Metro area until now. I didn’t know the feuds between schools, upcoming prospects, or anything like that. And this article isn’t about how I learned about it – I still don’t know much about it – but about what I do know: a new system of mathematical power rankings for these various schools and the sports they play.
The power ranking I’ve created of 30 different private schools in the DC Metro area takes from the two SSSAS conferences of the IAU (Independent Athletic Conference), the ISL (Independent School League), as well as the other neighboring leagues of the WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference), and the MAC (Mid Atlantic Conference). In total, the 30 schools make up what I call the WPSC (Washington Private School Conference).
The rules are simple, taking the seven girls, six boys, and 17 co-ed schools; each is given a value from -2 to +3 based on their win/loss percentage. Because different sports have a different number of overall games, the same numbers aren’t always assigned to the same percentages. While both a football team and field hockey team might have a .650 win/loss percentage, field hockey will have +2 while football will only have a +1. The standings were taken from each school’s overall win tally, not strictly in division play. Finally, it’s important to remember that sports aren’t played year round. To get the stats on sports not in session, the previous years win/loss percentage is taken into account.
To those who look closely, it might seem counterintuitive to judge hundreds of athletes based on a single number. These scores don’t favor or prefer in any way. A football score is judged exactly the same as a tennis score, giving no bias to any particular sport. We shouldn’t let the top performing school in one sport go unnoticed in everything else. This system is fair, whether we would like to admit it or not, and while it doesn’t account for tournament wins, or successful alumni athletes, it presents the numbers that matter, those in the moment.
The Power Rankings:
- St. Paul VI Catholic (+26) (Co-Ed)
- St. Johns (+26) (Co-Ed)
- Potomac (+17) (Co-Ed)
- Good Counsel (+16) (Co-Ed)
- Sidwell (+15) (Co-Ed)
- Georgetown Visitation (+12) (Girls)
- Gonzaga (+11) (Boys)
- DeMatha Catholic (+10) (Boys)
- Bishop O’Connell (+10) (Co-Ed)
- Landon (+9) (Boys)
- Holton-Arms (+9) (Girls)
- St. Albans (+8) (Boys)
- Georgetown Prep (+7) (Boys)
- Georgetown Day (+7) (Co-Ed)
- National Cathedral (+4) (Girls)
- Maret (+1) (Co-Ed)
- Elizabeth Seton (+0) (Girls)
- Stone Ridge (+0) (Girls)
- Bishop McNamera (+0) (Co-Ed)
- St. Andrews (+0) (Co-Ed)
- Bullis (+0) (Co-Ed)
- Flint Hill (-1) (Co-Ed)
- Bishop Ireton (-1) (Co-Ed)
- Episcopal (-2) (Co-Ed)
- Connely Holy Child (-3) (Girls)
- The Heights (-3) (Boys)
- Archbishop Caroll (-5) (Co-Ed)
- St. Stephen’s St. Agnes (-5) (Co-Ed)
- St. Mary’s Ryken (-8) (Co-Ed)
- Madeira (-10) (Girls)
