Two defending girls lacrosse state champions -- Severna Park and Manchester Valley -- earned No. 1 seeds in their sections as the draw for the sectional and regional playoffs was completed yesterday.
Severna Park, winners of three of the past four Class 4A-3A titles and 12 titles overall, is the top seed in the East region, Section I.
Manchester Valley, which won its first state title last season in Class 2A-1A, is the top seed in the West region, Section I. The Mavericks are the only undefeated public school girls lacrosse team in the Baltimore area.
Defending Class 3A-2A champion Marriotts Ridge is seeded second in the South region, Section I behind Howard County rival Mount Hebron. The Mustangs have won three of the past four 3A-2A state titles while Mount Hebron won the last of its record 15 state championships in 2008.
Severna Park and Marriotts Ridge are both in top-heavy sections which include at least three of the top contenders for that classification's title. Only one can make it past Monday's sectional final.
Severna Park's section includes Anne Arundel County rivals South River and Broadneck. Those three teams account for all but three of the 4A-3A state titles in the past 15 years. Dulaney won twice and C. Milton Wright once.
The section with Marriotts Ridge and Mount Hebron also includes Century and those three account for all but two of the 3A-2A titles over the past 14 years. Winters Mill, which is also in the section, and Fallston have one each.
The teams in the 3A-2A South, Section I -- including Glenelg and Centennial -- have won 29 state titles although some were in other classifications.
Those contenders face most of their toughest competition in their own section rather than in the state final. Last year, Marriotts Ridge won the title game 18-5 over Oakdale and Severna Park won 15-5 over Catonsville. However, undefeated Stephen Decatur, in Class 3A-2A, appears ready to make a run at becoming the first state girls lacrosse champion from outside the Baltimore metro counties.
Manchester Valley, however, likely won't meet it's top competition so early. It's top rival likely will be Queen Anne's, the top seed in the East region, Section II. The two could not meet until the title game on May 22 or 23 at Stevenson University.
Last season, the Mavericks slipped past Queen Anne's, 9-8, in the semifinal before going on to beat Fallston, 13-10, in the title game.
Click here to see the full brackets.