Deciding the game on the field, not in the computer lab. (Jacob Lujan photo)
Here we go again.
Take a look at the RPI rankings for boys’ soccer on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association website today, and you’ll notice something funky.
Two-time defending state champ Orcas Island is lodged at #1.
Feels right, sounds correct.
Then you’ve got Mount Vernon Christian at #2 and Coupeville, off to its best start in years at 7-2, sitting at #6 ahead of a Saturday home game with those second-ranked Hurricanes.
Lots of intrigue.
One of these is not like the others.
But the WTF moment? It’s at #4.
That’s where you find Columbia Adventist Academy, a team which has only played ONE game — when every other 2B or 1B team has played between four and 10 tilts.
It’s a win, yes, which makes the Kodiaks, technically, the only true undefeated team in the land, since Orcas has a tie against MVC to go with its nine wins.
But it’s a 2-1 win over Walla Walla Valley Academy, a team that sits at 1-7 on the season and is ranked #21 out of 23 teams.
Hardly the kind of victory to propel a team into the top four, one would think.
But this is the same WIAA computers that back in 2024 listed a non-existent team at #1 in its boys’ basketball rankings.
WIAA ranks seemingly non-existent boys’ hoops team #1 | Coupeville Sports
Oh wait, they did it twice?
WIAA still in love with fake teams | Coupeville Sports
Maybe the WIAA computers just love a mystery team, which fits once again in this case.
Columbia Adventist has only one game listed on Arbiter, the website Washington state schools use for scheduling.
Nothing past 2024 on MaxPreps.
One game — the win over Walla Walla — listed on Sports Illustrated.
Nothing beyond “CAA male athletes enjoy opportunities to participate in Varsity soccer every fall” on the school website.
The site for District 4 mistakenly lists boys’ soccer as a spring sport and has no game schedule or standings.
Though District 1, where Coupeville plays, also lists boys’ soccer in the spring, so no one’s perfect…
But dang, how many times can the WIAA computers be wrong?
Well, three at least.
