There are still cutoffs for varsity (or even jv) in XC at many meets and often track meets have limited entrants. Coaches often have very tough decisions either between closely matched athletes, or rewarding some kids for spots when it won’t affect the meet outcome.

For example, what if the 7th and 8th best XC kids are really close, but 8th is a senior and 7th is a freshman? Some coaches reward the older kid and some will build for the future. Hard feelings regardless.