Valedictorians are not necessarily most academically qualified/capable. As a matter of fact, if you ask AOs of these elites what is most important in an application, the answer would most likley be - instead of GAP - “transcript”. It means that in addition to grades or GPA, the rigor of one’s curriculum matters and the rigor of one’s HS matters. So a student in top 10% of their class with a challenging curriculum and/or from a reputably rigorous HS would easily win, when compared with a valedictorian with a “regular” HS transcript.