XC 2009
New East and West formats. All States Covered!!
National Team Rankings *special edition
National Individual Rankings *fourth edition
The Road to States gets even wider this week with 22 states holding their State Championship races tomorrow through Sunday. Washington and Colorado lead the way with the most nationally ranked teams and inviduduals. In Washington US#1 Henry Jackson and US#3 Ferris will go head-to-head in the 4A Championship race while US#6 North Central will have an easier go in the 3A race. US#11 Shane Moskowitz will be going for the individual 4A state title. On the girls side US#8 Shadle Park will do battle with US#15 Glacier Peak in the 3A Championship race. In Colorado US#8 Kelsey Lakowske and US#16 Eleanor Fulton highlight the girls individuals while US#5 Classical Academy and US#14 Fort Collins highlight the team fields.
The US#1's go for individual state gold in Michigan and Ohio this weekend. US#1 Megan Goethals will be racing for the Lower Peninsula State Championship while US#1 Zach Wills will look to continue his unbeaten streak at the Ohio State Championship meet. In other individual action US#3 Lukas Verzbicas will be competing for the state championship crown in Illinois, US#10 Jessica Tonn and US#7 Brian Shrader will be looking to win in Arizona, US#9 Carolyn Baskir will be seeking championship glory in North Carolina, US#12 Annmarie Maag will be hunting the win in Oregon, and US#14 Caleb Hoover and US#15 Emily Sisson will be seeking championships in Missouri.
In other team action US#4 Jesuit will be competing in Oregon while US#7 Magnificat will look to dominate Ohio. US#10 Albuquerque Academy will be looking to win in New Mexico and US#14 Loyola Academy will try to beat York once again this season, this time for a state title.
If you are a fan of Prep XC and the amazing history of the sport take the time to read the following story on legendary Washington State coaches Pat Tyson and Bob Isitt by WARunners.com's David Taylor.
Coaching With Passion: The Bob Isitt and Pat Tyson Story
NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
(A LOOK AROUND THE COUNTRY)
Washington State Championships (WA): 4A Boys Championship: US#3 Ferris knocks off US#1 Henry Jackson to keep the streak alive, 22 straight years the GSL has claimed the state championship. The team scores was 68-100 as Ferris averaged 15:52 to Henry Jackson's 16:03. Ferris also touted a 34 second spread. It looked as though the race could be Jackson's when the first three came in a 3 second spread at 15:52, however the depth simply was not there this day as Ferris was able to group more convincingly. The individual championship goes to US#11 Shane Moskowitz of Central Kitsap who won in a new course record 15:06. Complete Results 3A Boys Championship: As expected and predicted in the recent national rankings, US#6 North Central is back! They stormed through the state meet with a 15:45 5k average! To claim the team title with 47 team points. Ben Johnston wins in 15:15! The total team time ranks as #2 all-time to last season 15:36
set by North Central. Complete Results
3A Girls Championship: In prerace analysis we predicted a 56-66 score, in reality it was US#8 Shadle winning 59-67!!! over US#15 Glacier Peak. Amy Eloise-Neale won in 18:08! Placing three scorers in the top 10 the Highlanders could not be stopped. Complete Results 4A Girls Championship: In a surprise Eastlake tops all teams to claim the team title behind a 45 second 1-5 spread. The top time of the meet today goes to individual champion Garlfield senior Anna Dailey 17:58. Complete Results 2A Boys Championship: Burlington-Ediswins the team title with 57 points, the individual title goes to Sehome junior Scott Carlyle, 15:47. Complete Results 2A Girls Championship: Sehome and Kingston battled back and forth finishing with a narrow 57-59 Sehome victory. Despite taking the top two placers Kingston faltered on the 5th runner. The individual championship goes to Kingston senior Ruby Roberts in 18:06. Complete Results 1B/2B Girls Championship: NW Christian Lacey wins the girls team championship with 28 team points. All seven scorers finish in the top 15. Morgan Willson of Colfax wins the individual title by almost a minute in 18:36. Complete Results 1B/2B Boys Championship: NW Christian Lacey boys claim the title over Republic 83-95. Riding the 1-2 overall finish by sophomore Lucas Graham (16:25) and junior Justin Holden (16:41). Complete Results 1A Girls Championship: King's wins the girls championsbhip with 83 team points over La Center's 110. The individual title goes to Northwest sophomore Maddie Meyers who prevailed over freshman teammate Eliza Rice 18:01-19:37 winning by 1:36! Complete Results 1A Boys Championship: Port Townsend junior Bereket Piatt claims the individual title in16:10. The team title goes to Nooksack Valley . Complete Results
Illinois State Championships (IL): US#14 Loyola Academy was upset today at the Class 3A state meet to Neuqua Valley, 99-111 with York back in 3rd with 118 points. Lukas Verzbicas, Sandburg, won the individual 3A title with a time of 14:07 for the 3-mile layout. Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs, both from York, were 2-3 in the same time of 14:28. Justin Rehfeldt, Rockford Christian, won the 1A race with a time of 15:06. Newman Central Catholic won the team race with 122 points over Canton, 123. In 2A action Paul Zeman, North, won with a time of 15:09. North won the team title with 77 points. In girls action Lavinia Jurkiewicz, Whitney Young, won the 3A race with a time of 17:11. Palatine won the team title with 99 points. Kayla Beattie, Woodstock, won the 2A race with a time of 17:14. Springfield won a close one over Yorkville, 124-130. Kelly Curran, Central Catholic, won the 1A race with a time of 17:46. Winnebago won the team title with 123 points. Meet Page
Ohio State Championships (OH): Complete OH State Coverage. US#1 Zach Wills won a 2nd straight championship, winning the D1 race with a time of 15:45.11 to Connor Paez, Solon, 15:49.12. Cleveland St. Xavier won the team title with a score of 82 points.
US#8 Magnificat won their 2nd consecutive D1 team championship in dominating fashion, putting 3 runners inside the top-8 and scoring 28 points with an amazing 18:47.63 team average. Meredith Wagner, Sylvania Northview, won the D1 individual title with a time of 18:03.90. OHRunners.com Meet Preview | Meet Page
Michigan State Championships (MI): US#1 Megan Goethals, Rockford, unleashed a state meet record 16:54 to dominate the D1 title race by 1:19. Her previous record was 17:10 set in last seasons meet. Avery Evenson, Hartland, was 2nd in 18:10.3, followed closely by Sara Kroll, Livonia Churchill, 18:10.7. Saline won the title over Rockford, 141-192. Mike Atchoo, Troy, ran away with the D1 boys race with a time of 15:28.5. Detroit Central Catholic won the team title with 68 points and a 16:12.4 average. David Madrigal, Durand, won the boys D3 race with a time of 15:42.3. Blake Allison, Harrison, was 2nd in 15:45.9. For complete results click the following link: Meet Page
Arizona State Championships (AZ): Article on Tonn and Xavier Prep | US#7 Brian Schrader dominates the 4A Div II Championship with a 15:15 performance over the 5000 meter course winning by 45 seconds.US#10 Jessica Tonn blasts a course record 17:28 5000 meters to claim the 5A Division I Championship and lead her team to the team title with an impressive 18:32 average. AZtrackXC.com Girls Preview | AZtrackXC.com Boys Preview | 1A/2A Meet | 3A Meet | 4A Meet | 5A Meet
Oregon State Championships (OR): US#4 Jesuit dominates the 6A Championship 35 points. US#12 Annamarie Maag wins the individual championship in 18:31. Meet Page
New Mexico State Championships (NM): Cibola was a huge surprise winning the 5A boys championship with 32 points and a 15:53.73 5k average. Cibola senior Vincent Montoya wins the individual championship in 15:10. US#10 Albuquerque Academy manages an astounding 15:47.79 average and 24 points to claim the 4A boys championship. Kyle Pittman claims the 4A individual title in 14:59.60. Meet Page
Missouri State Championships (MO): Complete Meet Coverage | US#14 Caleb Hoover won the Class 1 state meet with a time of 16:22, by a margin of 44 seconds, to lead College Heights to the team title. US#15 Emily Sisson won the girls Class 4 race with a time of 17:56. Makism Korolev, Harrisonville, won the Class 3 race with the fastest time of the day, 15:48, to win by 50 seconds. (Photos by Paul Everett) Meet Page
North Carolina State Championships (NC): NC States Recap | US#9 Carolyn Baskir, East Chapel Hill, was upset in girls 4A action as Laura Hoer, TC Roberson, took the title 18:13.01 to 18:14.37. Green Hope took the team title with 47 points. In boys 4A action Patrick Crawford, East Forsyth, won in a time of 15:47.11 over Bryan Spreitzer, Green Hope, 15:52.14. Sanderson won a close one over Broughton 89-92. Jake Hurysz, Eastern Alamance, won the boys 3A race with a time of 15:49.77. Chapel Hill was a big winner in the team race with 54 points. Carol Blankenship, East Wilkes, won the 1A race by over a minute with a time of 18:59.30. Robbinsville won the team title with 62 points. 1A Meet | 2A Meet | 4A Meet
Pennsylvania State Championships (PA): Complete PA State Coverage | Emmaus won their 3rd state title in a row in the AAA division with 128 points. Individually, Sara Sargent has estaablished herself as a national contender again, leading wire-to-wire with a crushing last 800 meters to finish with an 18:35 course record. AA powerhouse Central Cambria, won their 3rd team title in a row as well with 72 points to win by 81 points. Lindsay Kerr, Northwest Lehigh, won the AA individual title with a time of 18:56.
On the boys side West Chester Henderson had a tough race, but wound up with the win with 119 points. Individually, Brad Miles pulled away in the last 400 meters to win in 15:47, the first sub-16 effort on this layout. Rad Gunzenhauser finished 2nd in 15:49. York Suburban won the AA team title with 76 points and Stephen Welsh, Kutztown, won the AA title with a time of 16:37. (Photos by Timothy O'Dowd,Irishrunner.com) PennTrackXC.com Meet Preview | Meet Page
New Hampshire Meet of Champions (NH): In the boys MOC Eric Jenkins, Portsmouth, won with a time of 15:16.3 over Aaron Watanabe, Hanover, who ran a time of 15:23.1. Bishop Guertin had the next two finishers in Jeff LaCoste(15:33.5) and Francis Hernandez(15:42.2) as they charged to the win over Pinkerton by a score of 53 to 86. Bishop Guertin also averaged an impressive 15:58.32 team average. Heidi Caldwell, Hanover, won the girls MOC with a time of 17:46.9 over Jacy Christiansen, Mascenic Regional, 17:58.2. Meet Page
South Carolina State Championships (SC): Aaron Ramirez , Woodmont, won the Class AAA race for the 2nd straight time with a time of 15:45. Sinead Haughey, Daniel, won the her 2nd AAA race in 3 years with a time of 18:26. Mark Blackmon, Fort Mill, won the boys AAAA race for the 3rd consecutive year with a time of 15:47 and Jasmine Polite, Stratford, won the girls AAAA race with a time of 18:40. (Photos below by John Olson). Meet Coverage Page | Meet Page
Aaron Ramirez Sinead Haughey
Tennessee State Championships (TN): John Sharpe, Oak Ridge, won the boys AAA race with a time of 15:50.62. Morristown West won big in the team race, scoring 64 points to win by 73. Brandon Lord, Baylor, won the boys II AA race with a time of 15:53.43 by a margin of 37 seconds. Montgomery Bell Academy, won the team title with 43 points by a margin of 41 points. Megan Ferowich, Knoxville Catholic, won the girls AAA title with a time of 17:47.76, a margin of 90 seconds. Oak Ridge ran with a solid pack to win the team title with 67 points. Meet Page
Maine State Championships (ME): Abbey Leonardi, Kennebunk, won the Class A girls race with a time of 18:08.5 over Emily Durgin, Cheverus, 18:21.67. Cheverus was in control of the team race with 52 points and a 49 point margin of victory. Abby Mace, Maranacook, won the Class B race by over a minute with a time of 18:48.30. Cape Elizabeth had complete control over the team race, winning with 46 points. Will Geohegan, Brunswick, won the Class A boys race with a time of 15:43.7 over Nate Hathaway, Scarborough, who ran 15:46.09. Cheverus won the team title with 83 points. Alex Moser, York, won the Class B race with a time of 16:14.32 while Greely had control over the team race with 74 points. Complete Meet Coverage Here | Meet Preview | Meet Page
Minnesota State Championships (MN): Mubarik Musa, Worthington, won the Class A boys race with a time of 16:01.8. Paul Koullik, Blake, was 2nd with a time of 16:19.3. Plainview won the team title with 100 points for a narrow victory over Perham, 102. Aaron Bartnik, Eden Prairie, won the Class AA boys race with a time of 15:55.1 to narrowly beat Marty Joyce, Woodbury, 15:58.0. Eden Prairie won the team title with 47 points. Maddie McClellan, Perham, won the Class A girls 4k race with a time of 14:55.2. Frosh Kayla Woltz, Chatfield, finished 2nd in 15:02.3. Waseca won the team title with a score of 81 points. Frosh Maria Hauger, Shakopee, won the Class AA girls 4k race with a time of 14:40.8 to narrowly fend off Emma Bates, Elk River, 14:41.7. Elk River was tops in the team competition with 120 points. Meet Preview | Meet Page
Mississippi State Championships (MS): In the girls Class 4A race Cory McGee, Pass Christian, won with a time of 14:45.9 with a margin of 86 seconds back to 2nd place. Pontotoc had complete control over the team race, scoring 37 points for the win. Max Holman, Tupelo, won the Class 6A race with a time of 16:09.2 to win by 40 seconds. Tupelo won the team competition as well with 54 poins. Click the links for complete meet results: 1A Meet | 2A Meet | 3A Meet | 4A Meet | 5A Meet | 6A Meet
Georgia State Championships (GA): GA Meet Summary | Erassa Kirubel, Grayson, had the fastest time of the day out of the 5A race, winning with a 15:09.19 5k. Tyler Anyan, Brookwood, finished 2nd with a time of 15:33.97. Brookwood dominated the team competition, scoring just 32 points for a 68 point margin of victory. In boys 3A action Nathan Vassey, Woodward Academy, won with a time of 15:35.95. Flowery Branch took the team competition with 72 points. Nicky Akande, Collins Hill, took charge in the girls Class 5A race, winning with a 17:55.01, the fastest on the day. Sydney Marshall, Chattahooch, was 2nd in 18:34.87. North Gwinnett won the team title with 63 points. Allie Buchalski, Johns Creek, won the girls Class 3A race with a time of 18:28.18. St. Pius X won the team title with 98 points. Anna Bowles, Lakeside Evans, won the girls Class 4A race with a time of 18:28.59 while her team finished 2nd to Marist, 67-72. Class A Preview | Class AA Preview | Class AAA Preview | Class AAAA Preview | Class AAAAA Preview | Meet Page
Connecticut State Open Championships (CT): Jackie Nicholas, Nonnewaug, won the girls state championship with a time of 18:22, fractions ahead of Meg Ryan, Fairfield Warde, who finished 2nd in 18:23. Reid Watson, Glastonbury, finished 3rd in 18:28 with Lauren Sara, Bunnell, on her heels in 4th, 18:29. Guilford girls pulled an upset, winning with 138 points over Wilton, 146 points. In the boys championship race John Raneri, New Fairfield, outkicked Christopher Bendtse, Wolcott, 15:40 to 15:43. Sean Mueller, Cheshire, was 3rd in 16:00. Xavier won a close team race over New Milford, scoring 116 points to finish 4 points ahead of New Mifords 120. Meet Page
Colorado State Championships (CO): (released on ColoradotrackXC) 5A Boys Championship: If there were any doubters left, the Regis Jesuit boys put the doubts to rest with a very convincing run through the 5A boys field. Coronado was definitely impacted by a tough race for Dusty Solis, but even if Solis had come through in first, Coronado could not have overtaken Regis. Regis's fifth, Ryan Van Portfliet, finished in 17:01 to seal the victory for the Raiders. Two top-ten finishes from Danny Nicolls (15:56) and Brian Sokas (16:17) certainly didn't hurt the cause. Walter Schafer won the individual title, but not until after seeing a sizable lead at 2.1 miles shrink over the final mile and Connor Winter and Danny Nicolls closed the gap. 5A Girls Championship: Fort Collins continues to march on. All season long, no 5A girls team has been able to answer the Lambkins' strength all the way through the scoring five. State was no exception. Boulder's Kelsey Lakowske had a brilliant run to finish first (17:28). Teammate Sam Lewis was strong in fourth. Highlands Ranch put four girls in the top 17, but nobody could match the overall team balance of Fort Collins, who repeats as 5A girls state champions. Incidentally, the entire margin of victory for Fort Collins over second-place Boulder, was accounted for in the scores of the fifth runners for each team. The surprise of the top ten was probably Loveland's Kailie Hartman in fifth with a time of 18:32. 4A Boys Championship: Greeley West entered the season as the 4A favorite, but the season did not start especially well for the Spartans. As one might expect from Spartans, however, the team kept fighting back and that refusal to quit earned them the schools second state championship in the last three years. Kody Leach was the top finisher for West (8th, 16:26), but it was the 24-36-37 at 2-3-4 for the Spartans that brought the trophy back to Greeley. No other school had that kind of strength in the middle portion of their scoring lineup. 4A Girls Championship: One of the other big feel-good stories of the weekend focuses on 4A girls. I have no idea how much longer Larry Zaragoza intends to keep coaching, but he just added a huge milestone to his already-impressive list of accomplishments--winning boys and girls state titles at two different schools. The girls state championship was a first-ever for the Alamosa program and was earned against a strong field comprised of teams from Thompson Valley, Cheyenne Mountain, Evergreen, and Mullen. Nikki DeSouchet led the way for the Mean Moose with a third in 18:54. While Alamosa was cleaning up in the team competition, an incredible individual battle was waged up front between Highway 34 rivals Allie Parks of Greeley Central and Becky Schmitt of Thompson Valley. Once again, Parks had the answers, separating ever-so-slightly from Schmitt at the very end to take an 18:17 to 18:19 win. 3A Boys Championship: It will take a while for the glow to leave Salida. And that's the way it should be. Forgive me while I edge a little bit toward the personal here. Losing is always a test of inner strength and will, but I could not pick a finer program to lose to than Salida. Coach Wilcox and his assistants have very nicely demonstrated what investing time, love, and enthusiasm in youth can produce. Salida was very much a struggling cross country program going nowhere three years ago. A first state cross country title for a program that has had some very good individuals in years past, but never a team like this. Job well done, Spartans! 3A Girls Championship: For the girls, it was an up-front performance for the TCA Titans. After Kaitlin Hanenburg turned back the early challenge from Middle Park's Sam Berggren, it was all maroon up front as Hanenburg, Emily LaValley, and Shelby Stableford grabbed the top three places. Two more Titans finished in the top ten. Kaiti Davis of Salida (again--demonstrating that Salida's success is definitely not restricted to the boys' team) put in the surprise finish of the top 10, finishing 7th in 19:19. In a bit of a role reversal from last year, Estes Park edged Salida for second. Colorado Springs Christian was the overachiever among 3A girls, finishing seventh as a team and well above their ranking. Meet Page Answers and More Questions from State Cross Country by Alan Versaw
Rhode Island All-State Championships (RI): Jake Sienko, Bishop Hendricken, won the boys race with a time of 15:56.92 to beat out Robert Allen, 16:10.48. Bishop Hendricken dominated the team race, winning with 49 points to top Barrington by 42. Hendricken had a spread of 1:12 and an average of 16:44.32. Molly Keating, LaSalle Academy, dominated the girls race, winning with a time of 18:28.01. Abigail Jones, Barrington, was 2nd in 18:54.38. LaSalle also took the edge over Barrington in the team competition, 41-49. Meet Page
Meet Summary: There was no particular point that La Salle sophomore Molly Keating felt she had the race won during the Rhode Island Interscholastic League‘s State Cross-Country Championships on Sunday. It wasn’t until she broke the tape a winner, that her mind was at ease.
Truth be told, the diminutive harrier essentially sewed up the title by the first mile. Taking a sizable cushion at that checkpoint, Keating was never seriously challenged the remainder of the way, capturing the individual crown with a time of 18 minutes, 28.01 seconds for the five-kilometer distance at Ponaganset High.
As far as the team crown, it was Keating and La Salle that took home the plaque for the second straight year holding off a determined Barrington squad, 42-49.
In the boys’ meet, Bishop Hendricken senior Jake Sienko claimed the top prize with a time of 15:56.92. Sienko and the Hawks earned the team hardware, copping their seventh title since 2000 with a convincing 49-91 triumph over runner-up Barrington.
Keating, who finished 12th as a ninth-grader at last year’s state meet, went though her first mile in 5:47. She gradually pulled away from her competitors and finished more than 100 meters ahead of second-place finisher Abigail Jones of Barrington. Jones recorded a time of 18:54.38.
“I always try to take out the first mile fast. I was just worried about the second and the third mile and trying to keep it up,” Keating said. “But it wasn’t until I crossed the finish line that I felt I won. I wasn’t sure how close anyone was.”
Keating gained confidence for the states a week earlier when she posted a nearly 50-second win at the Class A Championships, which she won in 18:46.97.
“I thought before the class meet that maybe I’d have shot,” Keating said. “When I won the class meet, it got my hopes up a little. I really tried to win today.”
Sienko’s win was just another impressive performance by the talented harrier, a seventh-place finisher at last year’s meet. He was third at the Great American Cross-Country Festival in North Carolina on Oct. 3, just seven seconds off the pace with his 15:20 clocking for the 5K race. The splendid senior was also second at the Manchester (N.H.) Invitational on Sept. 26 and had a sixth-place showing at the Manhattan (N.Y.) Invitational on Oct. 10.
An Indian Summer with the temperature above 60 degrees greeted runners for Sunday’s race.
“I felt good the whole way and the weather was perfect,” Sienko said.
The race was without East Greenwich Nick Ross, who is nursing an injury. Back in August, Ross was one of the pre-race favorites to win this year’s state meet. He was sixth last year.
Sienko still had some stiff competition, most notably Cranston West junior Robert Allen. Allen, a fifth-place finisher in 2008, battled Sienko for two-thirds of the race. He eventually claimed the runner-up spot with his time of 16:10.48.
“He hung with me for two miles and then I was able to pull away,” Sienko said. “I was just pushing it.”
NIAA Nevada State Championships (NV): In the boys 2A race Wade Meddles, Sierra Lutheran, won by 57 seconds in 16:06. Sierra Lutheran won the team title with 32 points to win by 32. In the boys 3A race Josh Thompson, Moapa Valley, won with a time of 17:17. Lowry ran away with the team title with 24 points and 5 in the top-10. Richard Shroy, Carson, won the 4A title with a time of 16:11. Carson also won the team title with 49 points. In girls action Briana Drago, Incline, won the 2A title with a time of 20:23. Incline also took the team title with 39 points. In the 3A race Mariah Anthony, Fernley, won with a time of 21:27. Lowry won the team title with 50 points. Kelsey Smith, South Tahoe, won the 4A title in the fastest time of the day, an 18:59 that was 33 seconds up on 2nd place. Carson won the team title with 58 points. Meet Page
Arkansas State Championships (AR): Erika Setzler, Conway, won the girls 7A race with the fastest time of the day, a 19:16.43. Bentonville won the 7A team title with 40 points. Grace Heymsfield, Elkins, was a runaway winner in the girls 3A race with a time of 19:55.12 to win by 3:07. In boys competition Gabriel Gonzalez, Springdale, won the 7A race with the fastest time of the day, a 16:21.37. Bentonville completed the 7A sweep with 85 points for the victory. Christopher Marchman, Sheridan, won the 6A title with a time of 16:26.80. Lake Hamilton won the 6A team title with 34 points. In the boys 4A race Shiloh Christian dominated by putting 4 in the top-5 to score 25 points. Meet Page
New York Sectional Championships (NY): US#3 Aisling Cuffe, Cornwall, runs a swift 3 mile in the Section 9 Championships, running a 16:43.69 to lead Cornwall to the team victory with 20 points. US#1 Fayetteville-Manlius has set the stage for a state showdown with Saratoga after winning the Section 3 Championships with a perfect 15 points after sweeping the top-6 places in the race. Courtney Chapman led the charge with a winning time of 18:30.2. F-M recorded a team average of 18:42.3 during their winning run. US#3 Saratoga Springs narrowly edged Shenendehowa in the Sectional 2 Championships 27-31, squeaking their way into the state championship meet. US#12 Queensbury girls edged Burnt Hills 28-34 in another tight match-up for state qualifying spots. US#8 Fayetteville-Manlius boys fared just as well, winning with 36 points and an average of 16:46.3. Brendan Farrell led the way with a winning time of 16:12.6. Complete Sectional Coverage and Results Here
Virginia Regional Championships (VA): Complete Meet Coverage
Region IV Championships Meet Page | Complete results; Hidden Valley upsets MileSplit US ranked Blacksburg (28-37) for 3rd straight year at regional meet
The Hidden Valley girls did it again and knocked off a top ranked Blacksburg squad at the Region IV Meet for the third consecutive year. Of course in the past two upsets, Blacksburg has been able to bounce back and win the Group AA state title the next week. We will see if history repeats itself next week at Great Meadow as two of the state's best teams face off once again. The Stevens did their part at least up front for Virginia's top ranked team. In her first race ever on the course, Kathleen Stevens scorched a time of 17:04 on the 3 mile Sugar Hollow Park course in Bristol, which is a faster performance than 2008 Foot Locker South runner-up Megan Marsico posted on the same course last fall. Twin sister Joanna Stevens finished 25 seconds back in second place at 17:25. Without a top runner to challenge the Stevens twins, the Hidden Valley girls instead took it to the Blacksburg girls in the remaining scoring positions with a spread from 18:12 to 19:09 for their top five scorers all placing among the top 10 individual. Blacksburg's fourth and fifth runners placed 14th and 17th respectively to put them behind Hidden Valley in the team scoring.
The Blacksburg boys won easily with a team score of 25 points with a 32 second spread for their top five (15:47-16:19) as their team's pecking order continues to rotate each week as Frank Locascio was the team's top finisher, while George Carter was the team's fifth finisher. Christiansburg's Andy Eddleton followed up his district victory last week against the Blacksburg with a regional title in a time of 15:36.
VA 3A Northern Region Championships
Meet Page
A close finish to determine the Northern Region region on Burke Lake's 2.98 mile course between Chantilly's Chris Foley and Oakton's Andrew McCullen (both pictured above by Dave Watt) with both runners timed at 14:59 as Foley was determined to be the winner. The sub 15 performances by Foley and McCullen at Burke Lake yesterday at the Northern Region Meet were significant as that usually is a good sign that you are capable of qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals. Only 28 have done it in the long standing course and the vast majority were finalists. The Lake Braddock girls averaged 18:19 and Oakton boys averaged 15:47 as scoring squads to claim team titles, while West Springfield's Paige Kvartunas smoked a fast time of 17:36 to lead four others under 18 minutes.
Prep League LIS Championships
Meet Page
The 14:58 performance by Fork Union VA senior Josh Morris on Friday at the Prep League/LIS Championshps hosted at Fork Union's Hardy National 3 mile course trumped even the performances by Chris Foley and Andrew McCullen on Thursday. On a hilly 3 mile layout and the second place finisher 30 seconds behind him, Morris (pictured left by David Fleenor) became the first runner ever to break 15 minutes on a course which several Foot Locker finalists have raced on with the most recent record holder being 2008 Foot Locker finalists Kyle Satterwhite at 15:05. Before Satterwhite, Kippy Keino of Fork Union (another Foot Locker finalist) held the record at 15:06.
VA 2A Region I Championships
Meet Page
Colin Mearns running a 16 flat 5K at Loriella Park for the Region I Meet is pretty incredible too as only one runner has ever ran under 16 minutes on that challenging course which was his former teammate Andrew Colley who set the course record one year ago of 15:46. Mearns ran 16:16 in last year's race and went onto a top 10 finish NXN Southeast and solid 29th place finish at Nike Cross Nationals (2nd finisher from SE region). Mearns and the Jamestown Eagles enjoyed a great regional meet with boys and girls teams sweeping the team titles.
Virginia 3A Northwest Region Championships
Meet Page
The Northwest Region featured arguably the state's top three runners in Group AAA currently all in the same race in a preview for next week's state race with Katherine Walker of Brooke Point pulling out the big win as the underdog against defending indoor 3200 state champ Kaitlyn Davis (2nd, 18:14 of Mountain View and previous MileSplit US top 16 ranked Ariel Karabinus (3rd, 18:48) of Osbourn Park with an 18:12 victory. The Mountain View boys made a statement in the region team title by posting a dual meet like score of 28 points and placing 6 runners among the top 15. Mountain View will be the favorites to win the AAA state title next week and plan to compete for a national berth at Nike Cross Southeast. The Osbourn Park girls easily defended their regional title despite having several key runners coming off major illness as they prepare to challenge Midlothian for the Group AAA state title. Albemarle's Anthony Kostelac, anchor leg on last year's national record breaking 4x800 meter at Nike Indoor and Penn Relays, continues to work himself back into top shape after an outdoor season ending stress fracture as he used his speed to kick to a victory.
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