Kelsey Chmiel, Saratoga Springs Girls Impress in Virginia
Pre-season No. 4 Kelsey Chmiel led her No. 2 ranked Saratoga Springs girls team to a dominant 27-point win at the Great Meadow Invitational in Virginia. Runners-up Oakton, who are one of the stronger girls teams in Virginia, scored 118 points.
The course is noted as one of the grueling in the state according to MileStat's Nolan Jez. But Chmiel, the No. 2 returner to NXN, demolished the course record by more than 20 seconds with a winning time of 17:36.0.
The prior course record of 17:58.0 was set by Crystal Nelson in 2012; Nelson is now a two-time NCAA cross country All-American for Iowa State.
The Blue Streaks packed their top five scorers into the top ten. Here's the Saratoga results and overall team scores:
| EVENT | PLACE | ATHLETE | RESULT | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F 5000m | 1 | Kelsey Chmiel | 17:36.00 | 1 | |
| F 5000m | 5 | Ciara Knott | 19:23.00 | 5 | |
| F 5000m | 6 | Amelia Mahoney | 19:32.00 | 6 | |
| F 5000m | 7 | Caroline Starace | 19:33.00 | 7 | |
| F 5000m | 8 | Madeline Tooker | 19:35.00 | 8 | |
| F 5000m | 14 | Carly Vetter | 20:10.00 | 14 | |
| F 5000m | 16 | Mari Ellen Penzer | 20:15.00 | 16 | |
| F 5000m | 18 | Peyton Engborg | 20:20.00 | -- | |
| F 5000m | 20 | Paris Fenoff | 20:24.00 | -- | |
| F 5000m | 26 | Samantha Vetter | 20:52.00 | -- | |
| TEAM SCORES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | ||
| 1 | Saratoga Springs | 27 | 1+5+6+7+8 (14+16) | 1:59 1-5 Split | 19:07 Avg | ||
| 2 | Oakton | 118 | 3+18+28+30+39 (86+90) | 2:15 1-5 Split | 20:38 Avg | ||
| 3 | George C. Marshall | 127 | 2+10+17+42+56 (98+150) | 4:10 1-5 Split | 20:21 Avg | ||
| 4 | Loudoun Valley | 187 | 9+24+32+53+69 (73+75) | 2:47 1-5 Split | 21:14 Avg | ||
| 5 | Tuscarora High School (VA) | 189 | 4+31+45+52+57 (79+88) | 2:58 1-5 Split | 21:15 Avg | ||
Heather Holt of George C. Marshall, VA tied the prior record, as she finished second behind Chmiel in 17:58. Holt did not run Great Meadow last year so we do not have a time against which to compare that effort. However, her run certainly seems promising as she hopes to make her first Foot Locker Nationals after placing 11th at the South Regional last year.
Full results and coverage from the Great Meadow Invitational