After her team placed second in the Region II championship last week, Western Albemarle girls cross country coach Katie Pugh was hoping that her team would find a way to infultrate the top three. And while Hidden Valley and Blackburg duked it out for first and second place in the Group AA race, Western – behind their big three, Claire Johnson, Emily Moffett and Katie Farina – was able to hold off Potomac Falls for third place overall.
Two of the area’s boys teams qualified for the championships. In Group AAA, Albemarle placed 14th overall behind Anthony Kostelac’s 18th place finish. Kostelac won both the Northwest Region and Commonwealth District titles in the previous two weeks.
The other boys team to qualify was Monticello, who pulled off an upset in the Region II championship last week by placing fourth. In its Group AA race the team finished 15th with Nathaniel Hermsmeier leading he way and taking 31st overall.
A handful of runners qualified as individuals, including Louisa County’s Chris Springer and Madison County’s Claire Mortez. Springer placed 23rd overall in the Group AA boys race while Mortez was pulled off a second place finish in the Group A girls race. In the Group A boys, Nelson County had a pair of runners place in the top thirty. Matt Brown placed 25th for the Governors while teammate Albert Lachance took 29th.
All six races were held at Great Meadows in The Plains. Conditions were reportedly very muddy with the Group AAA races bearing the brunt. For complete results click here.
