For the Western Albemarle girls’ cross country team, Saturday’s Albemarle Invitational served as a timely late season test. Racing at Panorama Farms’ rolling 5-kilometer course — the same venue that will host the Jefferson District and Region II meets in the weeks ahead — the Warriors got a chance to measure themselves against some of the state’s best.
And by the looks of it, Western can stack up with just about anyone.
The Warriors capitalized on their cohesive pack to claim second-place behind Group AAA powerhouse Osbourn Park and easily best a host of Jefferson District and Region II foes.
“[Our performance] is definitely encouraging. It gives us a nice ego boost and helps us stay really positive,” Western Coach Katie Pugh said.
Indeed, the Warriors had plenty to feel positive about. The entire top five finished among the race’s top 50 and just 51 seconds separated their first and fifth runners. Emily Moffett led the way placing 15th in 19 minutes, 27 seconds, while Katie Farina was just four places and eight seconds behind. Claire Johnson, Peri Bowser and Mattie Webb finished 32nd, 41st and 43rd respectively in the loaded 238-runner field.
“[The girls] ran a really smart race. They went through the first mile in about six minutes, which is what I wanted them to do. They didn’t take out too fast and they stayed together as a really tight group,” Pugh said. “They worked off of each other and apparently talked to each other throughout the race.”
Western’s strong showing at Panorama bodes well for their chances in the postseason where they hope to make some noise at the region and state levels.
“Regionals is always such tough competition. People say our region is kind of a preview to the state meet because a lot of the toughest teams are in our region. We are hoping to get top two there,” Pugh said.
Host Albemarle turned in the second-highest finish among area teams, placing 11th behind freshman Allison Huschke’s 30th place effort and 19:59 clocking.
Osbourn Park’s Ariel Karabinus won the individual competition in 18 minutes, two seconds, breaking the meet record held by former Patriot standout Rachel Rose.
Morris takes second for Blue Devils
After winning the VMI Invitational a week ago and setting a new course record in the process, Fork Union’s Josh Morris tried his hand at the hills of Panorama. The results were pretty impressive as the senior finished second in 15: 36.79, just a tick behind winner Ted Richardson of James River, widely regarded as a favorite for the Group AAA state crown.
Morris was among a pack of frontrunners throughout the race’s early stages before he and Richardson managed to separate themselves from the crowd. The contest came down to a final stretch sprint with Richardson pulling ahead in the closing meters.
“Josh Morris did exactly what we asked him to do. He didn’t go out very hard and he waited for his time, kind of absorbing all the moves early on,” said FUMA Coach Winston Brown. “When he had to move he took off. I thought he ran fantastic. Richardson is a wonderful runner and we knew coming in that it would be a real tough piece of work to beat him.”
“The first mile, I felt pretty good. I just took it out easy like my coach told me to do,” Morris said. “The second mile he told me to just push it out. I felt like the top three runners were dying and I could pass them and help them get to the finish line. The last mile I was just trying to give it all I had.”
FUMA exhibited a strong one-two punch as Poland native Wojciech Czernek placed 12th in 16:22.07.
Not to be outdone by his Prep League rivals, Woodberry Forest’s Kevin Bennert also turned in a strong showing placing fourth in 15:52.80, the second-highest finish among area runners.
Albemarle’s 6th-place effort was tops among Central Virginia teams. Senior Anthony Kostelac, who has been recovering from an injury sustained near the end of a sizzling spring track season, led the way, claiming 16th in 16 minutes, 29 seconds.
Cross-county rival Western Albemarle was just two points behind, taking seventh.
