Midlothian keeps crown

Even in a sport as fiercely individualistic as cross country, sometimes being on a team is the most meaningful part of racing.

At Great Meadow yesterday, the Midlothian girls won their fourth straight Group AAA title. Trojans junior Kathleen Lautzenheiser, the 2007 champion, raced along side senior Stacey Nobles of Ocean Lakes. With less than a half-mile remaining, Nobles began to press the pace.

Lautzenheiser lost a step and finished second in 18 minutes, 18 seconds.

"Both of us for the last mile, we were pretty much running together," Lautzenhesier said. " . . . She was a great competitor. She was great to run against. I know she helped push us, push each other."

Lautzenheiser was three seconds behind Nobles and 22 seconds behind her own winning time a year ago.

As the state's fastest 15 Group AAA girls accepted their medals, Nobles looked around as if the attention embarrassed her, as if she'd surprised herself with that closing rush.

"I wasn't surprised at the beginning [to run with Kathleen]," she said. "I was kind of surprised at the 2-mile marker and then it was like, 'Maybe you can do this.' And when I got to the 2-mile marker and I was still up there, I was like, 'You don't want this all to go to waste. Now you've got to do something.'"

The Trojans posed with runner-up Maggie Walker for group pictures after the awards presentation. Midlothian blew through the competition, placing three in the top 15 and finishing with 72 points. Maggie Walker squeaked into second with 126 points, two better than Thomas Jefferson-Alexandria.

Central Region boys champion Ben Dejarnette of Atlee finished second to Thomas Porter of Mountain View but led his Raiders teammates to a school-best fifth-place finish.

Having Atlee challenge within the region, Douglas Freeman coach Brian Reutinger said, helped push the Rebels into a narrow third-place performance at the state meet.

Kyle Ward runs second for the Rebels behind twin brother Alec. He didn't run cross country as a junior and was limited to only a few races by a stress fracture as a sophomore. The lure of team goals brought him back.

"I didn't really run this season just to, you know, to personally do well," Kyle said. "I just wanted to help the team finish, we wanted to finish off what we'd been waiting for, you know, all four years."

Freeman barely edged Mountain View for third place. Porter, Mountain View's lead runner, finished more than a minute in front of Rebels lead-man Alec Ward. But strong finishes by Kyle Ward and sophomore Silas Frantz in Freeman's second and third spots put the Rebels in front in the team race.

"What really helped in this race, and through all the races, is we kind of stick in packs of people," Kyle said. "The whole team sticks together . . . so we're always challenging each other."

While local teams excelled in the Group AAA races, individual performances stood out in Group A and AA competitions. Andrew Colley of Jamestown won the Group AA boys race in 15:02, lowering the course record by a second. Megan Marsico of Glenvar repeated as the Group A girls champion. Running alone for almost the entire race, Marsico finished in 17:38, destroying the course record by 10 seconds.

RESULTS

Team scores: 1. Oakton 71; 2. Albermarle County 117; 3. Douglas Freeman 149; 4. Mountain View 151; 5. Atlee 160; 6. Western Branch 163; 7. Thomas Jefferson (Alexandria) 182; 8. Lake Braddock 215; 9. Ocean Lakes 218; 10. James W. Robinson 223; 11. Colonial Forge 266; 12. Hermitage 283; 13. Grassfield 292; 14. Kellam 297; 15. Maggie Walker GS 311; 16. Battlefield 390.

Top 15: 1. Thomas Porter, Mountain View, 15:13; 2. Ben Dejarnette, Atlee, 15:18; 3. Leoule Degfae, Thomas Edison, 15:29; 4. Bobby Peavey, Kellam, 15:30; 5. Blake Theroux, Western Branch, 15:48; 6. Ted Richardson, James River, 15:52; 7. Anthony Kostelac, Albermarle County, 15:53; 8. Luke Noble, Albermarle County, 15:55; 9. Andrew McCullen, Oakton, 15:55; 10. Drew Paisley, Ocean Lakes, 15:55; 11. Christopher Foley, Chantilly, 15:58; 12. Griffith Ashooh, Colonial Forge, 15:58; 13. Tihut Degfae, Thomas Edison, 15:59; 14. Chris Werner, Western Branch, 16:03; 15. Jordan White, Great Bridge, 16:08.

Other Central Region finishers: 19. Alec Ward, Douglas Freeman, 16:15; 29. Andrew Catanese, Atlee, 16:32; 31. Kyle Ward, Douglas Freeman, 16:35; 32. Wes Steenburgh, Atlee, 16:36; 38. Silas Frantz, Douglas Freeman, 16:39; 26. Roger Cooke, Hermitage, 16:40; 52. Justin Kendall, L.C. Bird, 16:48; 56. Will McPherson, Douglas Freeman, 16:50; 58. Nick Clark, Hermitage, 16:51; 59. Booth Hornsby, Deep Run, 16:53; 63. Cody Snyder, Lee-Davis, 16:56; 64. Cody Talmadge, Maggie Walker, 16:57; 68. Andy Hesse, Atlee, 17:00; 72. Peter Askin, Maggie Walker, 17:03; 76. Eric Williamson, Thomas Dale, 17:06; 77. Greg Kaczka, Deep Run, 17:08; 78. Carson Hogge, Douglas Freeman, 17:08; 83. Marc Breidenbaugh, Maggie Walker, 17:13; 87. Colin Custer, Douglas Freeman, 17:16; 88. Dupree Bostic, Hermitage, 17:18; 90. Justin Pierce, Maggie Walker, 17:19; 93. Eric Alterescu, Hermitage, 17:21; 97. Christian Snider, Atlee, 17:25; 105. Kamau Bostic, Hermitage, 17:41; 106. Quang Pham, Hermitage, 17:41; 111. Cameron Napps, Maggie Walker, 17:44; 122. Josh Bland, Atlee, 18:01; 124. Craig Cilley, Douglas Freeman, 18:03; 126. Devon Richardson, Atlee, 18:04; 127. Lee Matheson, Hermitage, 18:05; 131. Conor Farrell, Maggie Walker, 18:12; 132. Daniel Yates, Maggie Walker, 18:30.
GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Midlothian 72; 2. Maggie Walker GS 126; 3. Thomas Jefferson (Alexandria) 128; 4. Ocean Lakes 146; 5. Oakton 153; 6. Lake Braddock 173; 7. James W. Robinson 187; 8. Deep Run 208; 9. Osbourn Park 249; 10. Albermarle County 252; 11. Cosby 263; 12. Mountain View 280; 13. Western Branch 285; 14. Loudoun Valley 300; 15. Grassfield 350; 16. Great Bridge 387.

Top 15: 1. Stacey Nobles, Ocean Lakes, 18:15; 2. Kathleen Lautzenheiser, Midlothian, 18:18; 3. Erica Howes, Woodson, 18:29; 4. Sarah Stites, Thomas Jefferson, 18:30; 5. Kaitlyn Davis, Mountain View, 18:31; 6. Liana Epstein, Lake Braddock, 18:46; 7. Megan Moye, Cosby, 18:49; 8. Amy Witt, Midlothian, 18:52; 9. Carolyn Hennessey, Herndon, 18:52; 10. Juliann Bigler, West Potomac, 18:53; 11. Emily Smith, Great Bridge, 18:53; 12. Paige Johnston, Midlothian, 18:56; 13. Hannah Varnell, Gloucester, 18;57; 14. Debra Baner, Potomac, 18:58; 15. Ariel Karabinus, Osbourn Park, 19:00.

Other Central Region finishers: 17. Susannah Piersol, Maggie Walker, 19:02; 21. Jenna Moye, Cosby, 19:11; 22. Katie Ardiff, Maggie Walker, 19:13; 25. Courtney Dobbs, Deep Run, 19:13; 28. Abby Bardura, Clover Hill, 19:16; 31. Leia Lautzenheiser, Midlothian, 19:20; 33. Madalyn Nuckols, Deep Run, 19:24; 27. Clarissa Schick, Maggie Walker, 19:26; 44. Krista Willard, Midlothian, 19:36; 49. Caroline Newcomb, Maggie Walker, 19:42; 52. Erica Dobbs, Deep Run, 19:46; 53. Anna Spiers, Maggie Walker, 19:48; 60. Emily Bird, Maggie Walker, 19:59; 62. Taylor Broadwater, Cosby, 20:04; 64. Megan Mulroy, Midlothian, 20:06; 67. Stephanie Cario, Lee-Davis, 20:10; 78. Claire Benjamine, Midlothian, 20:20; 83. Laura Dobbs, Deep Run, 20:29; 88. Caroline Turner, Deep Run, 20:36; 102. Dominique Bennett, Deep Run, 20:58; 112. Rena Hamzey, Maggie Walker, 21:24; 116. Sarah Dillon, Deep Run, 21:26; 117. Hilary Traveline, Cosby, 21:28; 124. Morgan Cain, Cosby, 21:57; 125. Mary Angel, Cosby, 22:01; 131. Katie Ramage, Cosby, 23:39.