Handley, James Wood boys qualify for cross country state meet

THE PLAINS — The Handley boys’ cross country team hasn’t had much luck escaping illnesses lately, but the Judges sure have done a good job of breaking away from most of their competitors this postseason.

The Judges placed second only to state power Loudoun Valley on Tuesday at the Region 4C Cross Country Championships at Great Meadow to earn their first state meet berth since 2014.

The Vikings scored 56 points to beat Handley (66) and Class 4 Northwestern District champion James Wood, which took third with 69 points in the eight-team meet that featured temperatures in the mid-40s and a steady, light rain. The Colonels will compete in their third straight state meet.

The top three teams and top five individuals outside of those teams advance to the Class 4 meet on Nov. 13, also at Great Meadow. A lot of personal records were set on the 3.1-mile course used on Tuesday, which is not the same as the state meet course.

“It’s a good rivalry, a constructive rivalry,” said Handley senior Nico Schianchi of the battle with James Wood, which beat Handley on a tiebreaker (fastest No. 6 runner) at the district meet. “It’s definitely nice to beat them. They got us at district. It burned a little bit, but we came back and had a good race. And now, it’s all about states.”

Millbrook placed fourth with 84 points. Pioneers junior and Class 4 Northwestern District champion Nick Hayden will join Handley and James Wood at the state meet as a result of his fifth-place finish in a personal record of 15:48.

Schianchi led the way for the Judges by taking second overall in a personal-record time of 15:40, seven seconds behind Loudoun Valley’s Graham Mussmon in the 61-boy race.

A week ago, Handley’s Pierce Francis struggled mightily with an illness. On Tuesday, normal No. 2 runner Ryan Stickley competed after previously dealing with bronchitis and he finished as a non-scoring runner.

Handley wasn’t fazed by Stickley falling back, though. The Judges placed six runners in the top 24 — Stickley finished 24th — and none of the other seven teams had more than four runners in the top 24. After finishing just 32nd in the district race in 18:03, Francis moved up to 23rd on Tuesday in 16:50.

“They ran really well today. I’m really pleased,” said Ryan’s father, Handley coach Mark Stickley. “They did what they needed to do. Ryan was fighting a cold after getting bronchitis, and watching him I was like, ‘Oh, just finish.’ Pierce said he felt like was 90 percent, and that made a big difference. He was right where he needs to be.”

Stickley’s other son Garrett placed 12th in 16:21, William Pardue was 17th in 16:37 and Max Ware was 20th in 16:43.

Handley’s most impressive performance was definitely delivered by Schianchi, the recipient of numerous congratulatory hugs and handshakes. Schianchi beat his previous PR by 17 seconds, which he set at the district meet.

“I knew where I was supposed to be and who I could beat, and I just stuck there,” Schianchi said. “I tried to stay towards the front, because I was feeling pretty good.”

Schianchi was in fifth or sixth early, moved up to fourth after a mile, and was in third at the halfway mark. Schianchi was in a tight battle with James Wood senior Nathaniel Woshner and Dominion’s Amir Aougab as they approached the hill that’s near the quarter-mile mark. Schianchi attacked that hill and finished a comfortable three seconds ahead of Woshner, who placed third in a 10-second PR of 15:43.

“I think I raced pretty smartly and just felt good throughout the race,” Schianchi said.

Mark Stickley said he’s never seen Schianchi run better, and not just because of his time.

“He looked really good the whole way,” Stickley said. “Whenever I saw him, he looked fantastic. I’m really happy for him. That was a big breakthrough that I think he’s been looking for all season.”

It looked for a moment like Woshner might finish fourth or worse after he was passed by Aougab in the final quarter-mile. But he held off Hayden — Woshner said he did not want him passing him again like at the district meet — and surged past Aougab to take third.

“My strategy was to be patient, because the last couple of races I had I went out a little too soon, and I would die out near the end and people would pass me,” Woshner said. “I wanted to stick with the head group and let them pull me along and do all the work. It worked.”

James Wood had three runners earn All-Region status by placing in the top 10, with Ethan Pratt-Perez (sixth in 16:09) and Liam McDonald (ninth in 16:11) joining Woshner. Other scoring runners for the Colonels were Jacob Oliver (27th in 17:01) and Landon Burdock (33rd in 17:11), who had a much more satisfying showing than the district meet. Burdock had a shoe come off early in the race at that meet and finished as the Colonels’ No. 6 runner.

“We made it through to states. That was the goal,” Colonels coach Matthew Lofton said. “I’m happy about that. It would have been nice to beat Handley again, and in more than just a tiebreaker. But I think we ran well. [Burdock] took some risks, and that paid off. He should have been our No. 5 runner last week.”

Both Handley and James Wood are looking forward to running against each other again.

“Good for Handley that they got second,” Woshner said. “They really worked hard and they have a good team.”

Hayden said he accomplished his main goal of qualifying for the state meet. He normally doesn’t start out too quickly, but he feels like he needed to run harder at the outset on Tuesday.

“Around two miles, I saw my [12-year-old] brother, and I said I need to pick it up a little bit, because he’s been wanting me to do pretty good,” Hayden said.

“He ran well,” Millbrook coach Jamie McCarty said. “I think he realizes he spotted that front group a little too much early in the race. But he looked strong coming down the last mile and actually closed down a lot on that group. He was right there at the end. Being out a little more aggressively, maybe that could have been a different story.”

Sherando’s only region qualifier was sophomore Dylan McGraw. Sherando coach Megan Roberts said he suffered a knee injury, but the sophomore finished in the exact middle of the race by taking 31st in 17:08.

“Dylan’s really motivated to see what he can do next year,” Roberts said. “Even with that injury, he knows what he’s capable of and has big things ahead of him.”

Other Millbrook scorers: 15. Carter Johnson 16:34; 16. Kai Johnson 16;37; 26. Austin Conley 16:59; 34. Carter Luden 17:11.

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