September 10, 2012
By GREG BRILL
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — If anyone is looking to have a comeback season, it is James Wood senior Amber Hawkins.

Unable to finish competing last season in cross country due to a double whammy of anemia and mononucleosis, Hawkins handled things quite well on a muggy morning Saturday at Kernstown Battlefield to win the 38th Annual Judge Classic with ease.

Hawkins gained the lead less than a mile into the race and coasted in with a winning time of 20 minutes and 10 seconds — 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Ashleigh Martin of Hampshire (W.Va.).

“The start went really well,” Hawkins said. “My coach told me to stay back with the front group, but when I got out [to the lead] I felt really good and no one was coming after me. I felt really good for the first mile-and-a-half but by the second hill I was starting to feel [the heat] a lot.”
Hawkins bounced back well last spring, when she placed high in both the 1,600 meters (second) and 3,200 (fourth) at the Group AA state track & field meet. With a top finish in her first cross country race of the season, Hawkins is encouraged and hopeful the next two months will continue to bring positive results.

“I’m really excited that I have been able to come back from everything that’s been going on from last year,” Hawkins said. “And having a dominant track season really gave me that confidence that I can come back and do this.”

Team-wise, both Handley teams exceeded expectations in a meet that saw 15 teams entered on the boys’ side and 13 running in the girls’ section.

The Judges totaled 99 points to come in second to Briar Woods (84 points) on the boys’ side, riding a top-10 finish from senior Jim Thomson (sixth, 17:30) and a two-through-five pack that had a gap of just 28 seconds, to edge out Potomac Falls (107 points), Tuscarora (113), and James Wood (119).

“I was hoping for top-three,” Handley coach Mark Stickley said. “I’m ecstatic. I think that’s the best first race we’ve ever had since I’ve been coaching, just in the sense that we usually come out flat and lay an egg. But these guys ran great today.”

Once Thomson gave the Judges a low card, sophomore Cole Talton (17th, 18:12), sophomore Henry Griffin (22nd, 18:27), junior Noah Vogler (23rd, 18:28), and senior Jared Burns (31st, 18:40) followed close together to give an early indication that Handley is very much in the running again to be a top team this season in the Northwestern District.

“I’m very pleased,” Stickley said. “Jim ran very strong up front, the pack was tight, and I think we have room to improve on, too. Aaron [Arsulan] won the junior varsity race, and I think he’s going to be in [our] top five. I think we can tighten it up a bit, but starting out like that, I’m just really excited about things.”

Handley and Hampshire both scored 106 on the girls’ side, but a better race from their sixth runner allowed the Judges to gain the tie-breaker and take home second place.

Though she did not figure in the team scoring, junior Candace Nelson finished in 50th and far ahead of Hampshire’s sixth girl (67th).

The Judges, who return six of their top seven runners from last season’s Northwestern District regular-season championship team, had two medal — junior Ashden Personius (eighth, 21:20) and sophomore Abby Swartz (14th, 21:31) — and the next three of junior Eileen Wilkerson (25th, 22:19), freshman Anna Claire Wilkerson (27th, 22:23), and sophomore Ellie Selzer (32nd, 22:45) kept the gap at only 26 seconds to give their team a chance at success.

“I really feel like we ran a strong race,” Handley coach Emily Budnyk-Putt said. “... that [pack running] was fabulous. I’m very happy with that. I think we might have a couple more girls to fit into [the top five] too. I’m excited. I wasn’t expecting second place. Our goal was top six.”

Tuscarora ran away from the field, as the young Huskies (only two seniors in the top seven) put four runners in the top 11 and cruised in with 55 points.

After Hampshire, Loudoun County (124 points) and Briar Woods (129) rounded out the top five.

Defending Group AA champion Thomas Madden of Skyline had fellow senior Patrick Joseph of Loudoun County on his heels for about a mile before Madden proceeded to distance himself with each mile before coming in with an impressive 15:55 to win by 41 seconds.

While Madden came down the straightaway in a sprint, Joseph was able to hold on to second before, like a number of runners, collapsing at the finish line due to the heat.

Madden, who was not entered in last season’s Judges Classic, won for the first time since 2010 and said he felt good about his first race of the season.

“I wanted to work the first part hard and try and get some separation, but [Joseph] stayed right there,” Madden said. “It made it tough for me, which I like. He pushed me through the first mile, which is good. Then I just tried to work the hills hard and go from there.

“I felt strong today, even through the last part. I feels good and I’ll take a lot of confidence into the next meet at Oatlands on [Sept.] 22nd. I’m excited for the season.”

James Wood senior Danny Aldstadt ran with a four-runner pack following Madden and Joseph and ran well the entire way, earning a finish of fourth (17:15) overall.

“I wanted to get out and get with the lead group and get in a pack with some guys and just go,” Aldstadt said. “Just kick it in with the last mile, just try and pull away from them. I wanted to stay with those guys, and it paid off.

“I’m excited and ready for the season. My goal today was top 10, because last year I got 15th. I wanted to see how I would do this year [in the Classic], so I’m really happy with fourth place.”

A strong race from Aldstadt helped the Colonels finish fifth as a team. James Wood’s other cards came from junior Luke Farinholt (18th, 18:14), junior Mark Bohler (25th, 18:33), senior Patrick Wilson (34th, 18:46), and sophomore Andrew Shade (38th, 18:48).

The only other local to medal was Clarke County senior Zach Campbell (ninth, 17:36). The Eagles finished in 13th (298 points).

Millbrook was 10th (249), paced by junior Nathan Burgreen (39th, 18:49).

The Pioneers lost Crystal Nelson (second in the Group AA meet last fall) and two others out of its top five and are rebuilding some on the girls’ side, with three freshmen running in their top five on Saturday. Millbrook’s top two placers came from the freshman class, led by a medal from Nadia Dahimene (12th, 21:26) and Rylee Learn (18th, 21:52).

The Pioneers ended up in eighth (174 points), and were followed by James Wood (191). The Colonels next placer after Hawkins was junior Brittany Arnold (30th, 22:32).

Clarke County (12th, 342) finished ahead of only Park View. The Eagles highest finish came from Mackenzie Kibler (55th, 23:53).