Cross Country - Judges Classic

Posted: September 12, 2016
By ROBERT STOCKS
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Millbrook’s Alec Schrank knew he had a couple of competitors right on his heels through the first two miles of the 42nd Judges Classic cross country meet on Saturday.

Schrank led through the first two miles with Fauquier’s Carson Fernandez and Handley’s John Delaney just a stride or two behind. But once Schrank got to the top of the hill just beyond the two-mile mark, he made sure he was all alone by the time he reached the finish line.

Schrank, who won the Conference 21 title on the Kernstown Battlefield course in 2014, looked to be in mid-season form by taking first place with a time of 16 minutes, 17 seconds to top a field of 208 runners.

When the varsity boys’ race finished at about 10 a.m., the temperature was in the low 80s with 70 percent humidity, but the muggy conditions didn’t seem to bother Schrank one bit in his season debut.

"It wasn’t necessarily that hot, but it was really thick — a lot of humidity and really thick air," Schrank said. "It made it kind of hard to breathe. But I thought it was a pretty solid race for my first race. I wasn’t really looking for time at all, I was going for place.

"I ran the first mile easy, and kind of cruised the second mile and started pushing a little bit. In the third mile going up this last hill that’s when I was like ‘alright, let’s drop some people.’"

On the last mile of the 5K course, Schrank dropped the hammer on his competitors, turning a second or two advantage into a half minute by the finish line. He finished 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Fernandez and 35 seconds clear of Delaney.

Schrank said his goal was to run a strong race in his final Judges Classic.

"I thought about it before the race, and I knew this was my last time running this invitational, so I wanted to make it count," Schrank said. "It was tough to keep it strong through the third mile because they were falling back, but I didn’t quite know where, so I had to stay out and never give up before the [finish] line."

Millbrook cross country coach Kevin Shirk said Schrank’s strong debut was an excellent sign.

"I thought he ran a very smart and tactical race," Shirk said. "He’s in very good shape, and he showed it by running at a controlled effort for about two miles before really opening up and racing hard and putting 30 seconds on second place in just that final mile.

"His workouts and runs have been fantastic lately. He’s been putting in more mileage than his previous seasons, which is already showing and will continue to pay big dividends for him as the season goes on. He’s truly still in a base-building phase of training and already racing well, so I think he has a great season in front of him."

Handley’s girls’ team also looks to be primed for a strong season.

The Judges, led by sophomore Kenzi Fergus (sixth, 20:50), showed solid depth to take the team title.

Handley, which placed three runners in the top 25, won with 118 points, finishing 33 points ahead of runner-up Loudoun County. Woodgrove (160), Riverside (190) and Millbrook (210) rounded out the top five. James Wood, led by freshman Kenzie Konyar (15th, 21:35), finished 11th with 281 points, and Clarke, who won the Judges Classic a season ago, placed 20th with several runners out of the lineup.

Clarke sophomore Madison Webster surged with a strong kick on the final downhill portion of the race to finish fourth as the top area runner with a time of 20:43. Webster surged by Woodgrove’s Shelby Kostal and Fergus in the final 200 meters.

"I think [Fergus] passed me around the second mile, and she was pretty far ahead of me, but I thought I could at least get closer to her," said Webster, who earned All-Group 2A honors a season ago. "Once I got past her, I felt I could get past [Kostal] if I tried really hard, and I did.

"I didn’t really expect to get in the top five, and I’m really proud of myself that I got top five. I was just hoping to be top 10."

Winning the team title also came as somewhat of a surprise for Handley’s girls.

The Judges were second at the mile split, but Handley’s average time of 21:42 was five seconds faster than runner-up Loudoun County.

"We all did really well, and I’m really proud of all of our girls," Fergus said. "I’m really excited for the season, and I think it’s going to be a really good season."

Judges girls’ coach Emily Budnyk-Putt said she hoped her team could finish somewhere in the top six, so her team’s strong performance surprised her.

"I’m kind of in shock to be honest," Budnyk-Putt said. "Looking at the other teams, I thought top six would be a really good goal for us, so I’m really happy with where we are at this point. Kendall, who is a freshman, and Kenzi have had phenomenal summer workouts training, and Kristin Blake, our No. 3, really stepped up today. We have some work to do, and we’re missing a couple people, but it’s a great start."

Handley’s girls also get the luxury of hosting both the Conference 21 West and 4A North Region meets on their home course at Kernstown this year. If the Judges can stay healthy, then Handley could be a contender once the postseason races start in mid-October.

"If we’re right here in this place seven weeks from now I’m going to be really excited," Budnyk-Putt said. "We have a lot to go, though."

Millbrook’s girls, led by sophomore Maddie Lloyd (33rd, 22:11), took fifth as 4A North Region teams swept the top five. The Pioneers top four runners, Lloyd, Mellany Groll (39th, 22:21), Kaycee Cox-Philyaw (40th, 22:25) and Emily Muldowney (43rd, 22:35) all finished within a 24-second span. Millbrook’s Sophie Edlich (55th, 22:59) completed the team’s scoring five.

Freedom-South Riding won the boys’ meet with 91 points. Rock Ridge (166), Jefferson (194), Fauquier (197) and Dominion (207) completed the top five. James Wood, led by senior Max Lindquist ( 11th, 17:34) came in 10th, Millbrook took 12th, Handley followed in 19th and Clarke finished 23rd out of 25 boys’ teams.

Delaney, who paced Handley’s boys in third place overall, said the Judges Classic gave a glimpse at how challenging the postseason races are going to be.

"I’m definitely happy with third, but Schrank [and Fernandez] are both guys from the region, so it just shows how competitive the region is going to be, especially with Loudoun Valley not coming. There’s a lot of guys in the 16-lows to 17-lows category, so it’s going to be tough to get top 15 in the regions."

In addition to Lindquist, James Wood’s scoring five included Kevin Konyar (54th, 18:42), Ethan Pierce (59th, 18:44), Josh Arce (67th, 18:50) and Jacksen Costa (85th, 19:09).

Sherando senior Hayden Williams placed 82nd (19:07), but the Warriors finished incomplete as a team without five scoring runners.

Junior Chase Ervin (89th, 19:13) led the way for Clarke County.

Loudoun County’s Nicole Uehlinger won the girls’ race in 20:02, finishing 30 seconds ahead of Broad Run’s Sabrina Sokol.

Because of the heat and humidity, the varsity ‘B’ races and JV races were shortened to just two miles, and the middle school races were postponed to a later date.