Cross Country - Third Battle Invitational

Posted: October 17, 2016
By ROBERT STOCKS
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Millbrook’s Alec Schrank wanted to try to run the fastest time ever for a Pioneer runner at the Third Battle Invitational cross country race on Saturday, but the Pioneer senior came up a few seconds shy of that mark.

Schrank crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 15 minutes, 34 seconds to set a personal record, but that fell seven seconds off the school record of 15:27 set by former teammate and current William & Mary freshman Tyler Cox-Philyaw.

Schrank came through the first mile in fifth place and maintained that spot over the remainder of the 3.1-mile course.

Overall, the Pioneers senior — who won the Glory Days Invitational on Oct. 8 — said he didn’t run as strong as he had hoped in his final invitational on his home course.

"It was a quick first mile, and I wanted to relax through it, so I was kind of feeling bad from there," Schrank said. "I was trying to hold on to the top guys because I knew if I could stick with them then I could run the time I wanted to, but I just wasn’t able to hold on to it.

"I was shooting for the school record of 15:27, so faster than that. I think with really good conditions I could run a 15:20-low, and I ended up with [15:34], so I wasn’t that far off. I finally PR-d, so that was good."

Millbrook cross country coach Kevin Shirk thought Schrank ran a strong race.

"It was a personal best for him, so hopefully he’s happy with that," Shirk said. "I think he was coming in hoping to run somewhere in the 15:20s and he was 15:34, but it looked like he ran a pretty good race.

"He ran within that front five pack, which is what we were expecting. There were some good guys in there, and it looked like he held his own."

McDonogh’s Dalton Hengst emerged from that pack of five runners, who set the early pace.

Hengst took first overall with a time of 15:11, finishing four seconds ahead of Loudoun Valley runner-up Peter Morris. Hengst’s time ranked third best all-time on the course behind former Loudoun Valley standout Andrew Hunter, who set the course record of 14:20 last year. Hunter, who turned professional and signed with Adidas, attended Saturday’s race to watch his former teammates.

Loudoun Valley won the boys’ team title with 61 points. Patriot (150) and Gonzaga (184) rounded out the top three in the meet that included 35 boys’ teams. Millbrook finished 18th, James Wood took 23rd, Handley followed in 24th and Clarke County came in 35th.

Individuals in the top 20 overall received medals.

Handley junior John Delaney placed eighth overall in 15:51 to set a PR.

Delaney said he regretted not making a move a little sooner in the race.

"I would’ve much rather been under 15:50 and around 15:45," said Delaney, who won the Gettysburg (Pa.) Invitational on Oct. 8. "I honestly think I could’ve and there was a pivotal point around a mile-and-a-half, and I didn’t choose to move [up]. If I had, I think I would have gone sub-15:50."

Delaney hoped to get a little closer to his older brother, Tom, whose top time at Handley was 15:40.

"I don’t know what his junior PR was, but I think I’m getting pretty close if I haven’t beaten it yet," Delaney said. "I’ll probably call him and talk to him about that.

"But it’s definitely cool with 40 teams to be top 10. It just shows the training is coming together."

Handley boys’ coach Mark Stickley said John is closing in on his older brother’s top times.

"The next step is he’s got to beat big brother’s time," Stickley said with a laugh. "Tom’s top time was 15:40, and John ran a 15:51, so that could be big family bragging rights in another year."

In the girls’ race, the only area runner to medal was James Wood freshman Kenzie Konyar, placing 17th with a PR of 19:15.

Konyar said her time ended up being much faster than her goal.

"I was shooting for under 19:30 today, so [19:15] I was pretty happy about it," Konyar said. "It’s surprising because I didn’t think I would run as fast as I have this year."

Colonels coach Mike Onda said Konyar’s time was one of the fastest ever by a James Wood girl.

"It was about a 40-second PR for her, and she ran a great race," Onda said. "It’s probably the second-fastest time ever for our girls’ team. The only time that was faster than that was Amber [Hawkins, who ran an 18:19 on the Third Battle course in 2012]."

Konyar, who led James Wood to 17th place out of 32 girls’ teams, was the only area girl to finish in the top 30.

Sherando’s Paige Conner (31st, 19:32), and Olivia Couillard (32nd, 19:33) led the Warriors, who finished incomplete as a team because they did not have five scoring runners.

Clarke County’s Madison Webster came in 37th (19:38), setting a PR while leading the Eagles in 21st place.

"Our two-through-five [runners] ran as a big pack so that’s really encouraging," said Clarke County coach Jeff Webster, whose team has dealt with several injuries after finishing as the Group 2A state runner-up last year. "We just need to bridge the gap between one and two a little."

George C. Marshall’s Heather Holt took first overall in the girls’ race with a time of 17:20. Her time was the third fastest in race history.

Holt was one of four George C. Marshall runners in the top 20 overall as the Statesmen won the girls’ team title with 87 points. Loudon Valley (152) and Patriot (158) completed the top three.

Millbrook, led by Mellany Groll (45th, 19:52), placed 19th with 458 points.

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