Konyar earn all-state honors

• Robert Stocks The Winchester Star
THE PLAINS — After the opening mile of the Group 4A state cross country championship race, Millbrook senior Alec Schrank thought he was right where he needed to be with a trio of runners setting the pace.

Schrank, Loudoun Valley juniors Peter Morris and Colton Bogucki, and Lafayette senior Konrad Steck set the pace with a 4:53 split at the mile.

But the rest of the race didn’t turn out how Schrank envisioned.

He slipped back to sixth by the two-mile mark, and then gave up two more spots over the final mile to finish eighth with a time of 15 minutes, 59 seconds on the 3.1-mile state course at Great Meadow on Saturday.

“I figured I needed to stay with the guys, and we’d take it out fast, and we all run as a group,” Schrank said. “l decided to latch onto whoever was in first there, and I felt good through the first [mile]. Then I think some of the wind started getting to me, and my arms really froze up. The last mile-and-a-half was really hard for me.”

On a sunny but chilly day with the temperature about 51 degrees with a light breeze, Schrank said it was a little cooler than he had hoped.

“I think if it would have been a bit warmer, I would’ve run a lot better,” said Schrank, who finished in the top 10 at the state meet for the fourth consecutive year. “I didn’t think the race was that hard, but I wasn’t very happy with my time. I got sub-16 [minutes], which isn’t bad, but compared to what I think I could’ve run today, I wasn’t happy with it.”

Millbrook coach Kevin Shirk said it was unfortunate that Schrank didn’t have one of his best races in his finale at Great Meadow.

“I think we’re all a little disappointed with how he finished,” Shirk said. “But it’s a testament to how good he is that we’re all disappointed with an eighth-place finish at state. He’s had a phenomenal career here, so it’s hard to complain about it. It just wasn’t a great race. We’re disappointed because we know he’s fit, and we know he’s in great shape. For whatever reason, he just had an off-day today.”

Morris, who finished as the runner-up to Schrank at the 4A West Region championship at Kernstown Battlefield on Nov. 2, won the race in 15:14, crossing the finish line six seconds ahead of Grafton junior and runner-up Price Owens. Morris led Loudoun Valley, which placed all five scoring runners in the top 30 overall, to the team state championship with 45 points. Midlothian (90), Freedom (92), Jamestown (131) and Grafton (134) completed the top five.

While Schrank closed out his career with four straight all-state performances, James Wood freshman Kenzie Konyar hopes Saturday was just the beginning.

Konyar surged through the second half of the race, moving up several spots over the last mile to finish 10th with a time of 19:06.

The Colonels freshman standout said she just hoped to make the most of her first state appearance.

“It’s states, and I just wanted to have fun and end the season strong,” Konyar said. “I definitely think I did that, so I was really happy.”

Although she didn’t exactly know what to expect in her first state meet, Konyar hoped to finish under 19:30.

“After the two-mile I got a burst of adrenaline, and I just went for it,” Konyar said. “I felt good, so I figured why not? Coming in as a freshman, I expected none of this. There was a lot of competition here today, and I can’t believe I did as well as I did.”

James Wood coach Mike Onda said Konyar capped her first varsity season by running perhaps her best race of the year.

“I [saw] her coming up the back [portion of the course] on the outside of the fence line before they start going up the back hill [near the two-mile mark], and she was in 20th,” Onda said. “So I didn’t see much of what happened between there and the finish, but for her to move up to 10th is just phenomenal. She’s had a great season, and I’m glad it came together for her today.”

Another area runner that had a strong season and came close to all-state honors Saturday was Handley junior John Delaney.

Delaney placed 18th (16:27), finishing three spots shy of earning all-state (top 15).

The Handley junior standout said he didn’t want to start off too fast during the first mile, but he might have waited too long to pick up the pace.

“The game plan was to go out a little bit more conservatively in the first mile and hang back off the lead pack, and I thought I did that,” Delaney said. “After that, I think I was just a little too far off, and I don’t think I ever made a strong enough move to ever get up to the people that I’m used to racing with. I don’t think I worked hard enough to get up to the front.

“Overall, it’s pretty disappointing. I’m going to go into wrestling season and work hard in that, and then get ready for track. This [performance] can only be used as motivation in my mind.”

Handley’s Kenzi Fergus, the lone state-qualifier for the Judges’ girls’ team, placed 59th (20:42).

Liberty Christian Academy senior Noel Palmer, the 4A West Region runner-up, won the state championship with a time of 18:04.

E.C. Glass, led by seniors Brooke Manion in third (18:21) and Libby Davidson in fourth (18:25), placed all five scoring runners in the top 20 to win the team title with 36 points. Loudoun Valley (88), Grafton (117), Jefferson Forest (135) and Rock Ridge (143) rounded out the top five.

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