Area boys' cross country teams looking to rebuild this season

The new 13-team Northwestern District creates more of a challenge for the local schools, switching from a six-team conference.. The Northwestern features seven Class 4 teams including the four aforementioned area schools plus Kettle Run, Fauquier and Liberty (Bealeton) and six Class 3 teams.

The top four teams at the district meet (Oct. 25 at Brentsville) and any individual placing in the top 15 advance to the Region 4C meet that will be hosted by Handley at Kernstown Battlefield on Nov. 1. At the region meet, only the top three teams and the top five individuals outside of those three teams advance to the state meet.

And the changes aren’t limited to the postseason format.

Many of the area teams need to fill several spots in their varsity top seven.

Only seven of the top 20 runners from last year’s Conference 21 West meet return, and former conference foes Woodgrove and Harrisonburg now compete in other districts.

Former Millbrook standout and defending conference champ Alec Schrank is now a freshman at the Air Force Academy, so that leaves Handley senior John Delaney, who placed third (in 16 minutes, 44 seconds) in the conference championship last year, as the top returning area runner.

“John is driven and works hard,” Handley boys coach Mark Stickley said. “All the other good runners have moved on, so I’m looking forward to see how he responds to that.

“I’m excited for him and his chance for a really good season. He pushes himself really hard. Now the problem is holding him back.”

Millbrook returns just two of its top seven from last year.

Pioneers coach Kevin Shirk said he’s going to rely on John Pullen, Brad Hambrick (12th in Conference 21 West last year), and Justin Sharp, for leadership.

“Their strength is that they appear ready to put in the work and steadily push themselves to improve,” Shirk added.

Sherando heads into the season with a roster full of underclassmen.

Warriors coach Jamie McCarty said his young team has put in a solid effort during preseason conditioning.

“Last year we weren’t able to compete, but they want to get better,” McCarty said. “The main thing is they’re willing to put in the work right now.”

It’s going to require a lot of effort for area teams to advance through the first two postseason meets.

The new-look Northwestern features three new schools, including Fauquier — which placed fifth at the 4A West Region meet and sixth and the 4A state meet a season ago. Fauquier only had one senior in its top seven last year.

The Northwestern and Dulles Districts combine to form the 14-team Region 4C. Defending 4A West Region and 4A state champion Loudoun Valley — a member of the Dulles District — returns all of its top seven, including defending state champion and senior Peter Morris, from last year.

Stickley said the region will be tough just like it always has been — even dating back to the Region II days — and maybe more difficult than ever with only the top three teams advancing to state.

“You could finish in the top 15 [individually] and not move on to state,” Stickley said. “You already give up one spot to Loudoun Valley and probably another to Fauquier. Then everyone else is fighting for one spot.”

“I think it’s tougher with three teams,” added James Wood coach Mike Onda. “It used to be six but historically four or five would come out of the area between Loudoun County and us. Now the same group is only going to advance three.”

Shirk said teams must be at their best in late October for the postseason.

“A lot of those six advancing schools in the old region are still in the new region, making it a little more difficult to advance to state,” Shirk said. “I think when the postseason rolls around, both boys and girls will probably have five to six teams capable of taking a top three spot on any given day. As much as ever, our emphasis this season will be on preparing and peaking for those postseason races.”

Clarke County coach Jeff Webster said the Eagles’ main competition will be rival George Mason once again in the Bull Run District.

“I think [Mason] had a couple key losses, but they were a very deep team,” Webster said. “But I think we’ll stack up pretty well against them this year.

Following is a glance at the area teams:

Millbrook

Coach: Kevin Shirk, eighth year

Last year: Runner-up in Conference 21 West; ninth in 4A West Region.

Key losses: Alec Schrank; Justin Wiseman; Kevin Kleinegger; Tod Hart.

Top returnees: Brad Hambrick, Jr.; John Pullen, Jr.; Silas Schroer, Soph.; Brennen Klee, Jr.

Top newcomers: Chance Crossen, Fr.; Chris Simonelli, Soph.

Shirk’s outlook: “I’d like to see the team simply advance to the regional meet and get experience there, as nearly all of them will return next year.”

First meet: Saturday, at Central Invitational, 9 a.m.

Sherando

Coach: Jamie McCarty, fifth year

Last year: Sixth in Conference 21 West.

Key losses: Hayden Williams; Isaac Chapman

Top returnees: Jacob Carr, Jr.; Christian Arrelano, Soph.; Lucas Williams, Jr.

Top newcomers: James Harris, Fr.; Jonathan Gates, Fr.

McCarty’s outlook: “Having zero seniors is not the perfect scenario, but we’ve got a good group that’s working really hard. It will be a development thing to see how much we can improve.”

First meet: Sept. 2, at Chancellor Invitational, 9 a.m.

Handley

Coach: Mark Stickley, 15th year

Last year: Conference 21 West champion; eighth in 4A West Region.

Key losses: Bennett Crow; Kevin Heredia, Casey Marchant

Top returnees: John Delaney, Sr.; Brian Tufts, Jr.; Grayson Westfall, Soph.; Bennett Cupp, Soph.; Michael Lee, Soph.; Andrew Dearth, Jr.; Joseph Rosenfeld, Sr.; Garrett Felix, Sr.

Top newcomers: Robert Lineburg, Jr.; Jack Applin, Jr.; James Morrison, Jr.

Outlook: “We just couldn’t seem to get on same page until conference [last year]. I think we’ll come together faster as a team. I think we’ll be decent.”

First meet: Today, at PR Classic (a two-mile event), Manassas, 4 p.m.

James Wood

Coach: Mike Onda, 14th year

Last year: Fourth in Conference 21 West.

Key losses: Max Lindquist and Joey Costello.

Top returnees: Jacksen Costa, Sr; Kevin Konyar, Sr; Bryce Ratlief, Sr.; Joshua Arce, Jr.; Ethan Pierce, Jr; Nathan Shade, Soph.

Top newcomers: Tyler Ostinato, Sr.; Feliciano Ramirez, Jr.; 4 fresh - Jimmy Burdock, Dalton Krossman, Fr.; David Newman, Fr.; Colin Staneart, Fr.

Outlook: “We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us, but I think we’re up to the challenge. We’ll give it our all and see where the cards land.”

First meet: Saturday, at Central Invitational, 9 a.m.

Clarke County

Coach: Jeff Webster, third year

Last year: Fourth in Conference 35; eighth at 2A East Region.

Key losses: Joe Fisher and Zach Dawson,

Top returnees: Chase Irvin, Sr.; Kyle Erickson, Jr.; Cameron Shipman, Jr.; Connor Hanson, Jr.; Spencer Jackson, Sr.

Top newcomers: Josh Hinton, Fr.; Nick Dawson, Jr.

Webster’s outlook: “I think this team is better than [our] team that placed sixth at state two years ago. We’ve got some talent at the front with Nick [Dawson] and we’ve got good balance.”

First meet: Saturday, at Central Invitational, 9 a.m.

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