Girls' Cross Country Preview: Area teams bring back plenty of talent

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI | The Winchester Star

Aug 19, 2018

Two of the area’s five girls’ cross country teams advanced to the Virginia High League state championships last year.

Based on who’s on their rosters this year, both Clarke County and Millbrook stand an excellent chance of navigating their way back to Great Meadow.

The Eagles only lost one of their top five runners from last year’s team that placed sixth in the state meet.

Clarke County fourth-year head coach Jeff Webster’s team is led by two senior all-state performers in his daughter Madison and Skylar Bragg. Madison won the Region 2B and Bull Run District meets before taking 13th at the state meet. Bragg — The Winchester Star’s Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2015 — placed fourth at the state meet and was runner-up to Webster at the region meet. Maeve Lyman adds to a strong senior nucleus.

The growth of that veteran trio — and the fact that the Eagles now have multiple Braggs and Websters on their roster — add to the Eagles’ optimism.

Bragg’s senior cousin Keagan joins the Eagles after transferring from Briar Woods. Keagan focused on soccer the last two years, but she ran cross country as a freshman.

“The top four runners are as strong as we’ve ever had [in my four years],” Jeff Webster said. “With Keagan being a welcome addition to the team, that makes four senior girls in scoring positions.”

Madison’s younger sister Ryleigh also joins the team. Webster said she’s not running at Madison’s level at this point in her career, but he expects her and fellow freshman Sydney Jacobsen to serve as potential scoring runners for the Eagles.

Clarke County finished behind George Mason at each of the three postseason meets last year. But with the Mustangs losing five of their top seven runners — including their top two — Webster feels Clarke County could dethrone the defending district champions.

“[George Mason] is going to be a young team,” Webster said. “Central has got some good talent, but generally speaking we’re the oldest team in the district right now. I like our chances a lot, certainly within the district.”

Millbrook brings back five of its top seven runners.

The group includes Kaycee Cox-Philyaw, who placed eighth in Region 4C and fifth in the Class 4 Northwestern District, and Sophie Edlich, who set a personal record of 20:26 to take 13th at the Region 4C meet and paced the Pioneers at the Class 4 state meet. Senior Maddie Lloyd is back after taking 12th at the district meet last year.

“I’d like to see our girls’ team challenge for the district title this year,” Millbrook coach Kevin Shirk said. “I’m very happy with how our returners have come into the season in great shape and they’ve been training exceptionally well.

“We hope to make it to the state meet [top three in the region], but we also know that our region is probably the strongest in the state and will just come down to the best teams on that day. I’d like to get this group back to the state meet their senior year, and also for the newcomers to start their careers.”

Shirk expects the district race to be a close battle between the four Winchester-Frederick County schools and defending district champion Fauquier. He believes the Pioneers and Falcons possess the most depth.

Fauquier did not have a single senior run in last year’s district meet that was held in Nokesville Park, but Shirk notes Millbrook will have an important edge over the competition this year — the district meet will take place on Oct. 24 at Millbrook’s Third Battle course.

Handley lost Kristin Blake (third in the district meet last year), but the Judges bring back most of the runners who helped the team take second in the district meet.

The Judges’ returners are headlined by Kenzi Fergus, a state qualifier who placed in the top five at both the region and district meets. Handley coach Emily Budnyk-Putt said because of an injury suffered during track season, Fergus will not be race-ready at the start of the season (Handley’s first meet is the Class 4 Northwestern District meet on Sept. 5 at Kernstown Battlefield) but she’s training. Budnyk-Putt is hopeful Fergus can be ready by mid-September, but she won’t be rushed.

Handley’s other returnees include junior Kendall Felix and senior Riley Fisher, who took eighth and 14th at the district meet last year, respectively.

Sherando enters the season under new head coach Megan Roberts. Roberts takes over for Jamie McCarty, whose contract was not renewed despite leading the Warriors to three regional berths and a state berth over the previous four seasons. Roberts served as McCarty’s assistant for the previous five years. McCarty is now an assistant coach at Loudoun Valley, the state runner-up in girls’ cross country the last three years and the state champion in boys’ cross country the last three years.

The Warriors had six runners place in the top 22 at last year’s conference meet, and five of them are back. Seniors Camryn Ubert (sixth), Stella Williams (ninth) and Olivia Couillard (10th) each earned all-district honors. With 17 runners, Sherando’s roster is almost twice as large as last year’s team.

James Wood was the only local team that did not qualify for regional competition last year. But the Colonels bring back six runners who competed at last year’s district meet and add junior Shannon Mulvaney, a transfer from Millbrook who took 16th at the district meet to finish ahead of all but one of James Wood’s runners.

The one Colonel Mulvaney did not best was junior Kenzie Konyar, The Winchester Star’s Cross Country Runner of the Year the past two seasons.

In 2017, Konyar earned all-state honors by taking eighth in Class 4, and she also placed second in the district and third in the region.

While Handley opens its season on Sept. 5, James Wood, Millbrook, Sherando and Clarke County will kick off the season on Saturday at the Central Invitational.

The following is a glance at each area team:

Millbrook

Coach: Kevin Shirk, 9th year.

Last year: 4th in Class 4 Northwestern District; 3rd in Region 4C; 8th in Class 4 state meet.

Key losses: Mellany Groll, Shannon Mulvaney (transferred to James Wood).

Top returnees: Kaycee Cox-Philyaw, Sr. (season PR, 19:31); Maddie Lloyd, Sr.; Emily Muldowney, Sr.; Sophie Edlich, Sr.; Katie Borland, Jr.; Joanne Keenan, Sr.

Top newcomers: Madison Smith, Fr.; Angelina Guerrero, Fr.; Angelo Dojcak, Fr.; Rebecca Edlich, Fr.; Cailey Johnson, Fr.

Shirk’s outlook: “Kaycee Cox-Philyaw has come into this season in the best shape we’ve seen her in. She’s coming off of a fourth-place finish at the state meet in the 1,600 last spring and has been highly motivated since then. She’s run more mileage and more consistently in the past few months than any other previous season. Emily Muldowney is also entering the season in great shape in comparison to past years, and she looks ready to be competitive right off the bat. Maddie Lloyd, who is also coming off of a great track season, and Sophie Edlich have always been our most consistent and reliable runners, and I expect the same from them this year.”

Handley

Coach: Emily Budnyk-Putt, 11th year.

Last year: 2nd in Class 4 Northwestern District; 4th in Region 4C.

Key losses: Kristin Blake, Elise Smith, Sydney Aschenbrenner.

Top returnees: Kenzi Fergus, Sr. (season PR, 19:30); Riley Fisher, Sr.; Kendall Felix, Jr.; Allison Morgan, Sr.; Melanie Morgan, Sr.; Sally Sydnor, Jr.

Top newcomers: None.

Budnyk-Putt’s outlook: “We’ve had a good summer of training. I have six girls who really can run. I’m feeling good about the team right now. We’ve had a couple of hiccups here and there with some injuries from track [Melanie Morgan is also working her way back from injury], so it’s going to be a slow progression I think this year. I think some teams might count us out really early on, but I’m really training for the end of October. I think we’ll be back where we need to be at the end of October, but we will not start out on top, that’s for sure. Riley Fisher had a phenomenal summer of training, so I’m looking forward to big things from her, and Kendall Felix, who’s been an [all-conference/all-district] runner the last two years.”

Sherando

Coach: Megan Roberts, 1st year.

Last year: 3rd in Class 4 Northwestern District; 6th in Region 4C.

Key losses: Paige Connor.

Top returnees: Daisy Conde, So.; Olivia Couillard, Sr.; Molly Robinson, So.; Camryn Ubert, Sr. (season PR, 19:52); Stella Williams, Sr.

Top newcomers: Lea Aufdenberg, Fr.; Karli Brown, Fr.; Brigid Campbell, Fr.; Juliana Duke, Fr.; Leah Wernecke, Jr.; Emily Petsko, Sr.; Eleanor Lunde, Jr.

Roberts’ outlook: “We’ve got kind of a nice pack training together every day at practice. Emily Petsko was not a varsity runner last year, but she’s training at a whole new level and I’m really expecting to see big gains from her in the meets. Leah Wernecke is a junior who’s just joining us in cross country for the first time, but she had a pretty successful track season in her first time doing track, and I think that’s going to translate pretty well into doing cross country. There’s talent there with the freshmen, and they’re working hard. I’m not sure what they’re going to do in a meet yet, but I think there’s a lot of promise there. [Lunde] hasn’t been a varsity runner before, but I think she might kind of break through this year. As a girls’ team overall, we’re just stronger and deeper this year.”

James Wood

Coach: Mike Onda, 13th year.

Last year: 5th in Class 4 Northwestern District.

Key losses: Abbey Esparza.

Top returnees: Kenzie Konyar, Jr. (season PR, 18:27); Kendall Pierce, Jr.; Audrey Sandy, So.; Brooke Sandy, So.; Haley Witt, Sr.; Cleo Yeatras, Jr.

Top newcomers: Lauren Beatty, Fr.; Elena Farinholt, Fr.; Shannon Mulvaney, Jr. (transferred from Millbrook)

Onda’s outlook: “We did return most of our top seven from last year, and we’re looking pretty good. We’ve also got a new crop of freshmen and underclassmen coming in, and Shannon Mulvaney is looking pretty good, too. I think they’re going to be very competitive this season. Kenzie put in a lot of work over the summer, and we’re thinking she’s going to get back to where she was and then some for this fall season. Hopefully, we can get the whole team up there with her [to states]. That’s going to be a challenge obviously, as tough as our region is.”

Clarke County

Coach: Jeff Webster, 4th year.

Last year: 3rd in Bull Run District; 3rd in Region 2B; 6th in Class 2 state meet.

Key losses: Catherine Lewis.

Top returnees: Skylar Bragg, Sr. (season PR, 19:30); Madison Webster, Sr. (season PR, 19:37); Maeve Lyman, Sr.; Kateri Thorne, Jr.; Maria Housey, So.

Top newcomers: Keagan Bragg, Sr.; Sydney Jacobson, Fr.; Ryleigh Webster, Fr.; Sarah Flockhart, Fr.

Webster’s outlook: “[Madison and Skylar] are coming off really strong track seasons and good summer base training, so they’re both running really well and really comfortably. They’re probably as strong as they’ve ever been. They’re older, more mature, smarter, able to handle more volume, so I’m really looking for great things.”

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1