Class 4 State XC meet

THE PLAINS — At last week’s Region 4C meet at Kernstown Battlefield, Millbrook cross country coach Kevin Shirk couldn’t help but marvel at Pioneers freshman Madison Murphy as she took second after battling with 2018 Class 5 state runner-up Ellie Desmond of Broad Run and the 2018 Class 4 champion Ricky Fetterolf of Loudoun Valley.

“She looked like an experienced veteran out there,” said Shirk last week. “Her race strategy ... hanging on their shoulder, pushing a little bit here and there and just kind of feeling out the race as she went without getting overwhelmed by it ... it’s pretty remarkable for a freshman to run like that.”

Murphy took on an even bigger stage Saturday, and she did not disappoint.

Murphy placed fourth in 18 minutes and 22 seconds over 3.1 miles to record the highest state cross country finish for a Winchester-Frederick County runner since 2012 {span}at Saturday’s Class 4 competition at Great Meadow.

According to Shirk’s research, Murphy’s time is the fastest ever for a Winchester-Frederick County-Clarke County girl in state competition at Great Meadow, which has hosted state meets since 1994.

Murphy was one of three local runners who earned all-state honors on Saturday, as James Wood senior Kenzie Konyar (11th place) went home with a state medal for the fourth time in four years in the girls’ race and Sherando junior James Harris earned his first state medal by taking 12th in the boys’ race.

The scintillating performance from Murphy on a windy, 40-degree morning was part of a stellar overall effort from Millbrook that netted the Pioneers third place as a team.

That ties the best state finish in school history previously achieved four times, most recently last year. Defending state champion Loudoun Valley was first with 36 points, Blacksburg was second with 59, the Pioneers had 116 and James Wood was fourth — the highest state finish in program history — with 124 in the 12-team meet. The Colonels’ previous high was sixth in 1980 and 1986, which was the program’s last state appearance.

Murphy improved on her personal-record time set last week by five seconds and set a school record for time in state meet competition according to Shirk. James Wood’s Amber Hawkins (fourth in Group AA in 2012) was the last Frederick County runner to finish as high as Murphy in a state meet, and only Crystal Nelson (second in 2011 in Group AA) has a higher state finish among Millbrook runners.

“It’s incredible,” said Murphy when asked about her finish. “I really have no words. I’m speechless. I’m surprised I did this well. I was trying to stick with the top people and shoot for somewhere around [fourth], but where I came out today was totally unexpected.”

Maybe Murphy didn’t expect to do so well in her first state meet, but last week showed she had the potential because she excelled in the most competitive region.

Region 4C runners grabbed the top four individual places Saturday, with Loudoun Valley sophomore Ava Gordon winning in 18:04. (Gordon, the Dulles District champion who took fourth in Class 5 last year at Rock Ridge, did not run at the region meet). Fetterolf took second in 18:10 and Desmond barely held off Murphy in a sprint to the finish to take third in 18:21.

Murphy’s small stature belies her strength, and she improved her standing over the course of the race.

“During the first mile and into the second mile I was in sixth to eighth place,” Murphy said. “I knew I had to start regaining speed and keep picking people off as I went along.”

Once again, Shirk couldn’t have been more impressed with how Murphy handled herself.

“For her first time at a state championship, I thought she ran awesome,” Shirk said. “She entered the final 600 meters in about seventh place, and she worked her way up almost to third. She ran a really nice race.”

She wasn’t the only Pioneer to do so.

Sophomore Lina Guerrero had a typically strong effort and was the second Millbrook finisher, taking 22nd in 19:58, but but the Pioneers got a huge performance from Katie Borland.

The senior entered the postseason as Millbrook’s No. 8 runner (only seven people can compete at the state meet) and got the chance to run on Saturday after one her teammates became ill earlier this week. She responded with a season-best and what Shirk said was her second-fastest time at Millbrook. She was the Pioneers’ third finisher in 20:26 (32nd place).

The Pioneers’ scoring five also included sophomore Becca Edlich (35th in 20:36) and sophomore Maria Mejia Villalon (42nd in 20:43).

Millbrook finished behind James Wood at the region meet after the Pioneers won the Class 4 Northwestern District championship.

“We tried to take the pressure off them and have them look at it as just a regular race,” Shirk said. “That’s what they did. They ran really well.”

The James Wood girls had plenty to be pleased about as well. Konyar recorded her fastest-ever state time to lead the way in 18:58, and she was followed by sophomore Lauren Beatty (20th in 19:46), sophomore Elena Farinholt (28th in 20:15), freshman Quetzali Angel-Perez (37th in 20:37) and sophomore Isabella Newman (48th in 20:56).

“We’re really happy with what we did overall,” James Wood coach Mike Onda said. “We knew it was going to be head to head to with Millbrook and Katie Borland had an awesome race today. If she hadn’t been able to do what she did, we would have probably taken third. Hats off to them.

“But our girls raced the races of their lives. I’m really proud of them. Kenzie did a great job, Lauren ran strong and Elena really stepped up and was up a lot further than perhaps one would have expected. She had a great race today.”

In the boys’ race, Harris went out strong just like he did at the Region 4C meet and held the lead for the first mile in a race that featured runners from two-time defending national champion Loudoun Valley, which went on to capture its fifth straight Class 4 title with 17 points, two over the minimum. Harris took the first mile out in a blistering 4:50, which was a couple seconds faster than his Region 4C time last week.

Harris took fifth using that strategy behind four Viking runners last week, but on Saturday he fell back to 12th halfway through the race, and he slipped even farther back at the two-mile mark.

“I think I was 15th, 16th or 17th, and I had people cheering me on, telling me to go catch some of the runners in front of me,” Harris said.

Harris said he wasn’t concerned at all about not finishing strong. He likes attacking hills, and he figured that would provide an opportunity for him to move up in the standings.

“I passed three people going up the second hill and felt good after that,” Harris said. “I felt like I could still have a kick at the end. Crossing the finish line, I was very happy because getting all-state was my goal this year.”

Harris finished with a time of 16:13, almost a minute faster than his 17:11 that earned him 25th place last year.

“I’m really excited for him,” Sherando coach Megan Roberts said. “He’s worked really hard for this. His goal was to get all-state this year, and he really went after it again.

“His pace fell off, but I think Mile 3 was really key. I think Mile 3 is the most challenging because it’s got the biggest hills in it, but he was absolutely attacking those hills. He knew that was really going to separate the field when they hit those hills, and he went for it.”

Handley senior Grayson Westfall had the second-best individual finish among area boys, taking 20th in 16:31.

Loudoun Valley captured the top four places and six of the top eight spots in the boys’ meet. Vikings senior Carlos Shultz — who did not run at the Region 4C meet —recorded a time of 15:24 to beat region champion Kellen Hasle by 16 seconds. Grafton was second in the team standings with 86 points.

Millbrook placed eighth with 194 points. The Pioneers’ scoring five runners were junior Chance Crosen (41st in 17:02), sophomore Carter Johnson (43rd in 17:05), senior Silas Schroer (44th in 17:06), senior Chris Simonelli (57th in 17:23), and freshman Nick Hayden (63rd in 17:32).

James Wood placed 10th with 234 points. James Wood’s scoring five runners were sophomore Nathaniel Woshner (32nd in 16:52), senior Nathan Shade (42nd in 17:05), sophomore Caleb Kemer (66th in 17:35), sophomore Liam McDonald (67th in 17:36), and junior Luke Matthews (92nd in 18:37).

For more meet coverage, see Tuesday’s edition.

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