Area brief: Milbrook's Murphy wins fourth Shenandoah Valley XC race

WINCHESTER — Millbrook sophomore Madison Murphy won the fourth and final regular-season race of the Shenandoah Valley Cross Country League for females on Saturday at Kernstown Battlefield.

Saturday's race was a 6K event, and Murphy won with a time of 23 minutes and 22.1 seconds (32nd overall). The second-fastest female was Gillian Bushee, 15, of Reston (23:28.6).

Other top local females were former Shenandoah University runners Emily Miller, 22 (fourth, 24:11.5) and Sarah Mann, 22 (fifth, 24:12.4), James Wood junior Isabella Newman (11th, 25:17.3) and James Wood graduate and George Washington University freshman Kenzie Konyar (12th, 25:20.9).

The male winner was Rocco DeVincent, 16, of Morgantown, W.Va. (20:19.2). DeVincent beat runner-up and fellow Morgantown resident Jordan Thomas, 17, by 18.4 seconds (20:37.6).

The top local males were James Wood junior Nathaniel Woshner (fourth, 20:53), James Wood graduate and Bloomsburg University junior Kevin Konyar (fifth, 20:57.6) and Shenandoah University juniors Jeremy Allinger (eighth, 21:14.9) and Tyler McCarthy (11th, 21:23.8) and senior Reed Davis (13th, 21:41.9).

The championship 5K race, featuring the top 35 males and top 35 females and the top five from each age group based on collective times from all four races, will take place this coming Saturday, also at Kernstown. (Murphy is not eligible because she only competed in two races.)

Based on cumulative performances, the top-seeded female is Bushee, with James Wood junior Lauren Beatty seeded third (winner of two races, Beatty was 16th among females in 25:35.9 on Saturday). The top male is George Alexander, 17, of Ashburn, with Woshner seeded second. Alexander was third in 20:51.7 on Saturday.

 — Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki