Wood girls capture team title; Colonels' Konyar, Clark win individually at Judges Classic

WINCHESTER — As Kate Konyar made the slight turn for the 100-meter finish on Saturday in the Judges Classic at Kernstown Battlefield, she looked to her right at her cheering teammates who would run in the JV cross country race later that day.

The James Wood junior first waved her arms in front of each other at waist level, then raised them over her head. The reason for the unusual movement? Konyar was seeking information.

"I was just asking if there was a finish line [banner] I could break through," said Konyar with a smile. "That's always been my dream, to break through [one of those]. Every time I win, there's never one."

Yes, Konyar was mimicking a victory celebration by raising her arms. There was no banner to run through at the finish line, but the winner was determined almost as soon as the smoke vanished from the cannon that was fired to start the race.

Konyar went out like a cannonball and won Saturday's 3.1-mile race by a ridiculous one minute, 19.04 seconds. Konyar's time of 18:52.84 was almost 23 seconds faster than her time last year at the Judges Classic, when she took third. Konyar (fifth in Class 4 last year) defeated a solid 81-runner field that included runner-up Fallon Fetterolf of Loudoun County, a sophomore who placed 10th in Class 4 last year.

Gold is one of James Wood's school colors, and the Colonels went home with plenty of gold hardware in the meet that featured 11 scoring girls' teams and 15 scoring boys' teams.

Konyar helped James Wood repeat as girls' team champions, with the Colonels scoring 70 points to Fauquier's 76. And in the boys' meet, James Wood senior Eli Clark topped a field of 103 runners with a 13.5-second win in 16:25.75.

The girls' meet also included Handley (fourth with 84 points), Clarke County (fifth with 141) and Sherando (eighth with 251). The Judges placed second in the boys' meet with 110 points, trailing only Loudoun County (74). Clarke County placed sixth (137), James Wood was seventh (154) and Sherando took 10th (243).

Saturday was the continuation of a special season for Konyar. Oatlands in Leesburg serves as the site for the Class 4, 5 and 6 state meets, and on Sept. 21, Konyar recorded a time of 18:36 at the Oatlands Invitational. Konyar recorded times of 18:59 at the state meet and 19:21 at the Oatlands Invitational in 2023. She did not expect to run as fast as she did at Oatlands in September.

"I'm just working hard and making sure to stay focused," said Konyar, pointing out junior years in high school are key for attracting college attention. "I'm getting faster times in workouts. With hills now, I feel I can actually get through them and not slow down a lot like I did last year. A lot of people slow down too much on hiils, and I feel like I'm good at them."

Konyar certainly seemed to fly up the hill that runners have to traverse twice at Kernstown, including at the start. Conquering them quickly helped Konyar to a time that was even faster than Charlottesville star junior Elaina Pierce's winning time of 18:53.3 last year. Pierce won the Oatlands Invitational by 19 seconds in 18:00 and is the top returning Class 4 runner.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, so it's like, 'Go out hard, try to [create a] gap at the beginning, and just hope for the best and hold on," Konyar said. "Running alone is hard, but over the years I've gotten really good at just racing myself."

James Wood coach Matthew Lofton continues to be impressed by the two-time All-State runner Konyar.

"I don't know what her limit is, which is a good thing," Lofton said. "She works hard, she trains hard, and she knows how to race. She's not scared to hurt. At Oatlands, she was in second place through the mile. She's not scared to put herself in there and kind of find out where she belongs. She's just a competitor and is running really well right now. She's in great shape, and I think she's only going to get stronger for the next month or so."

The Colonels as a whole are performing impressively.

Senior Ruby Ostrander (15th in Class 4 last year and James Wood's No. 2 runner) has not competed in a varsity race all season due to a foot injury. She made her debut as a pace runner in the JV race on Saturday and will soon make her varsity debut.

But once again, James Wood's depth and experience is making a difference. Five Colonel juniors scored points on Saturday, with the others being Alina Kieffer (fourth in 20:45.09), Katelyn Palmer (14th in 21:45.58), Lauren Thompson (22nd in 22:35.85) and Kirin Nashed (29th in 23:00.59).

"It says a lot about the 3-4-5-6-7 girls," Lofton said. "They're all just stepping up and filling that gap [for Ostrander]. It just makes us pretty excited for when she's back, because we'll have some more firepower. Our times aren't as fast [as some other teams], but we haven't raced a fast course yet. We're beating some of these teams that have run faster courses."

Wood's Clark broke out as a sophomore, earning All-State honors by taking 11th. His junior year did not go the way he wanted to, however. After placing 11th in Region 4D, he took 30th. Then in March, he was involved in a car crash in which he suffered a broken collarbone, which sidelined him for much of the outdoor track season.

No one wants to experience a car crash, but Clark said the incident — and some challenging words from James Wood track & field coach Craig Woshner — helped him reevaluate himself as an athlete and spurred him to improve.

"I wasn't very mentally disciplined," Clark said. "Woshner kind of talked some sense into me. He was like, 'You got to get some better stuff going.' He made me keep my head down so I can start being consistent. And [the car crash] is honestly the point where I was like, 'I'm kind of done with this. I need to start doing more with my life.''

Two 60-minute elliptical training sessions per day helped Clark greatly during the time he couldn't run (Clark did compete in the track postseason and ran at the state meet). So has proper rest. He said he hasn't gotten less than eight hours sleep in a day in about three months.

"It was the hardest training I've ever done," said Clark of the immediate work after his broken collarbone. "[I figured] if I can work that hard, I can have a pretty good cross country season. I'm kind of a boring guy now, but it pays off in races."

Clark opened the season with a victory in the three-mile Central Invitational, and two weeks ago he placed ninth at the Oatlands Invitational in 16:06, which is 1:05 faster than he ran at last year's state meet. On Saturday, he ran 15 seconds faster than he did at last year's Judges Classic.

Clark was in first heading up the hill the second time on Saturday, but only by a couple steps. He separated himself with a half-mile to go and had a dominating finish. The Tafe brothers from Loudoun County — Joe, a senior, and Michael, a sophomore — took second and third, respectively, with Joe 13.5 seconds behind and Michael 21.94 seconds back.

"I just took it," said Clark of his push to start the last half-mile. "Within maybe 50 meters, I opened up a 10- to 20-meter gap, and it was just me from there."

Lofton said Clark told him before the season he was going to work harder than last year.

"He's doing everything that he needs to do to be one of the top in the state," Lofton said. "He always wants to go that extra little bit in workouts. I always have to kind of hold him back. Super-determined, hard worker.

"That's twice now he's beaten the Tafes from Loudoun County, and pretty convincingly today. We talked about his closing speed, and Eli said, 'I don't think they can close like I can.' He put a surge on, and they just couldn't get him."

Handley boys' scorers: 7. Noah Meleason 17:18.20; 15. Matthew Doran 17:46.03; 18. Halston Wright 17:53.04; 26. Finn Slaughter 18:24.31; 44. Everett Otto 19:05.32.

Clarke County boys' scorers: 10. James Casey 17:30.55; 11. Landon Horton 17:31.58; 13. Jackson Ellis 17:43.66; 51. Isaac Nei 19:51.90; 52. Carter Starley 19:16.33.

Other James Wood scorers: 21. Thomas Newman 18:07.79; 38. Nathan Reynolds 18:52.18; 40. Carrick Amerine 18:56.15; 54. Cade Freeman 19:19.85.

Sherando boys' scorers: 19. Hatcher Smith 18:01.85; 43. Chester Konisiewiez 19:04.15; 56. Gus Barbe 19:24.81; 57. Ward Heffern 19:28.02; 68. Sebastian Berrios 19:43.78.

Handley girls' scorers: 6. EJ Mullins 20:56.10; 13. Ella Warren 21:36.94; 19. Seneca Welpott 22:14.28; 21. Jayleh Porter 22:31.69; 25. Audrey Rinker 22:39.61.

Clarke County girls' scorers: 15. Molly Husted 21:45.80; 18. Teya Starley 22:10.30; 32. Saniyah Caldwell 23:23.83; 33. Abigail Cochran 23:32.45; 43. Carmen Russell 24:09.14.

Sherando girls' scorers: 26. Mia Adams 22:40.22; 44. Regan Caplan 24:14.86; 52. Alli Lawson 24:32.11; 64. Gabriella Koch 25:47.15; 65. Ariela Rivera 26:01.95.