WINCHESTER — With the fastest cross country runner in Frederick County history and two-time Judges Classic champion in attendance as a spectator, the speediest cross country runner in Handley history put her own winning stamp on the Judges’ showcase race on Saturday at Kernstown Battlefield.
And she’s only a freshman.
In a sprint to the finish, Handley first-year runner Ella Seniff — who had already run the three fastest times in program history in the season’s first month — defeated Briar Woods freshman Chiara LoSchiavo by seven hundredths of a second in a 3.1-mile time of 18 minutes, 48.90 seconds. That time yet again eclipsed the school record of 18:56 set by Britani Myers in 2008.
Seniff led the Judges to second as a team in the 18-school girls’ competition that featured 105 runners and temperatures in the upper 50s. The Judges scored 80 points, 23 behind Briar Woods’ 57. Sherando was 10th (252) and James Wood was 13th (316).
With Clarke County holding its Homecoming this weekend, the Eagles — the Class 2 state runner-up in 2025 — did not enter anyone in the girls’ varsity race. Clarke County — a state boys’ runner-up in 2025 as well — also held out most of its top boys, but reigning Winchester Star Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year Landon Horton placed second individually to lead local runners. With Handley missing most of its top runners, Sherando placed sixth to lead local teams.
James Wood’s Homecoming is also this weekend, and four-time Winchester Star Girls’ Runner of the Year and four-time All-State performer Kate Konyar was one of several 2026 James Wood graduates in attendance.
Konyar — a freshman at the University of Maryland who had the fastest 6,000-meter time for the Terrapins on Friday at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University — saw Seniff record a 5K time that was just 6.43 seconds off her victorious Judges Classic mark in 2025, when she repeated as champion.
Seniff had to give everything she had to make her victory happen.
Handley coach Mark Stickley said Seniff trailed LoSchiavo by about 5 meters with half a mile left. After passing LoSchiavo with a quarter-mile remaining after reaching the downhill portion of the course, Seniff’s 5-meter lead heading into the final 100 meters appeared to have her set up for a comfortable win.
But LoSchiavo charged at Seniff hard, and Seniff had just enough to keep her at bay for the narrow victory. Seniff said she wasn’t concerned with where LoSchiavo was at the race’s conclusion — she was just intent on getting through the finish line as quickly as she could.
“At the end, I was just trying to finish,” Seniff said. “I had no idea if she was close or not.”
Seniff was clear with her feelings about winning Handley’s home invitational as a freshman, though.
“This is my home course, and I’m just really proud that I was able to push through,” Seniff said.
Stickley was impressed.
“She looked like she was falling out of the race [with half a mile left],” said Stickley, who has coached Handley’s girls for eight seasons and boys for 24. “To rally like she did and show that kind of foot speed at the end, that’s exactly what she needs to be a really, really good runner.
“This was a phenomenal finish. She’s always been known as someone who can run away from the field and didn’t have to worry about the kick. At this level, you’ve got to worry about the kick. You have to be strong enough to be able to finish strong. I’m really happy for her.”
Though Seniff might be new to high school running, neither Seniff nor Stickley — a Virginia Tech Hall of Fame distance runner — are surprised by the times that she’s posting.
Seniff placed eighth in the Virginia Middle School 4K state meet in 14:46 last year, but she thinks she’s better suited to the 5K distance.
“I think I’m better at longer distance races than shorter distance races,” Seniff said. “I feel like 5K is my race. I feel like that’s what I can do the best at.”
Seniff’s best 5K time in middle school was 19:03 in November of last year. Seniff broke Myers’ record at her first 5K invitational at the Knights Crossing XC Invitational at Green Hill Park in Salem on Sept. 12 with a time of 18:43 to place 17th out of 340 runners.
“I think that gave me a lot of confidence in myself, and that I can keep pushing throughout the season,” Seniff said.
A week later, Seniff shattered her own record with an 18:32 at Woodgrove’s Wolverine Invitational to take seventh out of 288 entrants. A week ago, Seniff crossed the finish line in 18:54.2 at the Carlisle Invitational in Pennsylvania to place 14th out of 169 runners.
Handley’s roster features The Winchester Star’s Girls’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year in senior EJ Mullins, the Judges’ No. 1 runner her first three years. But Mullins’ strength is sprinting (she broke Myers’ 400-meter school record in the spring en route to winning a Class 4 state title).
Stickley expected Seniff to not only step into the No. 1 spot, but also go well beyond breaking the school record to possibly join some illustrious company. In Winchester/Frederick County history, only Konyar and Millbrook’s Crystal Nelson (a former Iowa State All-American) have run in the 17’s.
“I think she’s fully capable of running under 18 minutes this year on the right course with the right conditions,” said Stickley, who thinks Seniff could do that at the Virginia Showcase at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville on Oct. 17. “She’s the most talented pure distance runner I’ve ever coached on the girls’ side.
“Her work ethic is unbelievable. I’ve always said that good runners, you have to push. Great ones, you have to hold back. And I’ve got to hold her back, because she would put in more and more miles if I let her. I’m really proud of what she’s accomplished already, and there’s more to come.”
It’s one thing to get a fast time with a lot of people ahead of you to pull you along, but’s it’s another thing to run quickly and win a large invitational. Seniff’s victory could serve her well in the future against veteran high school runners throughout the rest of the regular season and into the postseason. The Region 4D meet takes place on Oct. 28 at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest course in Forest.
“[Today] definitely gave me some good racing experience to become better,” Seniff said.
The top four local finishers for the girls were all Handley runners. Senior Sage Welpott grabbed the final medalist spot by taking 15th in 20:42.80. Her twin sister Seneca was 18th in 20:58.3 and senior Audrey Rinker was 23rd in 21:15.92. Freshman Nadia Lopez rounded out the Judges’ scoring by taking 27th in 21:21.13.
Clarke’s Horton was the top local boy at the previous week’s Oatlands Invitational in Leesburg that also included Sherando and James Wood, but he wasn’t satisfied in taking 38th in 16:51.36. A year ago, Horton recorded a 16:43.43 at Oatlands.
“Last week at Oatlands, I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to,” Horton said. “I think in the middle of the race I kind of psyched myself out.”
On Saturday, he had plenty to smile about. He was part of the lead pack halfway through the race with two Turner Ashby runners and Handley senior Everett Otto, and he was in first with about a quarter mile to go. St. Albans School (D.C.) senior Rafi Hume passed Horton at that point and was flying as he made his way downhill toward the finish line. He won the 117-boy race by 4.36 seconds in 16:05.15.
Horton placed fifth at last year’s Judges Classic in 16:49.54, and he improved on that time by 40.03 seconds with a 16:09.51. That’s about three-tenths of a second better than his PR from last year at the Class 2 state meet, where he finished third.
“This time, I definitely delivered [compared to Oatlands],” Horton said. “I ran the best that I could. I’m glad I was out in a front pack of very good runners to keep me from lagging behind, keep me pushing to do my best. I’m incredibly happy with my place and very proud of what I’ve done today.”
The focus for Clarke County is always to have its runners be at their best for the postseason, but Eagles coach Jeff Webster liked what he saw from Horton on Saturday.
“He had a phenomenal day,” Webster said. “It’s hard to lead a race for the mile and a half that he did. Second is a great effort, and his time of 16:09 is a great effort.”
Otto led through the first mile and ultimately finished fifth in 16:26.64. Of the seven boys who competed the previous weekend at the Carlisle Invitational (the Judges took third in the Challenge Division), Otto and Tristan Wheeling (55th in 18:22.86) were the only two who also competed at the Judges Classic. Stickley said he couldn’t comment on why those other five runners didn’t compete on Saturday. Stickley didn’t have a specific timeframe for their return to action.
St. Albans placed first out of 20 teams with 98 points, and Heritage (Leesburg) was second with 109. Sherando scored 157 points in taking sixth. James Wood (seventh, 167), Handley (12th, 282) and Clarke County (14th, 299) rounded out local team scoring. James Wood junior Nathan Reynolds (10th, 16:59.13) and Sherando sophomore William Norris (13th, 17:04.18) also earned medals for placing in the top 15.
Sherando girls’ scorers: 25. Mia Adams 21:19.46; 32. Amelia Rice 21:40.86; 59. Lily Pangle 23:05.20; 65. Kathryn Davis 23:18.89; 88. Ariela Rivera 24:53.01.
James Wood girls’ scorers: 61. Abigail Ebert 23:09.12; 67. Isabella Posey 23:20.53; 69. Grace Dawson 23:27.32; 70. Madeline Primus 23:27.58; 72. Wren Ferrebee 23:34.87.
Other Sherando boys’ scorers: 33. Quintin Priest 17:52.24; 36. Austyn Zeis 17:53.72; 37. Andrew Schaefer 17:56.16; 38. Huntley Combs 17:56.62.
Other James Wood scorers: 28. Cade Freeman 17:42.59; 31. Alecsander Kluge 17:50.98; 47. Henry Brant 18:10.30. 53. Lucas Rambo 18:21.21.
Other Handley boys’ scorers: 67. William Mayfield 18:39.12; 79. Dylan Mendoza 18:59.4; 86. Elijah Jarrett 19:12.40.
Other Clarke County boys’ scorers: 81. Ryan Sheppard 19:02.93; 87. Andrew Stroot 19:13.72; 89. Maddox Stonemeltz 19:15.66.
For more coverage of Saturday’s meet, see Tuesday’s edition of The Winchester Star.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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