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BURKE, VA -- The Thomas Jefferson boys will look to make it two in a row in as district champions in Liberty District as they have only been in the district for two years after coming over to the Concorde District. Meanwhile, defending individual champions Sarrah Hadiji of W.T. Woodson and Paul Norland of Thomas Jefferson return looking to repeat as well. After finishing fifth in last year\'s Liberty District Championships, the Langley girls look to be in the driver seat coming in to win the team title on Wednesday at Burke Lake Park\'s 2.98 mile course.
Thomas Jefferson should win the boys\' team crown fairly comfortably. In last year\'s meet, Thomas Jefferson had five of the top seven finishers for a low team score of 19 points. The Colonials will once again be led by defending district champion Paul Norland. While Thomas Jefferson has struggled with consistency this fall as shown with a string of defeats at invitationals this fall, Norland has been the bedrock for the team up front as he has performed well week after week up front for Coach Matt Ryan\'s squad. Norland was only 6 seconds off his Burke Lake best from the 2005 Northern Region Meet to start off the season at the Monroe Parker Invitational with a fourth place showing of 15:33. His best race of the season though had to have been at the Maymont Festival in Richmond as he posted a solid 5K time of 16:10.12 to finish fourth against not only the best team field assembled in Virginia thus far this season, but the best individual field.
Richard Prevost and Ben Treweek return for Thomas Jefferson as All-District performers from a year ago. Prevost finished as an individual district runner-up to Norland in 2005, while Treweek finished seventh in the same race. With Brian Landry having been out all season due to injury, Prevost had to been expected to help give Norland support up front, but the closest the sub 9:40 3200 meter runner has finished to the team\'s top finisher was their first meet at Monroe Parker with an 18 second difference between the two.
James Komen did not compete in last year\'s district race, but was on the state meet squad, which finished third in the AAA state race. Komen has started to step it up as of late as shown with his 21st place and 5K personal best performance of 16:26 at the Glory Days Grill Invitational. Prevost was three seconds behind him in the race at 16:29.
It is really uncertain who will fill out the remaining four roster spots for Thomas Jefferson as their great depth has allowed them to insert various runners into the varsity lineup this fall.
Aiden McHugh missed Glory Days due to preventive measures after an injury suffered during a workout, but would certainly figure as he ran fourth for the team to start off the season at Glory Days. Treweek and defending 1000 meter state champion Taylor Bostick in the fourth and fifth runner slots at Glory Days with McHugh absent. The track geared Bostick should benefit the greatest racing on the fast Burke Lake Park course.
Stone Bridge\'s Gidey Teferra could be the greatest threat to Norland for the individual district crown. Teferra finished ninth and 35 seconds off of Norland in the 2005 Liberty District Championships, but is much improved since then. Teferra recently posted a 16:18 5K best at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville at the Albemarle Invitational to finish third overall against solid competition.
The same four teams that qualified out of the district last year look to be the same four this year as Thomas Jefferson will be expected to be well out in front for first, but W.T. Woodson, George Marshall and Stone Bridge will be battling out for those next spots. All three teams faced at the Oatlands Invitational in late September with Woodson coming out ahead.
Starting at 4:45 pm at Burke Lake on Wednesday, it will be the Sarrah Hadiji show as the last year\'s AAA state runner-up will be shooting for her second consecutive district title. Hadiji won last year\'s race in 17:47 and finished five seconds ahead of Thomas Jefferson\'s Stephany Reaves. Hadiji\'s toughest competition in 2005 within the district in Reaves has graduated and last year over a minute gap existed with the rest of the field after Reaves finished.
The top returnee finisher after Hadiji from last year\'s district meet is sophomore teammate Aaren Pastor, who posted a 19:09 5K personal best recently at Glory Days.
The Shaw sisters from Langley in Lauren and Carolyn, could potentially break up a 1-2 finish from the Woodson pair as both Shaw sisters finished ahead of Pastor in the mud slop that was the Octoberfest Invitational. Langley and the Shaw sisters certainly have made great improvements since last fall when the two runners barely cracked into the top 20 at the district meet and the team finished 23 points out of fourth place.
The Oatlands Invitational was a coming out party for the Langley girls as they finished second to Nike Team Nationals Southeast #6 ranked Lake Braddock and beat a lot of the region\'s top squads in the process. Lauren Shaw finished 14th in a personal best 5K run of 19:47, while Carolyn Shaw finished 24th in a best 5K time of 20:03. Pastor finished in between the two twins in 16th place at 19:48.
Woodson finished six team places and 148 points behind Langley at Oatlands in eighth place, but was competiting without their top runner Sarrah Hadiji. Hadiji competed at the Maymont Festival on the same weekend as an individual after being personally invited to compete by meet director Dan Ward. Insert Hadiji into the Oatland results and Woodson receives an over 130 point swing towards them.
It appears the team battle between the two will be really decided in the third and fourth runner slots as Langley and Woodson appear to be fairly well matched at #1, #2, and #5. Langley\'s third and fourth runners at Oatlands finished roughly 20 scoring places each ahead of Woodson\'s.
James Madison also has a solid squad as they were 33 points off a Woodson team at full strength at Glory Days. Madison has a great front two to lead them with sophomore Brigid Byrne and junior Jade Zaharoff. Both Byrne and Zaharoff had PR days at Glory Days with Byrne at 19:28 and Zaharoff 10 seconds back at 19:38.