Class 4 Preview
Up first Saturday in the Plains will be the Class 4 girls race which coincidently could very well be the best race of the weekend both with regards to team titles an individual crowns. In the team title battle it is a two horse race at the horse park between defending champions Loudoun Valley and last year's runner-up Blacksburg.
Last year was a historic year. With Loudoun Valley winning the title two state meet records went down. The first that went down was Valley's record four state runner-up finishes in a row, a record that has only been matched by John S. Battle's 1982-85 run. The second record was Blacksburg's streak of seven titles in a row when they were looking for their eighth a year ago.
This year both teams return three and four scorers respectively with both teams also returning their top finisher from last year's state meet.
We find ourselves almost in the exact same spot as we did last year with many things on the line and two very difficult to beat teams that are not only the best two teams in their classification but the entire state as well.
A year ago we found ourselves looking at the virtual meet and seeing that Loudoun Valley owned a 19.5 point edge on the Bruins. The Vikings ultimately did reign supreme over the meet but the score was far closer than expected with Valley winning 44 to 48. This year the story is similar with the virtual meet currently showing a 10.5 point edge but still little separating these teams.
This is why our sport is so amazing, this race and the state title will not come down to one athlete's performance but to all seven athletes having the best race of their career. The team who can not only run the best but race the best will walk away as team champions.
Inside of that tough team battle is also a very exciting individual battle for the state title between the states 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th ranked athletes.
The defending champion, Ricky Fetterolf (Loudoun Valley) enters the meet as the co-favorite again but with last year's runner-up, Kaitlynn Wolfe (Blacksburg) now back to healthier ground things could be very close yet again.
These girls are joined by Ellie Desmond (Broad Run) who arguably could be the favorite on paper after her dominant course record performance at Albemarle, super freshman Alli Crytser (Hanover) where the sky's the limit, Jette Davidson (E.C. Glass) who's been running her best races of late, and teammates Elise Abbe (Loudoun Valley), Ava Gordon (Loudoun Valley), and Audrey Link (Blacksburg) who currently leads the Class 4 field with her 17:48 best on the season.
In the boys race it could be an all Loudoun Valley finish yet again. Entering the meet these Vikings are ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th. Leading the way for them is Carlos Shultz who is the current state leader regardless of classification with his 14:55 season best.
With such a strong team it looks like Shultz's biggest competition will come from within his own team. Two names that really standout are Kellen Hasle, last year's 3rd place, and Taylor Ney. Hasle is actually the only Virginia guy this year to beat Shultz in one of his five races.
The top seeded competitor outside of Loudoun Valley is Alistair Bushey (Blacksburg), the Region 4D champion and last year 15th place finisher at states. He enters the weekend seeded 5th.
Joining Bushey with hopes of also breaking up that perfect score are Louisa County's Branden Wood and Grafton's Alex Murphy who in their won right could finish as some of the top guys in any classification in the state.
The team title is heavily slanted in Valley's favor with Grafton seeded second, Lee-Davis third, Blacksburg 4th, and Patrick Henry fifth. Any one of these four teams though has a shot at a podium finish.