The Ocean Lakes cross country program coached by Mike Nestor has proven that being a school from the Eastern Region does not automatically mean that you cannot compete with the best cross country teams in the fall and distance runners during the track season. Coach Nestor has coached two individual state champions in Stacey Nobles and Drew Paisley as well as an indoor state champion girls' 4x800 meter relay to go along with the numerous district and regional champion teams featuring many individuals qualifying for multiple state meets and All-State honors. At last week's Eastern Region Championships, Coach Nestor achieved a first since becoming the head coach of both programs a decade ago with the Ocean Lakes boys and girls sweeping the team titles. With few losses due to graduation from their current top seven for both boys and girls for the 2011 cross country season, Ocean Lakes can certainly try to go for another first next fall to become the first Eastern Region school with a pair of squads on the state meet podium. MileStat.com interviewed Coach Nestor following their regional title double as the teams hope to both break into the top five in state competition on Saturday...
Coverage
Megan Moye 17:51 - Course Record Silas Frantz - 15:24 Course Record Photos by John Herzog Midlo sweeps region titles including 6th straight for girls Midlothian boys and girls sweep the team titles, while Megan Moye of Cosby and Silas Frantz of Douglas Freeman win individual titles with course and meet record times. More to come from the Central Region Championships including full meet summary, race videos, photo gallery, and interviews on Sunday morning. Central Region XC Championships Results: Freshmen Boys - Freshmen Girls - Subvarsity Boys - Subvarsity Girls - Varsity Boys - Varsity Girls Photo Gallery by John Herzog - 1,672 photos total. Race Videos: Varsity Boys - Varsity Girls - Subvarsity Boys - Subvarsity Girls - Freshmen Boys/Girls Video Interviews by Brandon Miles: Silas Frantz - Megan Moye - Darren Barlow - Anna Spiers/Rachel Galton
Under the guidance of Coach Mike Nestor, it is hard to believe with the combined success which the Ocean Lakes boys and girls' cross country teams have enjoyed within the Eastern Region over the past decade with a total of six regional team titles prior to 2010 that both teams have never experienced first place together at the regional meet. The sweep finally happened on Thursday with steady rainfall throughout the day to muddy up and slow down the course at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake. Ocean Lakes junior Audrey Batzel (pictured above by Ryan Kelly) followed up her Beach District individual title with an Eastern Region title. Batzel posted a strong 18:37 5K performance in the mud to lead the Ocean Lakes girls to the team title with 52 points. Batzel and the Ocean Lakes girls got competition once again from Beach District rivals Princess Anne (2nd, 65 pts) and Lizzie Cornell (2nd, 18:45). Currently ranked #12 in Group AAA, Batzel is the Eastern Region's best chance at seeing an individual girl on the state meet podium while Cornell and Hickory's Teresa Williamson could sneak into the top 15 at Great Meadow with a breakthrough race. Joining Batzel and Cornell under 19 minutes were Southeastern District champ Williamson (3rd, 18:50) of Hickory and Cornell's sophomore teammate Ariel Briales (4th, 18:53). Advancing to state competition as teams with Ocean Lakes and Princess Anne were Kellam (3rd, 90 pts) as the third Beach District team and Southeastern District champions Grassfield (4th, 107 pts). The Ocean Lakes boys exhibited their depth and strength as a whole team with their top runner Jon Winters running poorly due to illness and finishing back in the seventh spot for the team but still winning the Eastern Region team title. Nearly three Ocean Lakes runners cracked into the top 15 for All-Region honors with David Harrison (9th, 16:33), Brandon Clifford (15th, 16:37), and Austin Gillies (17th, 16:41). Connor Gulley (17:01) and Brandon Winters (17:04) completed their team scoring with a total of 71 points and mere top five spread of only 32 seconds. There was little separation at the Southeastern District Championships between the top three boys' squads and the breathing room did not grow an inch at the regional meet between Grassfield (2nd, 96 pts), Hickory (3rd, 100 pts), and Western Branch (4th, 105 pts) to match the Beach District girls by sending three teams to the state cross country meet. Grassfield ran well up front with three individuals among the top seven including race champion Jeremy Greenwald (pictured above by Ryan Kelly) as the senior clocked a great winning time in not ideal conditions at 15:42. Greenwald could be a darkhorse challenger for the Group AAA state title as he has not really faced major competition outside of the Tidewater area. Two juniors from the Beach District battled out for second place and setting the state for the 2011 regional meet between Brent Coulter (2nd, 16:02) of Landstown and Sean Helmke (3rd, 16:05) of Kellam. Eastern Region Championship Results: Boys Results - Girls Results Eastern Region Meet Photo Gallery by Ryan Kelly - To be posted by Friday morning.
She has been use to flying through the grass and mud every fall since she was a young kid, but while riding on a four legged animal called a horse. Hickory junior Teresa Williamson, a still active equestrian rider throughout the year, has found this fall that she does not need the assistance necessarily of a horse to go fast. Williamson made a huge leap in performance and emerged as an Eastern Region contender following her 18:38 5K performance at the MileStat.com Invite. She re-affirmed that the quick time at Pocahontas State Park was no on-time fluke race by winning the Southeastern District title last week despite losing one of her shoes early in the race. Prior to this fall of 2010, Williamson had only season of cross country and one season of indoor track under her belt in terms of any running, so her curve of improvement is still going strong. The night before she races with the Tidewater's fastest cross country runners at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake for the Eastern Region Championships, Williamson answered a series of interview questions from MileStat.com...