FREDRICKSBURG, VA -- The cross country season kicks off this weekend in Virginia at Saturday\'s Chancellor Invitational to be held at Loriella Park in Fredricksburg. The opening meet will feature over 1,100 athletes representing a total of 32 schools. The Colonial Forge girls are the top ranked team in the field with their #8 state preseason ranking. Individually, Mountain View sophomore Thomas Porter is head of his class this weekend at Loriella as he will attempt to go after Devin Cornwall\'s one year old course record of 16:02, while a slew of girls are in the running to cross the line first at Loriella.
Despite defending champion Mariah Hagadone of Buffalo Gap returning, the winner of the girls\' race will be a lot more unpredictable with some of the state\'s better runners in Hagadone, Brittany Copeland of Brooke Point, Kaylan COmer of COlonial FOrge, Jillian Pollack of Millbrook, and Molly Hawkins of COlonial Forge.
Hagadone won the 2005 Chancellor Invite in a time of 19:58 and is the defending Group A state champion for 800 meters. The Buffalo Gap senior will look to be one of the contenders this fall for the state crown in cross country. She finished fourth in last year\'s Group A state race.
Copeland finished fourth in last year\'s race in 20:35, but has clearly improved since then as shown with her 18:19 5K best last fall and Group AAA state runner-up performance indoors at 1600 meters (5:03 best). Copeland is currently ranked #8 in the state in the preseason rankings as she finished fifth in the AAA state race last November.
One spot behind Copeland in last year\'s state race as well as one slot behind her in the state preseason rankings is Colonial Forge junior Kaylan Comer. COmer missed last year\'s Chancellor Invite, but had an outstanding sophomore season of cross country as she capped it off with an 18:15 5K performance at Foot Locker South. She ran a personal best of 5:06 for 1600 meters this past spring and also earned All-State honors for 3200 meters in the spring.
Comer\'s teammate Molly Hawkins finds herself ranked #13 in the state in the preseason as the Colonial Forge duo forms one of the best in the state. Hawkins finished fifth in last year\'s race in 20:36, but ran nearly two minutes faster at the end of last fall at Foot Locker South with a personal best time of 18:50.
One of AA\'s best in Millbrook senior Jillian Pollack will be featured in the race on Saturday. Pollack finished a close second to Hagadone in the 2005 event in a time of 20:02 and hopes to better her place by one this weekend. Pollack had a great junior campaign as she finished out her cross country season with an 18:36 5K on the Foot Locker South course. Pollack stepped it up even more during track as she was a state runner-up for 3200 meters, while finishing third in both the 1600 and 800 meter races at the outdoor state meet in a tough distance triple. Pollack is currently ranked #10 in the state and #3 in AA.
While Colonial Forge is the favorite for the girls, Brooke Point girls will still try to defend their Chancellor Invite team title from 2005 as they will be led by Copeland and top 15 finisher in last year\'s race Brittany Wilhelm. However, the Lady Blackhawks did take some major loses due to graduation with the loss of Robin Vanneman, Claudia Vincenti, Jarryd Mushatt-Valrie.
Behind Comer and Hawkins for Colonial Forge will be two proven runners in Kathleen Wade (20:08 5K) and Jordan Zarone (19:28 5K). The Lady Eagles have some new faces and 800 meter runners that will be attempting to the plug in the spots after their front four, but should have enough firepower for the win at Loriella.
The race between the boys looks to be a bit more open for teams as the Jamestown boys are the only ranked squad present with their #5 preseason ranking in AA, but AAA squads North Stafford and Mountain View stand as equal chances of winning as the AA squad from Williamsburg.
Jamestown is led by senior Andrew Mearns with a 9:35 best, but sophomore John Holt will be challenging for the top as well after running a 16:49 5K in a July 4th road race this summer and beating Mearns. This will be a good early season test for the 2006 Eagles who lost Thomas Horley to graduation and Kirk Aldridge to a family move to Washington state.
Tested they will be as Commonwealth District teams North Stafford and Mountain View return solid squads. North Stafford lost an irreplaceable top two in Patrick Quinn and Alec Meyer, but still have several key returnees to make them one of the Northwest Region\'s top squads once again. Senior Lucas Hatcher with his 16:37 5K best will lead North Stafford this weekend. Stephen Hogdall (16:57 best) and Ryan Poock (16:59) both ran under 17 minutes last fall, while Kyle Garcia ran a 10:12 3200 as a freshmen this past spring.
Mountain View can expect an easy one point from star underclassmen Thomas Porter in this race, but will need more work from the rest to take two titles on the day. Porter, a national champion and national runner-up in the freshmen mile last year, is supported by a team that includes several decent two milers in junior brother Daniel Porter (10:12), junior Stephen Henry (10:12), and senior Max Desens (10:18).
Top individuals behind 9:19 3200 meter runner and pre-race favorite Porter include Colonial Forge\'s Blake Arnold, Jamestown\'s Mearns, Millbrook\'s Stephen Lassiter. Arnold put down a best of 16:12 at Foot Locker SOuth last year, while running a 2:34 1000 and 1:55 800 on the track. Lassister started to come on during the spring in track as a AA state meet qualifier for 3200 meters.
First race will start at 9:30 AM on Saturday morning.
List of Teams Archbishhop Carroll High School Battlefield High School Brooke Point High School Buffalo Gap Caroline High School Central High School Chancellor High School Colonial Forge High School Courtland High School Culpeper High School Fauquier High School Fredericksburg Academy High School Gonzaga College High School Heritage High School James Monroe High School Jamestown High School James Wood High School King George High School Liberty High School Massaponax High School Millbrook High School Mountain View High School New Kent High School North Stafford High School Park View High School Quantico High School Riverbend High School Smithfield High School Spotsylvania High School Stafford High School Stone Bridge High Tabb High School