Moment #3 - Steve Tobin Upsets Deep Individual Field (2003)
It's the last stop at 2003 on this countdown! The year seems to be the year of the upset as Sherbak's win and Midlothian's win both grabbed spots on this countdown from 2003 as well as this one. That year, Fort Defiance also pulled a major upset over James Wood for the AA team competition and a bit of a smaller upset, but still one, Emily Harrison of Warren County came out on top over Christiansburg's Kirsten Hagan and Hidden Valley's Jennifer Beury.
Steve Tobin's win was huge. Throughout the entire month of September, the West Springfield senior was not evening ranked in the top 15 in AAA! As late as October 15th he was only ranked #12 and even going into the State Meet Tobin was only ranked #9. Was this insult to an underappreciated Tobin or was this ranking justified? Take a look at the guys ranked ahead of him:
1)Derek Robbins
2)Christo Landry
3)Daniel Howard
4)Hari Mix
5)Steven Walters
6)Michael Chapa
7)David Groff
8)James Scheiner
That is some serious talent! At the Northern Region meet the week before Tobin finished 4th, 17 seconds behind Landry's 14:59 (he would go on to run 8:44 in the spring) and behind the Westfield duo of Groff and Scheiner. Woodside junior Derek Robbins had just busted a 15:27 at the Eastern Region meet with Steve Walters finishing in 15:47, making a valiant effort to come back from early season illness and injury. Hari Mix was being very underappreciated out of the Northwest Region, as he would go on to place 9th at Footlocker South in 15:03. Before states he did put up an impressive 15:54 at Panorama Farms. Finally, the Central Region's Daniel Howard had just run 15:51 at the Central Region meet and the coaches of this fine commonwealth put him at #3.
So there Tobin stood, starring down the deepest individual field in years. The message boards were buzzing with predictions with people guessing everyone from Landry to Robbins to Mix to Walters to Groff to Chapa etc. No one put Tobin down as their individual champion.
There was a pack of twelve runners (yes twelve) very late into the race (almost at 3 miles) and any one of them could have taken it. It was Mix who made the move inside the gate with 600 meters to go but a determined Tobin latched on and outkicked the Albemarle senior by 1 second in a time of 15:46. Following behind them were Robbins 15:52, Michael Chapa 15:56, Landry 15:58, Groff 15:59, Howard 16:00, and Scheiner 16:01.
The defeat of amazing talent and depth is why Tobin's David vs. Goliaths State Meet battle comes in at number 3.
Moment #2 - Alan Webb Runs 15:03 to Break Course Record in the Wind (2000)
How can Webb be #2?! It's Alan Webb. He's the poster boy of Virginia High School running. He's the National High School Mile record holder. Stop right there. That last sentence is key. He is the MILE record holder. His performance was no doubt great, which I will speak about, however it does fall in at number 2. No complaining please, I'll justify next.
In 2000 Webb finished 29 seconds ahead of Oakton stud Matt Maline. Maline wouldn't qualify for Footlocker Nationals, however, would later go on to qualify for the U.S. National team at worlds. Webb's final time of 15:03 still stands as the course record and will more than likely never be broken, especially if the old course is never run again.
The way Webb ran it was ever scarier. Had his pacing been a little more conservative he probably would have broken 15 on the challenging course. Webb went through the mile in a scorching 4:31 (that's 14 flat pace) then hit two miles in 9:22. Most of the state's top runner going into this weekend haven't even run 9:22 for two miles on the track. With the exception of Maline, Webb put almost a minute on the rest of the pack. Then junior Matt Keally finished in 15:58 while sophomore Tallwood star Alex Clayton (later moved to Colorado) finished 4th in 16:00.
Webb later set the Footlocker South course record in 14:43 before finishing 2nd to monster distance star Dathan Ritzenhein at nationals. And as we all know, Webb that spring would make history with his 3:53 mile at the Prefontaine Track Classic in a race featuring world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj.
So how can a moment get better than a course record at States? Here's how…
Moment #1 - Bobby Lockhart 4-Peats, Runs 15:10 (2001)
So while Webb was running his 15:03 in 2000, John Handley's Bobby Lockhart was capturing his third straight XC title with his very own impressive 15:24. One year later, Lockhart made history. Lockhart became the only runner in VHSL history to win four individual cross country titles. Only three individuals have even 3-peated in Alan Webb(1998-00), Frankie Nunn(1978-80), and Fred Guest (1964-66).
Think about this accomplishment. How lost were you when you began running as a freshman? Lockhart went straight to the top. Don't forget either, we already established in this countdown that the individuals in AA years ago were tougher than AAA. In order to 4-peat, Lockhart had to go through Western Albemarle's Todd Lucia as a freshman, Harrisonburg's Jorge Ruiz as a sophomore, Rockbridge's John Crews as a junior, and fellow Footlocker Finalist Marion's Fleet Hower as a senior.
Just a quick side note to the impressive history John Handley has in Virginia XC. As we've seen, Handley's Lockhart is the only 4-time champion. Handley also holds the record for most team State Titles with 8, most consecutive titles with 6, and lowest score at a State Meet with 17 points in 1974.
One must not forget how impressive of a cross country runner Lockhart was. He was, stride for stride, every bit as good as Webb at the 5k distance in high school. Lockhart missed Webb's state course record by only 7 seconds but a few weeks later tied Webb's Footlocker South record of 14:43. Lockhart was a favorite going into FLN but once again a Virginian finished runner up to a runner from Michigan, as Tim Moore was able to defeat Lockhart as Ritzenhein defeated Webb the year before.
So there you have it. Obviously there will be some debate and some disagreements. There may be some I've left off, I know, but hey with only 15 spots and one man it was tough work! Good luck to everyone at States, and who knows, maybe your performance will crack into these top 15 moments.