With 117 girls crowding towards the starting line at sunny Green Hill Park on Wednesday, a single thought kept running through Jane Gay's head.
"Don't start off too fast. ... Don't start off too fast -- I kept telling myself that," the North Cross senior said.
Gay listened to her inner voice, staying near the front of the pack but letting others set the early pace. She eventually pulled ahead and outstrode Blacksburg's Laurel MacMillan to win the girls' race at the 34th annual Metro Cross Country Championships.