Quick highlights from Manhattan of the Virginians:
Peter Dorrell (pictured left by Don Rich of https://pa.milesplit.com)posted the second fastest time of the day at Van Cortland Park with a sensational time of 12:20 in the Varsity F race to finish ten seconds off the all-time record. However, he ended up finishing second in his race to Brian Leung of New Jersey, who had the day's best at 12:18. Dorrell, who was unable to preview the back section of the course, allowed Leung to build a 12 second lead on him at one point. The Blacksburg senior closed the gap with a strong finish, but not enough to come away with the fastest time of the meet. While it was Dorrell's first defeat of the season, looking back at times in the Van Cortland Park history, Virginia's top ranked harrier can walk away from this weekend as a runner.
Dorrell was not far off posting the fastest time ever by a high school runner from Virginia at Van Cortland. Who is the former Virginian prep that ranks ahead of Dorrell as the fastest ever from our state at Manhattan? Alan Webb. Webb as a junior at South Lakes High School took on the epicenter of high school cross country on the East Coast with a 12:18 performance. Webb went onto win Foot Locker South that fall and finish in the top 10 at Foot Locker Nationals. Dorrell hopes to follow a similar path this season.
One of the top Virginian stories of the meet was respectable second place finishes for the Virginia boys teams against the best that the Northeast has to offer. The state represented the Southeast region well in attempting to breakdown the reputation the region has as one of the weakest in the country in terms of national caliber teams.
The Oakton boys with 71 points finished only 15 points behind the #1 ranked team in the country (according to Marc Bloom's Super Harrier 25) in Danbury of Connecticut with 56 points in the Varsity B division. After dropping out of the top ten in Bloom's rankings to a US #25 position in their second place finish to Medina of Ohio at Maymont, Coach Phil Tiller's boys have asserted themselves as a team who can run with the best in the country and be competitive if given the chance to race at Nike Team Nationals. Running tight with the top ranked team in the country coming into this weekend bodes well for Virginia's top ranked squad.
Oakton actually had Danbury on the ropes through the #4 spot as the Cougars had four of the top nine finishers in the varsity A division with a impressive sight in having all four break 13 minutes on the historic 2.5 mile course. Joe Lorusso was the race runner-up leading his squad in with a time of 12:44. His next three teammates came in fairly quickly thereafter with the identical Hendricks twins, Brian and Neal, finishing with identical times of 12:54.76 for seventh and eight place respectively, while Andrew McCullen was the next finisher at 12:57 for ninth place. Oakton was beating Danbury through four at 26 to 38. However, Oakton's plot to upset the Harrier US #1 squad were foiled with Danbury's fifth coming in well in before Oakton's (Chris Weil, 45th, 13:40) with a 22 second gap and more importantly 27 places between the two team's final scorers.
After a Midwest region bubble team (according to DyeStat.com's regional rankings) in Medina of Ohio beat the best in the Southeast region including top ranked Oakton at Maymont, it was quick to assume that whoever the Southeast sent to Nike Team Nationals would not be very competitive. However, Oakton's strong showing against the Northeast region's best in Danbury as well as a returning NTN squad makes for a more potentially positive reconsideration of how the Southeast boys could race in Portland, Oregon on December 1st.
Meanwhile, the Midlothian boys happened to be in the same race with the team which ended up with the fastest team average of the meet in Pennsylvania's North Penn at 12:57.1 as the Northeast ranked North Penn squad beat the Southeast ranked Midlo boys 44 to 98. Jason Witt finished second individually in the race to lead Midlothian.
Thomas Jefferson boys were also second to a top ranked team in the Varsity C race with only 17 points separating them from a Harrier US #20 Queensbury of New York squad and tying them with a team average of 13:14 through five.
Brentsville also hung tough in third in the Varsity E division behind the Harrier US #10 Germantown Friends of Pennyslvania and strong team fron Canada in Thousand Islands.
Comparing the VA teams:
- Oakton (13:01.8 Team Average) - 2nd to Harrier US #1 Danbury CT
- Midlothian (13:04.2 Team Average) - 2nd to DyeStat NE #4 North Penn PA
- Thomas Jefferson (13:14.2 Team Average) - 2nd to Harrier US #20 Queensbury NY
- Brentsville (13:25.6 Team Averge) - 3rd to Harrier US #10 Germantown Friends PA
It was less positive news out of the Eastern States Girls championship race with the three Virginian squads in the loaded field with Midlothian, Blacksburg, and Brentsville. The US Harrier #2 Midlothian girls, who already had been missing their #2 runner in Leia Lautzenheiser all fall due to injury, had to also sit out their #3 in Paige Johnston as the absence of two of their top three returning runners was too much for the Lady Trojans to overcome as the 2006 Manhattan champs were pushed all the way back to tenth place with 306 points. Their national ranking will obviously be impacted by this weekend's performance as well as their regional ranking with 2006 Nike Team Nationals squad Tatnall of Delaware finishing ahead of them. Coach Morgan's focus now will be to get his team healthy as well as have others step up as they head into the month of November with the state championships and Nike Team Nationals regionals. The new qualifying system for NTN is much different in the past where the Midlothian team's NTN hopes might have lived or died by their performance at Manhattan. All a team has to do is come ready to perform and finish in the top two at the regional meet, which is well over a month away in Hoover, Alabama.
The lone bright spot in the race was an eighth place run by Midlothian sophomore Kathleen Lautzenheiser (pictured left by WingedFootPhotos.com) to crack into the loaded top 10. Lautzenheiser has to be considered as a Foot Locker contender after her performance at Vanny finishing with some of the best runners in the Northeast. Lautzenheiser ran 14 seconds faster than her 2006 14th place run at Manhattan of 14:50 with a top time on Saturday of 14:36
The Blacksburg girls also pull out one of their top runners last second in #2 Allison Homer as they finished in the middle of the pack in the 31 team field with 414 points for 15th place. Laurel MacMillan lead the team with a 40th place time of 15:20.1. MacMillan's time was the second fastest of the meet by a Virginian girl behind only Kathleen Lautzenheiser of Midlothian. Unlike Midlothian and Brentsville, it was the first time that the Blacksburg team has raced at the Manhattan Invitational and experience racing in the country's largest invitational certainly helps. Behind MacMillan, the Blacksburg girls held up respectably with Joanna Stevens (70th, 15:44.9), Kathleen Stevens (84th, 15:52.1), Leah Fitchett (109th, 16:11.7), and Avery Mattingly (111th, 16:12.3). Homer being healthy enough to race would have certainly given them another top 50 finisher with MacMillan to help the team's finish.
The Brentsville girls had a respectable run giving their lower expectations compared to Midlothian and Brentsville coming in with an 18th place team showing with 441 points. Coach Rob Dulin's girls have ran very well this fall considering they are missing two of their top three returnees from last year's team with Lauren Bussian injured and Maggie Gentry not on the team this fall. A new freshmen emerged to the front of Brentsville's pack at Manahttan in Morgan Price as she was a step ahead of senior teammate Amelia Emerson (69th, 15:44.6) in 68th place with a time of 15:44.0. Only three seconds separated their top three with Courtney McGowan coming in at 15:47 for a 76th place run. Trailing less than 30 points behind Blacksburg in the Eastern States race, a second state title for Blacksburg will not come without a stiff challenge by the Brentsville girls. The Brentsville boys have already proven this season that one cannot count out the defending championships..
However, it was the Oakton girls who ended up as the only Virginian squad to come away with a first place finish out of Manhattan in the varsity B division as they finished well ahead of second place by 74 points with a team score of 66. Oakton five finishers in the top 22 with Becca Kassabian (3rd, 15:25), Haillie Eilerts (8th, 15:52), Cindy Adams (16th, 16:06), Jenna Cahill (17th, 16:09), and Becky Galbo (22nd, 16:21). Kassabian's (pictured right by WingedFootPhotos.com) race was particularly impressive as the Oakton pack has been their strength this season, but have lacked a true front runner. However, Kassabian's time beat some of the state's better runners from other races including one of the Northern Region's best in Hiruni Wijayaratne of Herndon (15:28). Wijayaratne has a 5K PR of 18:30, which is over a full minute ahead of Kassabian's best (19:40). If Kassabian can translate her breakthrough race at Manhattan into future races as a front runner, Oakton's hopes of joining their boys on the state meet podium will be improved.
Manhattan College Invitational ResultsManhattan Invitational Photo Gallery of Virginians - More photos to be added from various photographers
Manhattan Videos: Eastern States Girls (Midlothian, Blacksburg, Brentsville) - Varsity F Boys (Peter Dorrell, Blacksburg) - Varsity D Boys (Midlothian)
Top Virginian Results
Boys Individuals
1 Peter Dorrell Blacksburg 12:20.07
2 Jason Witt Midlothian 12:41.72
3 Joe LoRusso Oakton 12:44.25
4 Michael Hammond Midlothian 12:47.56
5 Brian Landry Thomas Jefferson 12.49.95
6 Ray Delgado Brentsville 12:52.11
7 Brayden Burleigh Midlothian 12:54.69
8 Brian Henricks Oakton 12:54.76
9 Neal Hendricks Oakton 12:54.76
10 Evan Heflin Thomas Jefferson 12:55.00
11 Andrew McCullen Oakton 12:57.00
12 Darren Barlow Midlothian 13:21.51
13 Todd Van Luling Herndon 13:24.44
14 Andrew Johnson Brentsville 13:25.74
15 Luke Watts Brentsville 13:26.40
16 Alex Witko Thomas Jefferson 13:27.86
17 Aaron Bernstein Thomas Jefferson 13:28.42
18 Cam Shaver Forest Park 13:28.9
19 Joe Blizard Forest Park 13:30.0
20 Brian Davenport Thomas Jefferson 13:32.8
21 Matthew Howard Blacksburg 13:36.1
22 Grant Burress Brentsville 13:38.5
23 Chris Weil Oakton HS 13:40.7
24 Sam Burris Forest Park 13:41.4
25 Robbie Cronauer Brentsville 13:47.8
26 Tommy Galvin Thomas Jefferson 13:48.1
27 Christian Viehland Blacksburg 13:51.8
28 Kris Hull Brentsville 13:53.1
29 Michael Rogers Midlothian 13:58.7
30 Patrick Fulghum Oakton HS 14:01.3
31 Pat Cobb Forest Park 14:02.9
32 Colin Maloney Thomas Jefferson 14:10.6
33 Brad Schmitt Blacksburg 14:11.8
34 Andrew Milauskas Blacksburg 14:15.0
35 Zack Williams Forest Park 14:16.4
36 Austin Peton Blacksburg 14:16.8
37 George Carter Blacksburg 14:24.1
38 Hunter Sparks Midlothian 14:25.1
39 Zach Morrow Brentsville 14:36.0
Boys Team Averages
Oakton 13:01.8
Midlothian 13:04.2
Thomas Jefferson 13:14.2
Brentsville 13:25
Girls Individuals
1 Kathleen Lautzenheiser Midlothian 14:34.66
2 Laurel MacMillan Blacksburg 15:20.1
3 Becca Kassabian Oakton 15:25.83
4 Hiruni Wijayaratne Herndon 15:28.62
5 Sammy Dow Midlothian 15:36.5
6 Amy Witt Midlothian 15:37.3
7 Carly Kulik Herndon 15:40.52
8 Alison Underwood Thomas Jefferson 15:44.05
9 Morgan Price Brentsville 15:44.4
10 Amelia Emerson Brentsville 15:44.6
11 Joanna Stevens Blacksburg 15:44.9
12 Courtney McGowan Brentsville 15:47.3
13 Connor Flemaing Thomas Jefferson 15:47.51
14 Erin Stehle Midlothian 15:49.9
15 Lauren Pinkston Herndon 15:50.75
16 Kathleen Stevens Blacksburg 15:52.1
17 Hallie Eilerts Oakton 15:52.83
18 Shannon Ropelewski Midlothian 16:03.6
19 Cindy Adams Oakton 16:06.85
20 Jenna Cahill Oakton 16:09.51
21 Leah Fitchett Blacksburg 16:11.7
22 Avery Mattingly Blacksburg 16:12.3
23 Sarah Earman Brentsville 16:13.5
24 Becky Galbo Oakton 16:16.15
25 Caitlin Hoffman Brentsville 16:16.3
26 Jessie Daley Oakton 16:22.34
27 Jessica Jeilds Herndon 16:24.4
28 Anne Tenser Midlothian 16:26.0
29 Erin Geraghty Forest Park 16:26.8
30 Orteli Herndon 16:29.1
31 Stephanie Hutson Brentsville 16:31.6
32 Kelly Jones oakton 16:33.6
33 Brittney Combs Forest Park 16:42.0
34 Tierney Willard Midlothian 16:47.0
35 Jean O'Bryan Herndon 16:49.8
36 Gabby Owermohle Forest Park 16:57.8
37 Ronit Malka Thomas Jefferson 17:02.5
38 Trinity Foreman Blacksburg 17:03.8
39 Emily Café Forest Park 17:06.7
40 Diana Davis Forest Park 17:07.5
41 Alex Kulifay Brentsville 17:24.7
42 Kristen Story Forest Park 17:27.7
43 Kaylinn McAllister Forest Park 17:30.7
Quick highlights from Manhattan of the Virginians:
Peter Dorrell (pictured left by Don Rich of https://pa.milesplit.com)posted the second fastest time of the day at Van Cortland Park with a sensational time of 12:20 in the Varsity F race to finish ten seconds off the all-time record. However, he ended up finishing second in his race to Brian Leung of New Jersey, who had the day's best at 12:18. Dorrell, who was unable to preview the back section of the course, allowed Leung to build a 12 second lead on him at one point. The Blacksburg senior closed the gap with a strong finish, but not enough to come away with the fastest time of the meet. While it was Dorrell's first defeat of the season, looking back at times in the Van Cortland Park history, Virginia's top ranked harrier can walk away from this weekend as a runner.
Dorrell was not far off posting the fastest time ever by a high school runner from Virginia at Van Cortland. Who is the former Virginian prep that ranks ahead of Dorrell as the fastest ever from our state at Manhattan? Alan Webb. Webb as a junior at South Lakes High School took on the epicenter of high school cross country on the East Coast with a 12:18 performance. Webb went onto win Foot Locker South that fall and finish in the top 10 at Foot Locker Nationals. Dorrell hopes to follow a similar path this season.