What better way to preview the cross country season then to pretend that the state meet is this weekend! Everything that follows is based on how we predict the season will have played out and where we stand looking towards the best weekend of the year!
It has finally arrived! The most storied and epic weekend in our state, MileStates XC. Last year we saw both State Records fall and we have already seen both of these athletes (Drew Hunter & Libby Davidson) go way faster then that and they have not only emerged as the favorites in the state but also the nation.
The biggest story line this weekend though is Friday's 4A competition where we have the all-star matchup of Libby Davidson & Weini Kelati and then also Andrew Hunter leading his Loudoun Valley teammates to a hopefully XC crown. So far this season Kelati has proved to be back into top form and has ran under 17 more times then any other girl in the state and with Great Meadows being a gentle course this could be a matchup for the ages.
On the boys side of things Drew Hunter has already ran 14:13 this season down at the Great American XC Festival and is ready to make this state meet record unattainable for quite some time. His main hope though is to help his teammates win their first ever 4A State Team Title but they are going to have their work cut out for them with Midlothian, Fauquier, and Grafton. This could be the race to watch.
Also on Saturday's schedule are the 5A and 6A races. The 5A race is wide open on both sides and should produce some exciting races with six guys under 16 and 8 girls within striking distance right at the 18 minute mark. Leading the way though and quickly emerging as favorites are Fitsum Seyoum (Tuscarora) and Heather Holt (George C. Marshall). Though they enter the weekend as strong favorites for their races and as regional champions, they will however face their toughest competition this weekend. If Vegas put a betting line on this race you would have five "even money" options in each race, that's how close this will be.
In the 6A race Lake Braddock comes into the weekend ready to show the state and country they mean business. Their girls teams was 3rd a year ago at NXR and this year they want to win the South East Region. They are led by Kate Murphy who has had a great season and run 16:40 for 3 Mile but has her rival, Rachel McArthur, to deal with. McArthur enters the weekend as somewhat of a favorite but not as a favorite. She is hands down one of the best runners in the state and has shown she is the girl to beat in this state but also has some of the toughest competition between Murphy and the Oakton girls. McArthur though has run 16:37 for 3 Mile and is primed to repeat as state champion.
The boys 6A race looks to be Lomogda's to win or lose as he has gone 15:00 this season and won quite a few high caliber meets. Lake Braddock will be the biggest force on the team front here and going for back-to-back team titles.
On Saturday the smaller schools take center stage in what should be some of the best team races we have seen in years. The 1A Boys will once again be the closest team title race and we predict a dead-heat for this competition and the sixth runner being the tie-breaker. In the girls race though it is the Julia Wood show as she goes for a third straight state title. She has run 17:30 this season and will look to set the bar very high for future 1A runners.
Maggie Walker of course is back at it again with Buscaglia and Pointer leading the way respectively in their races. The Green Dragons are also the favorites for both team titles if all goes to plan this weekend. Emma Call though has vastly improved over the longer distances and should give Pointer a run for her money this time around.
Finally in the 3A classification we will see a very different looking boys race now that Loudoun Valley is gone. Gannon Willcutts (Western Albemarle) comes into the meet having broke 15:00 on multiple occasions and ready to break the 3A state meet record of 14:41. He will have some competition from a couple guys in the opening mile but should pull away in the later stages. He loves hills.
After last year's onslaught, one would think that Blacksburg would diminish its power but they would be wrong. Though the Bruins lost their two best runners to college, they return young talent that could be better then ever. Annie Kay Combs has run well under 18 and her teammate Samantha Marin has dipped under 18 as well to make quite the tough 1-2 punch. They should make quick work of the team competition but are definitely chasing a NXN bid again and the bragging rights of having the quickest top 5.
As you can see we have quite the weekend ahead of us but you don't have to worry about keeping up with everything because we have you covered. We will once again have live updates with pictures every 400m in the race and will have thousands of pictures and of course 20minutes + of video for each race! Be excited for this coverage and the great weekend we have ahead of us!