It is that time again this year. Time for the Grand Daddy of Them All, the 6A North Regional XC Championships. This region is jam packed with talent both on the team and individual level. So much so that it could be harder to make all-region then it would be to make all-state. We have huge match ups and finally get to see these teams square off for once to not only show us where they are at but to preview the state meet next week as well. It all goes down Wednesday at historic Burke Lake Park.
Check out the 6A North Virtual Meets here: Boys - Girls
Check out the 6A North Leaderboards here: Boys - Girls
The meet starts 3:00pm with the biggest and baddest race of them all, the Girls 6A Championship. Over the 2.98 Mile course we will get to see Rachel McArthur (Patriot) and Kate Murphy (Lake Braddock) finally battle it out. The last time they met in cross country it was a photo finish and there is nothing to suggest that is going to change. These two runners are each others' biggest rival but also great friends. It is going to be a crazy fast race.
The real question here is will either of them hold back for states? Will they go all out and show their cards or play it safe and win when it matters? These questions are most likely hyperbole since they both are huge competitors and hate losing more then they like winning. The race will likely go out fast and it wouldn't be a surprise that these two gap the field at 1.7 miles into the race. They will both make a strong move down the road and look to come through the 2 Mile mark under 11 minutes. From there it will be a sort of "who makes the move first" deal when both are waiting on each other. If we had to guess it will be Kate making the move when she runs on the other side of the train tracks around 400m to go. Rachel will answer and once again it could be a photo finish.
The runner that has the flat ground, meaning on the right as they come down the final stretch, will have the greatest shot since there is a slight hill on the left side.
Casey Kendall and her teammate Jill Bracaglia enter the meet as the only other girls to have broke 18minutes for 3 Miles this season. Both of these girls will be in contention for the majority of this race and somehow always find a way to do something special. Though Oakton may seem out of it, these two girls could lead a push for a huge upset this week!
Aside from this superstar showdown at the front we are also going to see one of the closest team battles in the state this year as well. The Lake Braddock girls, who have be crowned the favorites now have company from defending champions Oakton and James Madison who has taken that favorite crown from them. James Robinson will also be in the hunt.
James Madison could seriously be one of the best teams in the state and NXR SE and is led by Devon Williams and Morgan Whittrock both just over 18 for 5K. This team is going to go down as one of the most consistent and deepest teams in the state's history. They have a crazy number of four girls under 19 and 10 runners who could be interchanged on their varsity team.
Keep an eye on this competition as it will be a huge preview towards next week's 6A State Championship. James Madison is looking to score under 10 points less then Lake Braddock who will then be followed by Robinson and Oakton vying for those auto-advancing spots.
Patriot and West Springfield will also be in contention to advance as a team to states.
On the boys' side we are in for a Bruin heavy show again. Lake Braddock brings a scary good group of guys to Burke Lake this week, a squad that includes a staggering five guys under 16 minutes for 3 Miles. Only two other 6A North teams have two individuals under that barrier and the Bruins have five.
Leading the way for LB is the duo of Colin Schaefer and Colin Lyons who are looking to repeat the Corbett-Monogue double from last year. Both of these guys went 1-2 at the Conference 7 Championships last week with Schaefer making the better move down the stretch to out lean his teammate Lyons.
Fighting for the second place team trophy though is going to be a tight battle. W.T. Woodson, James Robinson, James Madison and Osbourn Park all have a real good shot at achieving that goal. They are currently ranked in that order but Robinson and Osbourn Park have looked extremely good recently. They would all like that second place trophy but it is going to come down to their 4-7 runners to decide who gets the hardware and who just advances.
The sixth place for teams could be the closest battle of them all! West Potomac, Centreville, Oakton, Chantilly, West Springfield, and Washington-Lee are all right on the bubble to make it to Great Meadow next week.
Centreville, who is sitting just outside as the 7th place team coming into the meet, may have the best shot at advancing of that huge group. Their 4th and 5th place runners sit at 94th and 97th place, a good 30 back from the average for the other teams, which means they are the make or break runners for their team. If they improve even by just 15 seconds then that swings so many points their way that they move from 7th to inside the top 5! This is why cross country is so great. It takes a team effort and sometimes the 4th and 5th place runners matter more when it comes to making it to states.
Individually this meet will not disappoint either. Just 10 seconds divides the top 6 and 21 seconds divides the top 10. There is absolutely no room for error Wednesday. Leading the way and separated by just a second are Conor Lyons and Colin Schaeffer with Schaeffer taking the one second lead at 15:23 and 24. Bryce Cattlet of Osbourn Park (15:27) is just another three seconds behind and ready to bust up the Bruins attempt at sweeping these top places.
Following that top three are Dan Horoho (Centreville) sits at 15:29, Robert Lockwood (W.T. Woodson) sits at 15:32 and Spencer Jolly (Lake Braddock) sits at 15:33. All three of these guys are very much in contention as well and guys to watch on the tighter parts of the course.
With many sharp turns and an interesting u-turn finish, a lot of strong moves can be made in the 800m. Their order as they run on the far side of the train tracks could change drastically down the stretch. Just be sure you have a nice spot to watch this epic finish.
MileStat Predictions: Team Champions: James Madison (Girls) & Lake Braddock (Boys). Individual Champions: Rachel McArthur (Girls) & Bryce Catlett (Boys).
Photos by: Gregg Zelkin, Lisa McArthur, and Tim Dillistin