Outside of the three-time Group AAA state champions from Midlothian, the next two best teams in the state of Virginia could come from the same district in Group AA's River Ridge District in the Blacksburg and Hidden Valley girls' squads. Blacksburg has won two consecutive state titles in Group AA, while Hidden Valley became a quick upstart last fall with the addition of two star freshmen in Annie LeHardy and Haley Cutright. Both teams possess a great deal of depth and talent which will make them major players not only on the state stage, but possibly nationally with Nike Cross Nationals aspirations as Blacksburg's sixth returnee in Trinity Foreman has ran sub 5:10 for 1600 meters, while Hidden Valley's fifth runner Mary Catherine Sowder runs a 11:44 for 3200 meters and just missed All-State by two places this past spring.
Photo by Tom Hoerner
The Blacksburg girls won the district title by four points over Hidden Valley, while the Hidden Valley girls were the Region IV champions in 20...