Thomas Porter has qualified for Foot Locker Nationals twice. He won a national title in the freshmen mile and earned All-American honors. Add numerous district and regional titles to his list of credentials. He has been one of Virginia’s best distance runners over the past few years. However, one honor has eluded him in the form of an individual state title. His time window to win a state crown is not running low. His time is now.
The three-time Northwest Region champion Porter is one of two popular race favorites along with Atlee senior Ben Dejarnette. Dejarnette has at least one state title under his belt in a 3200 meter victory at last March’s indoor state championships. However, Dejarnette has had his share of misfortunes in cross country including last fall when an intestinal illness hampered his performances in championship season.
So naturally with Porter coming up just short on multiple occasions as a state runner-up in cross country and track as well as Dejarnette havin...