The Maggie Walker dealt Midlothian their first loss of the season by a Virginia squad last week at the Central Region Meet. However, the Midlothian boys came ready to avenge that upset at the state meet. Running with stomach problems and having to go see a doctor the day before, Midlothian senior Anthony D'Amato gutted it up (literally) to earn all-state honors and lead his squad with a 15th place finish of 16:37.50. Having one of the best races on the Midlothian squad was junior Andrew Baker who got out of his season long funk to take 23rd place with a time of 16:44.50. Running solid races for the squad were seniors Mike D'Amato and Jason Call who took 30th (16:54.30) and 34th (16:55.90) respectively. Running as the #5 man for Midlothian was sophomore Ryan Witt who usually runs #2 for the squad, but a head cold lingered with him all week as it obviously made a difference in his race performance as he finished 44th in a time of 17:08.30.
The Midlothian boys were vulnerable and the Maggie Walker boys jumped right on it to take advantage of it. Maggie Walker senior John Piersol led the charge as he ran an excellent race to place 3rd with a time of 16:05.40. A tight pack of green, yellow, and white soon followed with Jarrett Ridgeway (20th, 16:41.50), Daniel Howard (22nd, 16:43.90), and Andrew Stegmaier (24th, 16:45.50) as they beat down the Midlothian pack. Through four runners, Maggie Walker was beating Midlothian 50-74, but as always the #5 runner is vital and Midlothian had the better #5 making it very close. The Maggie Walker #5 man, Jonathan Charlesworth took 73rd place (17:35.50) as he made it now a nail biter for both squads until Maggie Walker was announced victorious. The battle between Maggie Walker and Midlothian was definitely one of the most exciting and dramatic finishes out of any state meet and a meet that none of the runners on both squads will soon forget.