It was a historic day down at WakeMed both for Team VA but also and more importantly for Loudoun Valley. The Vikings of Purceville took home both team titles to advance to NXN. This was the first time the girls made the cut while the boys are looking for their third national title in a row. It also tied a state record of sending three teams in one year to NXN.
The girls also didn't just win, they absolutely dominated the race with Pine Crest of Florida taking second. Their score of 71 was also lowest score at NXN-SE since 2015 when Lake Braddock scored 62. They also improved a lot from their 6th place finish a year ago.
Also finishing as a team here for Virginia was Blacksburg in 9th, Midlothian in 10th, Albemarle in 16th, and Tuscarora in 19th.
Individually Ava Gordon took home the top honors for Virginia with her 4th place finish in 17:34. She was followed then by Kaitlynn Wolfe of Blacksburg in 17:52 who finished 5th amongst individual finishers and will be making the trip back to NXN!
Other Virginia girls finishing inside the top 20 overall were: Ricky Fetterfolf (8th), Elise Abbe (14th), and Gabrielle Garcia (19th).
In the boys race it was a historic day with both Loudoun Valley and Western Albemarle making the cut and going 1-2. Team VA wasn't done there though... West Springfield finished 4th overall and Albemarle finished 9th.
On top of those team finishers, Virginia also qualified Sean Stuck to nationals with his 15:02 runner-up finish in the championship race. He was followed by Carlos Shultz in 5th, Jack Eliason in 7th, and Bryce Lentz in 8th.
Lentz was the 6th individual runner meaning he just missed the NXN team. He was though second ranked junior finisher meaning he will have a solid shot at making the Portland team next year too.
Also finishing inside the top 20 overall was Kellen Hasle in 14th, Joe Hawkes in 17th, and Colby Burcham in 18th. All eight Virginia finishers finished 15:33 or faster.
It was a historic day down at WakeMed both for Team VA but also and more importantly for Loudoun Valley. The Vikings of Purceville took home both team titles to advance to NXN. This was the first time the girls made the cut while the boys are looking for their third national title in a row. It also tied a state record of sending three teams in one year to NXN.
The girls also didn't just win, they absolutely dominated the race with Pine Crest of Florida taking second. Their score of 71 was also lowest score at NXN-SE since 2015 when Lake Braddock scored 62. They also improved a lot from their 6th place finish a year ago.
