Western Albemarle Finishes 5th at NXN!

The Warriors of Western Albemarle made history Saturday by finishing fifth at Nike Cross Nationals. That is Virginia's second highest finish ever at this meet and the perfect culmination to the previous four years for these Warriors. 

They scored a solid 213 and finished just off of the podium which was for the top three finishing teams. They positioned themselves great throughout the race as well. They were 14th at the mile, 6th at the two mile and caught another team in the final 1.1 miles. 

Leading the Warriors today was Joe Hawks who finished 41st overall and 12th amongst scoring individuals. His teammate and Class 3 State Champion, Jack Eliason, finished a few spots back in 51st for 17 team points. 

Stuart Terrill was 84th to score 42 points, Will Bonner was 113th to score 65 points, and Joseph Taylor was 127th to score 77 points. 

Running sixth and seventh for them was Joseph Taylor and Thomas Kallen. 

This team at Western has been a team building up for this moment for years. Head Coach Lindy Bain told us back in 2016 that this squad was going to be special and that they just needed their time. We said it then that they had the potential to be the best team in the state and make it to NXN but them finishing fifth just shows us how much we underestimated them this season. 

They didn't only have a great race, they have had one of the best seasons ever in Virginia history. What really cements their place on the Mount Rushmore of VA XC is this finish combined with their perfect score at the state meet just three weeks ago.