The Loudoun Valley Girls Aren't Good, They're Great

The girls from Loudoun Valley are not good, they are great. If they were going to run this weekend we would have potentially seen one of the most impressive state performances we have ever seen.

They entered the season with an 18:25 team average. To put that in perspective let's take a look at what they could have run this weekend and may run later this school year. 

Entering at 18:25 is historically great. Only one team ever entered the season faster and that was Lake Braddock nearly a decade ago. That coupled with the fact that last year's team ultimately averaged 18:10 despite entering at 18:58 shows you just how great this team is. 

In the history of VA we could not find a single team to average sub 18 as a squad, now Lake Braddock did come close at 18:00 but the next closest by our findings was Loudoun Valley's 18:10 last year. 

This year they returned their top two runners and fifth and sixth runners as well. Their JV squad was so deep that they reloaded there too. 

Not only do they return talent but they improve it too. Already during this club season we have seen their 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th runner all improve their PR's by roughly 20 seconds. That is without having the normal PR-fest at Great American and NXR so honestly, just the tip of the iceberg. 

Teams are remembered historically for what they do at NXN/States and who was on the team as well. LV would make a strong case on both fronts to be amongst the best all-time. Though we will not get to see what they could have done at NXN, it likely would have been impressive and at states could be historic. 

Individually we will get to see what their current best runner, Ava Gordon, can do. Already she has moved up to 18th all-time with her 17:16 season best. If she were able to lower it a little more she would become just the 7th girl in VA history to break 17 minutes. She could have also been on the first NXN team from VA to have a sub 17 girl as well. 

Pre-Season Team Rankings: