2. Weini Kelati v. Libby Davidson Pt. 1
Next up for me was the 2014 state XC championships featuring Libby Davidson and Weini Kelati. So looking back from 2020 to that time in 2014 skews what it was like back then. Weini was mostly unknown back then and obviously would go on to set every record in the book, this race though was about Libby.
Libby entered the 2014 XC season, her sophomore season, as the favorite to defend her title. She posted impressive time after impressive time and was also one of the fastest girls in the nation that year. She remained undefeated, including a head-to-head matchup with Weini at regionals and entered the state meet ready to make history.
Not only did she and Weini live up to hype for that race but they both ran out of their minds. Libby however pulled away late and seemingly got stronger as the race went on. Her time of 17:12 was a state meet record at the time and held until Kate Murphy lowered it to 17:08.
Still to this day though that performance in the bitter (and I mean bitter) cold could be the most impressive XC race in VA history. In ideal conditions it could have been closer to 16:40!
It will likely be quite a bit of time until we have another race with two huge superstars like this where we get a great race and a record all in one.
1. Luray Boys' Run For Their Coach's Memory
So as the editor of MileSplit VA you cover all parts of the state and naturally you get to know some athletes and teams better than others but rarely do I ever find myself cheering for one team or another. It would just be bad for business if I had a favorite but the one I time I know I was biased was in 2016.
Tragedy & Triumph: Why Everyone Should Be Cheering For Luray
The team I was cheering for was Luray. They had been thru so much and States was all about them in my mind. I wished and hoped they could have won but ultimately Auburn dominated the race. Read the feature above and you'd probably cheer for them too!