Monroe Parker gives good indication what to expect this fall
BURKE, VA -- Traditionally a mid-week meet in early September, this year\'s Monroe Parker Invitational was held on a Saturday. One thing that has not changed about the Monroe Parker meet is that it gave a good indication of the exciting cross country that is ahead from the top teams and individuals in the Northern Region.Melissa Dewey, the Hayfield senior who is one of the favorites for this fall\'s Group AAA state cross country crown, scorched the Burke Lake 2.98 mile course in her season opener. Dewey went through the mile mark in 5:42 and continued to set her hard pace through two miles in 11:22. Dewey finished strong in the final mile for a finishing time of 17:11 as she won by a 86 second margin over second place finisher Kelsey Snowden of Lake Braddock (18:37).
Snowden helped lead the Bruins to a dominating team victory. The Bruins garnered a team total of 38 points as they finished well ahead of runner-up James Robinson with 99 points. The fashion in which Lake Braddock won at Monroe Parker, should elevate them very high in this week\'s rankings. Backing up Snowden\'s strong individual runner-up finish were fellow Bruins Erin Klein (4th, 18:58), Becca Hoogland (6th, 19:16), Kelly Sherrard (7th, 19:19), and Rebecca Pierce (19th, 19:37) as they had a total of four top 10 finishers on their squad.
James Robinson finished a surprising second as they knocked off two higher ranked squads in Westfield (3rd, 108 pts) and Hayfield (4th, 124 pts). Robinson placed four runners within the top 25 with Jennifer Hovland (11th, 19:24), Caroline Coster (15th, 19:29), Christine Connors (20th, 19:38), and Susan Brooks (21st, 19:45). The Lady Rams fifth runner was not too far away from their pack of four as Erin Hickey finished 32nd (20:14) for Robinson.
The Westfield girls finished third in the team standings largely in part of top five performances from Alexis Deegan (3rd, 18:51) and Catherine Lynn (5th, 19:01).
Chantilly junior Brad Siragusa, who has had some sensational track seasons over his freshmen and sophomore years, while having lackluster falls of cross country, appears to be ready to show his talent on the cross country after his impressive win at Monroe Parker. Siragusa broke away from the varsity boys field assembled at Burke Lake to win in a time of 15:14. Taking runner-up honors behind Siragusa was Robert E. Lee\'s Dawit Legesse in a time of 15:23.
While the Thomas Jefferson took some heavy losses from last year\'s squad including their top two stars in Christo Landry and Chris Mocko, Coach Ryan seems to have squad primed for another successfull fall. Thomas Jefferson won the team title with ease on the boys\' side with a team total of 43 points. Thomas Jefferson was able to place their entire top five among the top 15 individuals with Kyle Smith (4th, 15:36), Chris Katilie (6th, 15:42), Paul Norland (7th, 15:46), Hersh Singh (11th, 15:52), and Aiden McHugh (15th, 16:13).
Lake Braddock finished second behind Thomas Jefferson with a team score of 123 points. The Bruins were led by the third place finishing efforts of Brad Clark in a time of 15:25. Meanwhile, West Potomac finished a surprising third place with 133 points as Frank Devar\'s ninth place performance (15:49) helped pace their squad.