Herndon win boys, Siragusa and Dewey win big.
FAIRFAX, VA -- The Oakton Girls Cross Country squad remained unbeaten in 2004 with a win in the seeded division at the Lake Fairfax Invitational hosted by Oakton on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA. 40 schools competed in the meet held on one of the most challenging courses on the East coast. The course was modified as a result of heavy rain from Hurricane Ivan. There was a detour around one of the stream crossings as a result of high water and 200 meters was added the course. The 5200 meter course proved to be extremely challenging as a result of the slippery, muddy terrain on the hills and turns. In addition to the extreme difficulty maneuvering on the course, wind gusts of up to 30 mph challenged the runners mental and physical fortitude.Pack running contributed to Oakton's success as the squad placed 5 runners in the top 15, scoring 38 points in soundly defeating the Virginia ranked programs of Westfield (ranked #8) 59 points, Robinson (ranked #5) 94 points and Hayfield (ranked #9) which finished fifth with 156 points. The win follows a decisive win at Mount Saint Mary's on September 11 for the Cougars. Oakton was led by junior Kayley Byrne in 2nd, sophomore Meredith Tighe in 6th, senior Danielle Light in 7th, 9th grader Carly Hudson in 9th, and senior Allegra Smith in 15th. There was a 50 second spread for the top five runners for Oakton.
Melissa Dewey, a senior from Hayfield established herself as one of the top runners in the South, winning the race with an incredible effort of 19:14.
Junior Brad Siragusa of Chantilly looked very impressive in winning the 5200 meter boys seeded race in 17:24. Siragusa led for the entire race and was never challenged.
Herndon won the boys race with 109 points as they defeated the top ranked team in the state, Oakton. The Hornets were led by third place finisher Ermin Mujezinovic (17:53). Abrehem Daganchew, 8th (18:06) and Danny Gordon, 14th place rounded out a solid front three for Herndon. Potomac Falls with 122 points finished a close second behind Herndon and Oakton was third with 127.
However, Oakton did run without one of their top five runners, junior Tommy Mason, as his absence could have made a big impact on the team score by as much as 30 points or more.