Sometimes races play out exactly how they are scripted on paper or in the meet preview and other times you end up with a Class 5 Boys Race.
Class 5 Results - Photos - Race Videos
Heading into the weekend there were two heavy favorites individually who we did not think could get caught. Both hold our #1 spot in our power rankings and those are Elaina Pierce (Charlottesville) and Joshua Taylor (Clover Hill). In this class five race we were prepared to watch Josh tear up the course and potentially go after the course record of 15:09.
But then the gun goes off and we, just like everyone in the field, had to figure out what was happening.
If you watch the race video we kept going back to the same line about Josh and him being the favorite but by 800m into the race and more so by the mile mark we realized he was not in the field and was not running. We found out about the same time most of the runners up front did too.
This change created quite the race where many of the boys began making moves and that led to multiple lead changes back and forth as everyone's pre-race strategy got thrown out the window.
Heading to the back half of the course 10 boys were all together and it was anyone's race.
With 2.25 miles in the books it was starting to shape up to be a three-four man race between Eli Phillips, Mateo Canga, Tyler Arnold, and Thomas Rae. Making the first big move though was Tyler Arnold of Riverbend powering down the downhills to take the lead.
For those unfamiliar with Oatlands, there is a very very big hill from 2.4 to 2.5 miles and though we would like to say it decides races, it rarely does... on Saturday though, it did.
It was up that hill that junior Thomas (Tommy) Rae put it all out there and stormed up the hill to take the lead. From there he never looked back. In our post-race interview we asked him about that move and whether that was the strategy or not.
"I don't know, I just sent it."
That is exactly what he did and it worked. It created one of the rare moments at the state meet where no one, including the runner, predicted what could have happened and honestly made for one of, if not the best, moments of the state meet.
Class 5 All-State Runners:
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thomas Rae | 11 | Riverside High School | 15:57.00 | ||
| 2 |  Mateo Canga | 11 | Maury High School | 16:10.00 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Tyler Arnold | 12 | Riverbend High School | 16:11.00 | 2 | |
| 4 |  JT Hillis | 12 | Albemarle | 16:26.00 | 3 | |
| 5 | Eli Phillips | 12 | Albemarle | 16:28.00 | 4 | |
| 6 |  Andrew Meek | 12 | Princess Anne High School | 16:36.00 | 5 | |
| 7 |  Hugo Hamnett | 11 | J.R. Tucker High School | 16:38.00 | 6 | |
| 8 |  Nate Cochran | 11 | Warwick | 16:38.00 | 7 | |
| 9 |  Jonah Bowman | 11 | Franklin County | 16:40.00 | ||
| 10 |  Aidan Cassidy | 12 | Douglas Freeman | 16:42.00 | ||
| 11 | Baelin Duncan | 12 | Albemarle | 16:48.00 | 8 | |
| 12 | Daniel Rockey | 12 | Princess Anne High School | 16:51.00 | 9 | |
| 13 |  Grayson Spiller | 10 | Midlothian High School | 16:52.00 | ||
| 14 | Jacob Mackey | 11 | Albemarle | 16:53.00 | 10 | |
| 15 |  Nick Russo | 12 | Bayside High School | 16:56.00 |
