MileStat.com visited the Hidden Valley program on Tuesday afternoon in Roanoke. Their girls' squad is pre-season nationally ranked by Marc Bloom's Harrier Rankings and last year their team won their first state cross country team title over district rival Blacksburg and also qualified to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon as an at-large berth which they finished 13th in the national championship meet. They lost three of their top six runners from a year ago, but return one of the best top three in the state in Annie LeHardy, Haley Cutright, and Carolyn Bethel.
On Tuesday afternoon following a heavy downpour earlier in the day, the rain lightened up for the Hidden Valley team to take to their home cross country course for hill repeats on a steap but winding hill which Coach Daniel King had them work the crest with a surge of 50 or more meters. After three repeats on the hill, the team shifted gears to 6x250 meter repeats on a flat portion as they worked on turnover.
LeHardy, Cutright, and Bethel are all returning 18 minute 5K runners, which Coach King believes all three are capable of running under 18 minutes this season. The biggest question or key to Hidden Valley's success this season will be the improvement and development of their #4 through #6 runners to round out their scoring five. Greta Weidner (40th place finisher at 2009 AA State XC) and Roanoke Catholic transfer Patricia Sorrentino (5:44 1600/2:29 800) are the likely the best bets so far to complete their top five.
MileStat.com enjoyed a great sit-down and in-depth interview with Coach Daniel King prior to the team's workout. His methods and philosphy may be different to some of his team's rival programs, but the results and success validate those methods and philosophy. Watch below interviews with Coach King, the Hidden Valley girls top three and videos from their workout day.
Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 1)
Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 2)
Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 3)
Interview w/ Annie LeHardy, Haley Cutright, & Carolyn Bethel