The Western Albemarle boys and girls swept the varsity 4x2 mile relay races at the Ragged Mountain Cup on Tuesday afternoon at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville.
The Western Albemarle boys, ranked #4 in the state of Virginia, won by a total of 1 minute and 40 seconds over cross town rival and #9 ranked Albemarle. Coach Lindy Bain had six boys break 11 minutes led by "A" team anchor Derek Armstrong who ran the fastest split at 10:08. VA #1 ranked Kevin Bennert of Woodberry Forest was unchallenged on the first leg with a 10:16 split, while Monticello senior Nathaniel Hermsmeier looked strong as the fourth leg with the second fastest split of the day at 10:13.
The VA #2 ranked Western Albemarle girls ran without two of their top six runners in Emily Moffett and Peri Bowser, but still dominated the relay race for girls as their "A" team crossed the line with a time of 51:51 and 75 seconds ahead of the runners-up from Albemarle (53:06). Group AA state title contender Mattie Webb made it a no contest for the Western girls from the start with her 11:33 opening leg split, which was only a few seconds off the course record still held by two-time Group AAA state cross country champion Rachel Rose of Albemarle. Webb's split was nearly a full minute faster than the next fastest split at the Cup, which helped give her team enough breathing room on the Albemarle girls having three of the next four fastest splits in sophomore Allison Huschke (12:31), freshmen Olivia Lewis (13:04), and senior Elizabeth Sinclair (13:11).
Ragged Mountain Cup Results: Individual - Team
Race Videos: Varsity Relay Race (Part 1) - Varsity Relay Race (Part 2) - Open Race
Interviews: Mattie Webb - Derek Armstrong
Photo gallery to be posted on Wednesday