SALEM, VA -- If there was ever any doubt that Freshman Anna Chase of Martinsville was for real, it was erased today at the 29th Annual Metro Cross Country Invitational. Chase destroyed the previous course record set just last year by Kelly Zwart of Rockbridge County by 36 seconds! Chase ran the very difficult Elizabeth Campus course in 19:48.64. As Chase led from the beginning, it became a race for second place. In the end, it was Kirsten Hagen of Christiansburg taking second in what would have been a course record in 20:17.21. Jennifer Beury (20:25.45) ran a very nice race and placed 3rd which was less than a second off the old course record. Rounding out the top five were Ashleigh Shepard (20:34.51) of Blacksburg and Katie Lamb (20:47.55) of Roanoke Catholic.
In the boy\'s race, Justin Hatch of Christiansburg added another impressive win to his list of first place finishes. Unlike the girls race, the boy\'s race was a three man affair for almost 2 miles. With David Barker of Glenvar setting the pace, Hatch and Scott Adams of Hidden Valley stayed in a tight pack until a burst put Hatch out front to stay. Adams finished second in 17:24.78 and Barker placed 3rd in 17:33.70. Freshman John Horst (17:34.52) of Christiansburg overtook Adam Dickerson (17:49.07) of Franklin County in the last mile and almost nipped Barker at the finish.
In the team competition, Christiansburg took the boy\'s and girl\'s team trophies home to the Blue Demons trophy case.