Under the guidance of Coach Mike Nestor, it is hard to believe with the combined success which the Ocean Lakes boys and girls' cross country teams have enjoyed within the Eastern Region over the past decade with a total of six regional team titles prior to 2010 that both teams have never experienced first place together at the regional meet. The sweep finally happened on Thursday with steady rainfall throughout the day to muddy up and slow down the course at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake.
Ocean Lakes junior Audrey Batzel (pictured above by Ryan Kelly) followed up her Beach District individual title with an Eastern Region title. Batzel posted a strong 18:37 5K performance in the mud to lead the Ocean Lakes girls to the team title with 52 points. Batzel and the Ocean Lakes girls got competition once again from Beach District rivals Princess Anne (2nd, 65 pts) and Lizzie Cornell (2nd, 18:45). Currently ranked #12 in Group AAA, Batzel is the Eastern Region's best chance at seeing an individual girl on the state meet podium while Cornell and Hickory's Teresa Williamson could sneak into the top 15 at Great Meadow with a breakthrough race.
Joining Batzel and Cornell under 19 minutes were Southeastern District champ Williamson (3rd, 18:50) of Hickory and Cornell's sophomore teammate Ariel Briales (4th, 18:53). Advancing to state competition as teams with Ocean Lakes and Princess Anne were Kellam (3rd, 90 pts) as the third Beach District team and Southeastern District champions Grassfield (4th, 107 pts).
The Ocean Lakes boys exhibited their depth and strength as a whole team with their top runner Jon Winters running poorly due to illness and finishing back in the seventh spot for the team but still winning the Eastern Region team title. Nearly three Ocean Lakes runners cracked into the top 15 for All-Region honors with David Harrison (9th, 16:33), Brandon Clifford (15th, 16:37), and Austin Gillies (17th, 16:41). Connor Gulley (17:01) and Brandon Winters (17:04) completed their team scoring with a total of 71 points and mere top five spread of only 32 seconds.
There was little separation at the Southeastern District Championships between the top three boys' squads and the breathing room did not grow an inch at the regional meet between Grassfield (2nd, 96 pts), Hickory (3rd, 100 pts), and Western Branch (4th, 105 pts) to match the Beach District girls by sending three teams to the state cross country meet. Grassfield ran well up front with three individuals among the top seven including race champion Jeremy Greenwald (pictured above by Ryan Kelly) as the senior clocked a great winning time in not ideal conditions at 15:42. Greenwald could be a darkhorse challenger for the Group AAA state title as he has not really faced major competition outside of the Tidewater area. Two juniors from the Beach District battled out for second place and setting the state for the 2011 regional meet between Brent Coulter (2nd, 16:02) of Landstown and Sean Helmke (3rd, 16:05) of Kellam.
Eastern Region Championship Results: Boys Results - Girls Results
Eastern Region Meet Photo Gallery by Ryan Kelly - To be posted by Friday morning.