Photo by Margot Kelly
Not a banner day for the four Virginians competing at the 2010 Foot Locker Nationals with Annandale junior Ahmed Bile as the only one of the group to finish among the top half of the 40 runner field with his 14th place All-American finishing time of 15:33. Bile moved up in the last 400 meters to pick off a few places to slip inside the top 15. Douglas Freeman senior Silas Frantz, competing in not only his first Foot Locker Nationals but his first national meet all together (no prior racing appearances at Nike/New Balance Indoor and Outdoor Nationals) placed 33rd overall and 21 seconds behind Bile.
Photo by Don Rich
Both races opened with very brisk first mile splits including New York's Aisling Cuffee leading most of the girls' field under 5:30 for the first mile. Western Albemarle senior Mattie Webb got out the quickest between the two Virginians and was the top finisher from the state in 29th place at a time of 18:28. Webb has made a big jump in one year's time to even have qualified to compete at Foot Locker Nationals and will be running next year at NC State. Lake Braddock's Sophie Chase had a personally disappointing race in 38th place (18:53) out of 40 runners, but has two more years to return back to Balboa Park for certainly more competitive showings and contending for All-American finishes.
Congratulations to all four runners for earning the title of Foot Locker finalist in the 2010 cross country season. More to come from San Diego including post-race interviews with all four Virginians and plenty of full coverage of the Foot Locker Nationals can be found at MileSplit US.
Results: Boys Race - Girls Race
Post-Race Interviews: Ahmed Bile - Mattie Webb - Silas Frantz - Sophie Chase
Photo Galleries: Margot Kelly Gallery - Don Rich Gallery - Brandon Miles Gallery