Led by freshmen Todd Somers placing 2nd in a time of 17:26, the Panthers placed 4 runners in the the top 8 for a team score of 37 points. Taking second was the Brentsville boys with 70 points as Matt Truschel led the way for them with a 6th place finishing time of 17:44.
Last year's state champion, Clarke County, seems to have underachieved this season. Returning almost all of their guys from last year's squad, they have had a lackluster season. Placing 4th last week at their district meet, they had dig down deep at the regional meet just so they could make the top 4 and advance to states. That they did as they took 3rd with 92 points.
A lone bright spot for the Clarke County Eagles was senior Dustin Sweeney who won the race in a time of 17:12. Sweeney holds the current course record on the challenging New Market Battlefield 5K course with his 16:48 clocking at the Stonewall Jackson Invitational earlier in the season.
Like the Page County boys, the Brentsville girls cruised to a regional title. Placing their entire top 5 in the top 10, they creamed the competition with a team score of 30 points. Mindy Peele led the way for the Lady Tigers as she took runner up honors in the race with her time of 20:46.
Leslie Grant was the girls' race winner with her excellent time of 20:25. Her team, Strasburg, took second with 78 points.