Donna Bryant

Check out the all-time performances by VA girls at McAlpine right here.

Here are the top 1,000 girls times from the Great Meadow non-state meet course.

Northside senior and defending AA state champion Catherine White opens her season tomorrow at the Knights Cross Invitational held at Green Hill Park in Salem. High expections are placed upon White this season as she was a three-time All-American last year in cross country and track including a national runner-up finish for two miles last indoor season at Nike Indoor Nationals. White has had some great performances at Green Hill in the past including a 17:57 5K at the Fab 5K last month. The meet will also feature one of the state\'s top girls teams in Blacksburg. A great individual battle should be waged between one of A\'s best in Nathan Brame of Radford and the #3 ranked individual in AA in Peter Dorrell of Blacksburg.

The Run Fer Da Hills Invitational course was lengthened from its traditional 3 mile course to a 5K distance at South Holston Dam in Bristol, Tennessee as two of Virginia\'s top returning runners in Abingdon junior Griff Graves and J.J. Kelly senior Brittany Killough hope to have set new course records in their 2006 wins that will stand for a while. Graves won by over a minute in a time of 16:13, while Killough (19:48) finished a decent margin ahead of runner-up Sabrina Hall of Pulaski County (20:21), who helped her squad to a team title at Run Fer Da Hills.

Predictability is a word that serves Group AA girls well this fall with the Brentsville girls returning a full squad from a team that simply dominated at the state meet last year and two-time individual state champion Catherine White looking fitter than ever heading into this season. Behind Brentsville and White, there are plenty of great teams and individuals filling out what should be a strong fall for Group AA.

If her time at the Fab 5K is any indication of what it is to come from Catherine White in her senior season at Northside High School, this could be a very special year for the three-time All-American and nine-time AA state champion. In last year\'s Fab 5K, White clocked a swift 18:30 and bettered her time by over 30 seconds in this year\'s race as the top finishing female in the open division in 17:57. White finished out last fall\'s cross country season winning the AA state title in 17:57, qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals with a 17:17 PR run at Foot Locker South, and an All-American finish at Foot Locker Nationals in 17:53 on a challenging Balboa Park course in San Diego, California. Already 30 seconds ahead of herself from last year is a great sign for things to come.