VHSL State Cross Country Meet 2006

I had just caught up with Rachel and the win was within reach. We were neck and neck within 100 yards of the finish line and then I fell.

MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews Radford junior Nathan Brame and asks the tough questions circulating around the recent Group A state cross country champion in regards to his transformation from his freshmen year message board predictions, his rivalry with Clarke County and Simon Biddle-Snead, and discussing his breakthrough season of cross country.

MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews Buffalo Gap senior Mariah Hagadone after just coming off winning her first cross country state championship in the Group A girls race this past Saturday at Great Meadows for the VHSL State Cross Country Championships. Hagadone, finishing with a winnng time of 19:29 at Great Meadows, came in as the #3 ranked runner in Group A behind Brittany Killough of J.J. Kelly and Sophia Holmes of Clarke County. Hagadone is also the defending Group A state champion for 800 meters and has a 2:19 best in the event with a PR of 5:10 for 1600 meters as well.

The Clarke County boys and girls became the first teams since the 1984-1986 Blacksburg squads to sweep the VHSL state team championships for three consecutive years. Meeanwhile, Radford junior Nathan Brame stopped Clarke County senior Simon Biddle-Snead from joining a short list of three-time individual champions by living up to his freshmen year predictions of state win two years later in 16:38. Buffalo Gap senior Mariah Hagadone had a great finish to overtake pre-race favorites Brittany Killough of Buffalo Gap and Sophia Holmes of Clarke County on the final stretch for the win

The Blacksburg girls moved into the VHSL all-time leader with the most state team championships while Northside senior Catherine White became the fifth girl in VHSL history to win three state cross country titles. Neith accomplishment came easy as the Blacksburg girls were given a strong challenge from 2005 champs Brentsville and tough weather and course conditions beat up even the best of runners in White as she had a rare collapse when she crossed the line in 19:18. Meanwhile, the Brentsville boys continued their dynasty in Group AA with their third state championship despite not their best day on the course and Abingdon junior Griff Graves had the second fastest time of the day and only two seconds behind Mike Spooner in AAA with another state championship in 15:55.

An unseasonably warm November day with a high level of humidity, a damp course from rainfall during the week, 15 mph winds, and tall thick grass at Great Meadows, tested many of the state\'s best runners at Saturday\'s VHSL State Cross Country Championships held at Great Meadows in The Plains, Virginia. After 2005\'s ideal racing conditions and modified course allowed for a flood of fast times, the 2006 version of the Virginia state meet was drastically different as the carts stayed busy throughout the day carrying off distressed runners on the course and few were finding themselves running close to their personal bests. However, the state championship is never about times. It is all about place and who you beat. There were definitely plenty of great stories on the day, which had nothing to do with slower state times.

MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews one of the four Group AAA All-State individuals to make for one of the most dominant team showings in VHSL State Championships history by the Nike Team Nationals bound Midlothian girls in junior Samantha aka Sammy Dow. Dow finished 8th overall as the team\'s third finisher in a time of 19:20. Dow transferred to Midlothian from Guiderland High School in New York last year as sophomore and earned All-State honors indoors for 3200 meters.

MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles was able to catch up with Albemarle senior Rachel Rose, who was a surprise winner of the AAA girls race on Saturday at the VHSL State Championships despite being the defending champion after suffering a mid-season stress fracture injury back in late September. Rose\'s time of 18:53 was the fastest on the day between the AAA, AA, and A races.

11/12 NEWS FLASH: BOTH MIDLOTHIAN BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS RECEIVE AUTOMATIC BIDS TO NIKE TEAM NATIONALS! FIRST VA TEAMS EVER TO RECEIVE NTN BIDS! CONGRATS AND GOOD LUCK IN OREGON! COMPLETE RESULTS with elite performances as combined state meet results are now posted. Many photos and videos already posted with more photos to come as well as a complete meet summary and interview articles to come! Quick highlights: While Saturday\'s unseasonably warm and humid weather got the best of many runners including some of state\'s best and pre-race favorites, Albemarle senior Rachel Rose did not let the weather, course, or her mid-season stress fracture injury stop her from defending her AAA state championship in the day\'s fastest time at 18:53. It was a dramatic finish with Rose, James River\'s Kristen Wolfe, Deep Run\'s Courtlin LaReau, and Midlothian\'s Kathleen Lautzenheiser all together with just over 100 meters to go. Wolfe looked to be in good position for the win, but then collapsed due to exhaustion and dehydration as Rose took the win. Rose made her comeback and Wolfe certainly will do the same at Foot Locker South! Nationally ranked and SE #1 Midlothian boys and girls become the first AAA school since the 1997 Manchester squad to win both state titles in impressive fashion as the Midlo girls (47 pts) had four all-state finishers in Kathleen Lautzenheiser (3rd, 18:59), M.C. Miller (6th, 19:18), Sammy Dow (8th, 19:20), and Paige Johnston (13th, 19:32) to win by 41 points over Lake Braddock (88 pts). Meanwhile, The Midlothian boys (55 pts) were also 41 points winner over Oakton (96 pts) with nearly four individuals earning all-state honors in Jason Witt (2nd, 15:59), Jonathan Mellis (8th, 16:26), and Mark Merritt (10th, 16:36), and Tommy Reese (16th, 16:47). Who wants to go to Oregon?! Mike Spooner of West Springfield in AAA (15:53) and Griff Graves of Abingdon in AA (15:55) won as expected with nearly identical times, despite receiving challenges from Jason Witt of Midlothian and Adam Henken of Brentsville respectively. The Clarke County boys and girls became the second team to win three consecutive state championships together in VHSL history. The Brentsville boys won a competitive AA team race over Jamestown and Western Albemarle to win their third straight title, while the Blacksburg girls dethroned the defending champs from Brentsville. Radford\'s Nathan Brame fulfilled his freshmen year prophecy of a state championship as he stopped Clarke\'s Simon Biddle-Snead from winning his third state title in a row. Buffalo Gap\'s Mariah Hagadone made a late surge to outkick Sophia Holmes of Clarke County for the Group A state title. More to come from Great Meadows... SATURDAY On-site coverage at VHSL State Cross Country Championships at Great Meadows - Photos, videos, interviews, and stories from Brandon Miles, John Herzog, Ted Plunkett, and Linda D\'Amato VHSL State Meet Race Summaries: AAA - AA - A - By Brandon Miles VHSL State Championships Video Clips - Unedited w/o music or text. Edited versions will be made available later in the week for download. VHSL State Championships Photo Galleries by John Herzog - AAA Awards - AAA Boys - AAA Girls - AA Boys - AA Girls - A Boys - A Girls VHSL State Championships Photo Galleries by Ted Plunkett: AAA Races - AA Races - A Races VHSL State Championships Audio Interviews by Brandon Miles - With AAA boys champ Mike Spooner and member of AAA state champion and NTN bound Midlothian team Jonathan Mellis Q&A Interview Article w/ AAA girls champ Rachel Rose - Brandon Miles interviews the now 2-time state champion Rose after her amazing comeback from mid-season stress fracture injury is capped off with state meet\'s fastest of the day 18:53 win! Q&A Interview Article w/ Midlo girls All-State #3 (of 4) Sammy Dow - Brandon Miles interviews one of the four Group AAA All-State individuals to make for one of the most dominant team showings in VHSL State Championships history by the Nike Team Nationals bound Midlothian girls in junior Samantha aka Sammy Dow. Q&A Interview Article w/ Mariah Hagadone - MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews Buffalo Gap senior Mariah Hagadone after just coming off winning her first cross country state championship in the Group A girls race this past Saturday at Great Meadows for the VHSL State Cross Country Championships. Q&A Interview Article w/ Nathan Brame - MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews Radford junior Nathan Brame and asks the tough questions circulating around the recent Group A state cross country champion in regards to his transformation from his freshmen year message board predictions, his rivalry with Clarke County and Simon Biddle-Snead, and discussing his breakthrough season of cross country. FRIDAY On-site coverage at Virginia Independent Schools State Meet at Woodberry Forest - Photos, videos, interviews, and stories from Brandon Miles and David Fleenor VIS State Meet Race Pics by David Fleenor: Div I Boys - Div I Girls - Div II Girls VIS State Meet Award Pics by David Fleenor: Div I Boys - Div I Girls - Div II Boys - Div II Girls - Race pics to come on Monday! VIS State Meet Race Pics by Brandon Miles: Div I Boys - Race pics from the other 3 races to come on Monday! VIS State Meet Summary - By Brandon Miles VIS State Meet Video Clips - By Brandon Miles VIS State Meet Interviews - Brandon Miles interviews Division II individual champs Austin Ellis and Jane Gay Final NTN Southeast Region Rankings heading into state meet THURSDAY VHSL Group AAA State Preview VHSL Group AA State Preview Top 15 Moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era: Moments #3 thru #1 VHSL Group AAA Top 5K Times @ Teams List VHSL Group AA Top 5K Times & Teams List WEDNESDAY VHSL Group A Top 5K Teams & Teams List VHSL Group A State Preview 11/7 MileStat.com/VA High School XC Coaches Rankings - AAA Boys - AAA Girls - AA Boys - AA Girls - A Boys - A Girls - Private Boys - Private Girls - Cream of the Crop Boys - Cream of the Crop Girls Top 15 Moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era: Moments #7 thru #4 - By Ryan Call TUESDAY VIS Top 5K Times & Teams List VIS State Meet Preview - By Brandon Miles Top 15 Moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era: Moments #11 thru #8 - By Ryan Call MONDAY Great Meadows Madness - Top 15 Moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era: Intro Article - Moments #15 thru 12 2006 Cross Country 5K Bests & Team Rankings: Boys - Girls

Last year the Midlothian girls were the underdogs and the the Midlothian boys were the forgottens. The Midlothian girls went onto win their first state championship in the program\'s history by a wide margin over pre-meet favorite and #1 ranked Oakton, while the Midlothian boys surprised many by making it onto the podium as the third place team and finishing only five points away from a state championship. However, neither team can get away with spotlight this year heading into Saturday\'s VHSL State Cross Country Championships at Great Meadows. Coach Stan Morgan\'s girls are currently ranked #2 in the nation, while the boys maintain a US #11 ranking as both teams find themselves sitting on top as the Southeast #1 ranked teams in the region.

Ranked #3 currently in the Southeast region for Nike Team Nationals, the Brentsville boys have their eyes not only set on winning their third consecutive Group AA state title, but hope to put together a strong closing team performance to impress the NTN committee enough to be considered for one of the two automatic bids from the region. Meanwhile, the defending state champion Brentsville girls have their work cut out for them to repeat as it should be a great battle between them and SE #10 ranked Blacksburg girls. Meanwhile, cross country fans will be treated to a special occassion for Northside senior Catherine White\'s final VHSL State Cross Country Championship as the two-time state cross country champions looks to better her 17:48 course record from a year ago. While not racing against top ranked Mike Spooner, you can beat Abingdon junior Griff Graves will be looking to put out a fast winning time in the AA race for Spooner to have a tough time following in the AAA race.

Ryan Call counts down the top 15 moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era with moments #3-1. Steve Tobin Upsets Deep Individual Field (2003) at #3, Alan Webb Runs 15:03 to Break Course Record in the Wind (2000) at #2, and Bobby Lockhart 4-Peats, Runs 15:10 (2001) at #1.

In last year\'s Group A state race, the Clarke County boys tallied a team score of 20 points after putting five runners for an impressive second state team championship. Clarke County returns again this year as a huge favorite and likely to put up another low score as they currently have five runners ranked in the top seven in the state. The Clarke County girls also are favored to repeat as state champions, but not as big of a margin. However, the most interesting and exciting part to look forward to the Group A races this Saturday at Great Meadows will be the battles for the individual titles. In each race, there are two promiment contenders to take the win with 2-time state champion Simon Biddle-Snead of Clarke County and Group A # 1 ranked Nathan Brame of Radford for the boys and Region D champion Brittany Killough of J.J. Kelly and Region B champion Sophia Holmes of Clarke County.

Ryan Call counts down the top 15 moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era with moments #7-4. Depth of AAA Teams, Midlothian

Ryan Call counts down the top 15 moments in VHSL XC State Championship history during the MileStat.com Era with moments #11-8. J.R. Tucker gets upset for the second straight year, Lady Trojans make a name for themselves, crush #4 Southeast Oakton, Melissa Dewey crushes everyone, blazes fast time in horrible conditions, and the year of AA dominance make up moments #11 through #8.

Ryan Call countdowns the top 15 moments at VHSL XC State Championship in the MileStat.com Era with moments #15 through #12 on Monday. #15 Girls forgets national anthem, #14 Siragusa surprises some, fullfills potential, #13 Sherbak\'s state championships, and #12 \"Let the good times roll\" in 2005\" make up Monday\'s list.

After a hectic but exciting week of Regional meets the fields are set and the picture is perhaps clearer than ever thanks to extraordinary seasonal coverage. However, as runners and fans both know, when the blast of the shotgun rings through the crisp air in The Plains on Saturday, there will be upsets. Why? Because there always is.

Don\'t shoot the messenger, but the ticket price for the VHSL State Cross Country Championship has been increased to $7.00 per the VHSL. The VHSL State Cross Country Championship will be held on Saturday, November 11th at Great Meadows in The Plains, Virginia.