Glory Days Grill Invitational 2008

With the impressive times that come consistently from the larger AAA and AA division in Virginia State track, the A group is often pushed to the back of people’s minds.  Clarke County High senior, Ben Veilleux, however has proven this year that the smaller division A is still capable of producing runners that can compete on the highest level, and in a lot of cases, come out on top.

The Bishop O'Connell girls may not be favored to win this weekend's Glory Days Grill Invitational in Manassas with Southeast regionally ranked squads Thomas Jefferson and Lake Braddock in the field, but they certainly could it make close. Closer than most would normally expect even the best private school squad in the state to have a fighting chance against the top public school teams in Virginia, but the 2008 Bishop O'Connell cross country team is not your typical private school state champion caliber squad. A win at the Octoberfest Invitational and 7th place finish at Maymont against a field of ranked teams in Virginia and throughout the Southeast region proved that Coach Cindy Walls has a special group of girls and is doing some great things this fall under her guidance. Led by returning Virginia Independent Schools state cross country champion Megan Fitzpatrick and bolstered by several few faces in senior Claire Whitesell and freshmen Nicole Carty, Coach Walls talks with MileStat.com prior to Glory Days about an outstanding season so far for the Lady Knights and what to look forward for the remainder of this season. More...

Photo by Ted Plunkett In just her second year of cross country, Anneka Wilson seems to be hitting her stride perfectly as The Potomac School junior has been rolling as of late on every course she races on with a streak of four consecutive invitational victories heading into this weekend's Glory Days Grill Invitational. Wilson is part of an outstanding class of private school runners this fall emerging in Virginia between herself, Barbara Strehler of Trinity, and defending state champ Megan Fitzpatrick of Bishop O'Connell. An English citizen, Wilson's worldly travels with her family after stays in Belgium, Singpapore, and England have brought her across the Atlantic Ocean to Virginia in an indirect route to become of the state's top prep distance runners this fall. The former field hockey player has had to transition this season from her previous coach who helped convince her to give up the field hockey stick for a pair of racing spikes, but seems to be running better than ever under the guidance of her new coach. MileStat.com's Brandon Miles interviewed Wilson just one day prior to her big race at Glory Days in which she will look to extend her streak to 5 major invitational wins as well as go after her first sub 18 minute 5K performance. More..

#1 and #2 ranked teams face off for the first time this season to settle the debate (for now at least) at Saturday's Manhattan Invitational. Jamestown and Oakton boys have been head and shoulders better than the rest of the competition so far this fall, but both will have their hands full when they race against each other and a loaded field at the Manhattan Invitational. Meanwhile, Glory Days Grill Invitational will feature 6 schools which are ranked among the top 10 currently led by the Octoberfest champs from James Robinson, who are racing in their fourth major invitational in as many weekends and so far have improved their team performance each weekend.