West Springfield senior Paige Kvartunas just claimed her first regional title last Thursday with a 17:36 victory on a slightly longer Burke Lake Park (3.01 mile course), which would convert down to place her high on the historic 2.98 mile course's all-time list among some past greats in the Northern Region's history. She had never won a district title or earned All-State honors entering her last season of cross country, yet the late-bloomer Kvartunas heads into Saturday's VHSL State Championships as one of several runners capable of stealing the win from some of the more established favorites. After helping West Springfield win their first district cross country team title in many years, Kvartunas and Lady Spartans are also aiming to pull off another stunner in championship season and find their way onto the podium with a top three team finish. The hills at Great Meadow will certainly be their friends as the West Springfield girls went through a challenging race schedule this fall competing on many of the hillier courses in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Coverage
Regional week begins on Tuesday with the Region II Championships being held at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville and ends on Saturday with the Central Region Championships being held at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville. on Wednesday, two regional meets were held with the Region III Championships and Region B Championships. The Hidden Valley girls did it again and knocked off a top ranked Blacksburg squad at the Region IV Meet for the third consecutive year. Of course in the past two upsets, Blacksburg has been able to bounce back and win the Group AA state title the next week. We will see if history repeats itself next week at Great Meadow as two of the state's best teams face off once again.
A thrilling regional race with close finishes, shockers, and history being made as well as a rainbow sighting to start the meet. The Lake Braddock girls and Oakton boys as well as individual winners Paige Kvartunas and Chris Foley apparently found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on Thursday afternoon at Burke Lake Park. It was a redemption meet for the Lake Braddock (pictured by Charles Fulghum) as they were inspired by the return of their top runner Liana Epstein and rise of a new star in freshmen Sophie Chase.
The Oakton boys are solid favorites to defend their team title while the West Springfield girls seem to hold a slight edge over Jefferson and Lake Braddock for the Northern Region Championship meet to be held at Burke Lake's 2.98 mile course on Thursday, November 5th.