Ragged Mountain Cup 2010

The Ragged Mountain Cup isn’t always a focus for the area’s high school runners, who try to ramp up their training to peak at the end of the year. But you wouldn’t know that from watching Western Albemarle senior Mattie Webb.   Running first on the Warriors’ relay team, Webb ripped off a time of 11 minutes, 33 seconds on the two-mile course on Tuesday afternoon at Panorama Farms, nearly a minute faster than the next-fastest girl. Webb’s run led the Western ‘A’ team to a time of 51:51 and a first-place finish, while Derek Armstrong anchored the Western ‘A’ boys to a victory of their own (via Daily Progress)

The Western Albemarle boys and girls swept the varsity 4x2 mile relay races at the Ragged Mountain Cup on Tuesday afternoon at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville.   The Western Albemarle boys, ranked #4 in the state of Virginia, won by a total of 1 minute and 40 seconds over cross town rival and #9 ranked Albemarle. Coach Lindy Bain had six boys break 11 minutes led by "A" team anchor Derek Armstrong who ran the fastest split at 10:08. VA #1 ranked Kevin Bennert of Woodberry Forest was unchallenged on the first leg with a 10:16 split, while Monticello senior Nathaniel Hermsmeier looked strong as the fourth leg with the second fastest split of the day at 10:13.   The VA #2 ranked Western Albemarle girls ran without two of their top six runners in Emily Moffett and Peri Bowser, but still dominated the relay race for girls as their "A" team crossed the line with a time of 51:51 and 75 seconds ahead of the runners-up from Albemarle (53:06). Group AA state title contender Mattie Webb made it a no contest for the Western girls from the start with her 11:33 opening leg split, which was only a few seconds off the course record still held by two-time Group AAA state cross country champion Rachel Rose of Albemarle. Webb's split was nearly a full minute faster than the next fastest split at the Cup, which helped give her team enough breathing room on the Albemarle girls having three of the next four fastest splits in sophomore Allison Huschke (12:31), freshmen Olivia Lewis (13:04), and senior Elizabeth Sinclair (13:11).     Ragged Mountain Cup Results: Individual - Team Race Videos: Varsity Relay Race (Part 1) - Varsity Relay Race (Part 2) - Open Race Interviews: Mattie Webb - Derek Armstrong Photo gallery to be posted on Wednesday

Today will be the second attempt of the Ragged Mountain Cup being held after being postponed last week due to excessive heat. The 4x2 mile relay opener for the Charlottesville area schools at Panorama Farms will include several of the top individuals and teams in the state led by VA #1 Kevin Bennert of Woodberry Forest and VA #3 Mattie Webb of Western Albemarle. The VA #2 ranked Western Albemarle girls should be heavily favored to win the girls' race and potentially break their own course record from last year, while it should be a cross town battle between AA squad Western Albemarle and AAA squad Albemarle for bragging rights at the Ragged Mountain Running Shop this fall. MileStat.com will be on-site with coverage.

The Ragged Mountain Cup at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, originally scheduled for Tuesday, August 31st, has been postponed to next Tuesday, September 7th. Due to a new VHSL rule this year which prohibits any athletic events if the heat index is 105 or above and forecast for tomorrow close to or exceeding that number tomorrow, meet management is going to err on the side of safety. The race will be moved to next Tuesday, September 7th with the exact same time schedule.  Varsity races go off at 5:00pm, open JV race right after (6:15).