Tri State
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Davis, Lowery take 1-2 in photo finish
Virginia dominates team scoring
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 21 -- Kaitlyn Davis's physical stature has been talked about for most of the past 12 months as the Mountain View senior grew four inches and gained a few pounds.
Davis said she relates her IT band injury with her body's attempt to reconcile itself with the runner's new frame.
But all along, perhaps cross country fans should have focused on her character.
Davis, a standout North Carolina transfer last season, pushed and prodded Team Virginia teammate Hannah Lowery to the finish line. Both recorded a time of 19 minutes and 9 seconds, with Davis edging out the Stafford freshman at the finish line.
Virginia dominates team scoring
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 21 -- Kaitlyn Davis's physical stature has been talked about for most of the past 12 months as the Mountain View senior grew four inches and gained a few pounds.
Davis said she relates her IT band injury with her body's attempt to reconcile itself with the runner's new frame.
But all along, perhaps cross country fans should have focused on her character.
Davis, a standout North Carolina transfer last season, pushed and prodded Team Virginia teammate Hannah Lowery to the finish line. Both recorded a time of 19 minutes and 9 seconds, with Davis edging out the Stafford freshman at the finish line.
"I was kind of helping her throughout the race," Davis said. "I was competing, in a sense (but) I wasn't out to beat her as much as help her. Technically, we were on the same team."
Each time Lowery started to fall off pace, Davis would suggest a quick surge to keep the young runner, whom she has beaten much of the season, at her side. The only time Lowery went ahead was on the second lap while going up "a pretty monstrous hill after the creek."
But with the odds of a team title looking good, individual victory meant a bit less to Davis.
"When it was just me and her at the front, I said, 'what the heck?'"
With Davis's help, Lowery agreed it "was a great race."
"You have this hill at the very end," she said. "It's always so killer. At the end of a race, you're just so drained. You look at those hills and say, 'oh my gosh, I have to go up those?'"
"It ended up coming down to the wire," Lowery said. "It was great. Just to be able to stay up with the top runners like Kaityn is so amazing. I couldn't believe it. Normally, we're just competitors. This was kind of different."
Each time Lowery started to fall off pace, Davis would suggest a quick surge to keep the young runner, whom she has beaten much of the season, at her side. The only time Lowery went ahead was on the second lap while going up "a pretty monstrous hill after the creek."
But with the odds of a team title looking good, individual victory meant a bit less to Davis.
"When it was just me and her at the front, I said, 'what the heck?'"
With Davis's help, Lowery agreed it "was a great race."
"You have this hill at the very end," she said. "It's always so killer. At the end of a race, you're just so drained. You look at those hills and say, 'oh my gosh, I have to go up those?'"
"It ended up coming down to the wire," Lowery said. "It was great. Just to be able to stay up with the top runners like Kaityn is so amazing. I couldn't believe it. Normally, we're just competitors. This was kind of different."
Lowery said in a 5,000-meter cross country race, there's always the possibility of gaining a half-second advantage on a competitor. Saturday was no exception.
"There's always little critiques you can make," she said. "If you can't make any critiques, then there's nothing more to work towards. I guess at the end, I'd work on leaning in. I've never had a race that came down to that close. I think it was so cool today."
Virginia dominated the team scoring by placing Davis, Lowery and six others inside the top nine places. Only Century junior Maura Linde and Walter Johnson junior Anna Bosse broke up Virginia's bid at a perfect score, which would have been possible if Virginia had swept the top 10 scoring spots.
Linde placed fourth in 19:30 - just three secondes by Edison junior Myah Hicks - while Bosse was 10th overall among 63 runners in 20:05 - a mere three seconds behind Millbrook sophomore Crystal Nelson (ninth) and seven seconds behind sixth-place runner Julianne Bigler, a West Potomac senior.
Email Kevin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
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Harrison edges Escobar for BOP win
Maryland places 2-4 to win team title
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 21 -- Thomas Harrison said he'd never heard of Nicolas Escobar before Saturday.
But it's a name the St. Albans junior isn't likely to forget too soon.
Harrison edged Escobr at the fourth Battle of the Potomac, nicknamed the XC Border War, in the fourth annual running of the state vs. state event modeled after the prestigious Border Clash meet in the Pacific Northwest.
Both Harrison and Escobar were awarded official finishing times of 16 minutes and 34 seconds, with Harrison being credited for the championship. Chesapeake senior William Neal placed third in 16:55. St. Albans teammate Jamie Durling, a senior, took fourth in 16:58 and Landon's Jack Strabo earned fifth place among 103 runners with a time of 17:00.
"I didn't even know it was that close," Harrison said afterward. "I thought i was making the gap wider. Apparently, he kicked right before the last downhill" on the two-loop, 5,000-meter course at Smokey Glen.
"I didn't even know Nicolas Escobar's name, to be honest with you," Harrison continued. "I just saw a Maryland shirt in the beginning (and) slowly reeled him in."
Harrison placed 11th last fall in the sophomore boys race but stepped up this year's effort to the seeded race after winning the private school championship race. Heading into Saturday's event, Harrison said he figured other runners had a better shot at the win.
That changed early on.
"On the starting line, I never really try to get my hopes up," Harrison said. "Things happen in a cross country race."
"I didn't even know it was that close," Harrison said afterward. "I thought i was making the gap wider. Apparently, he kicked right before the last downhill" on the two-loop, 5,000-meter course at Smokey Glen.
"I didn't even know Nicolas Escobar's name, to be honest with you," Harrison continued. "I just saw a Maryland shirt in the beginning (and) slowly reeled him in."
Harrison placed 11th last fall in the sophomore boys race but stepped up this year's effort to the seeded race after winning the private school championship race. Heading into Saturday's event, Harrison said he figured other runners had a better shot at the win.
That changed early on.
"On the starting line, I never really try to get my hopes up," Harrison said. "Things happen in a cross country race."
Maryland won the team title with 85 points. Team Virginia was second with 140 points while West Virginia, its first year of team recognition in the standings, was third with 240 points.
Jefferson junior standout Brandon Doughty, the Class AAA state champion three weeks ago in Ona, W.Va., was the team's top performer but ran slower than expected. He placed 15th overall.
"I didn't have that good a race," Doughty said. "I went out pretty good. I was in fifth or sixth (place) in the first mile. I cramped up a little bit. I just didn't feel like I was in as good a shape as I've been in the past two weeks. I fell back a little ..."
Asked if he'd consider racing the event next fall, "yeah, definitely," Doughty said. "It was a pretty cool race."
Email Kevin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
Jefferson junior standout Brandon Doughty, the Class AAA state champion three weeks ago in Ona, W.Va., was the team's top performer but ran slower than expected. He placed 15th overall.
"I didn't have that good a race," Doughty said. "I went out pretty good. I was in fifth or sixth (place) in the first mile. I cramped up a little bit. I just didn't feel like I was in as good a shape as I've been in the past two weeks. I fell back a little ..."
Asked if he'd consider racing the event next fall, "yeah, definitely," Doughty said. "It was a pretty cool race."
Email Kevin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
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Results Middle School Open Boys Girls Elite Boys Girls
Photos Middle School Boys Open Girls Open Boys Elite Girls Elite Mixed Photos
Video Middle School Part1 Open Boys Open Girls Elite Boys Elite Girls
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Jasmin Lebrock Tai Dinger
Sophia Passacantando Gregory Hadley
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