Cross Country: Potomac Falls Leads Area Varsity Teams at Oatlands; LC's Julie Strange and Tommy Curtin Turn in Low Area Times

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Leesburg (Sept. 27, 2009) - More than 3,000 runners and some 85 high school cross country teams converged on scenic Oatlands Saturday for one of the largest meets of the year in Virginia and after eight overall races, it was powerhouse Potomac Falls with the best local team showing while Loudoun County had the top two lowest local times.

"It was an awesome meet today. We got lucky with the weather," said Tuscarora High School Athletic Director Derek Farrey, one of the meet's co-directors along with Freedom AD Matt Oblas. The overcast skies kept the temperatures down and while the water crossing was deep enough to get the runners wet, the rain stayed away until the awards ceremony for the Moore Cadillac Hummer Oatlands Invitational and then fell only lightly.

The Panther girls and boys finished 11th and 12th, respectively, in the highly-competitive varsity "A" races and had the best average team times among the 10 Loudoun schools with the PF boys averaging 17:26 and the girls 20:50. Individually, Loudoun County junior Tommy Curtin had the best Loudoun time with a 16:24 for ninth place overall in the varsity "A" race and Loudoun County senior Julie Strange had the best Loudoun time on the girls side with a 19:36, which placed her 20th in the varsity "A" race.



The Loudoun County boys were 17th in the varsity "A" race, which was won by Oakton, as the Cougars edged Mountain View. West Virginia runner Cody Pelliccioni of Morgantown won the race with a 15:49.

Senior Alvaro Morales led the Panthers with a 16:51 to place 28th individually. PF juniors Juan Campos and Nick Mogensen turned in 17:25 and 17:28 in the chip-timed race. Raider Austin Talbot finished in 17:05.

The Loudoun Valley boys took third in the Varsity boys "B" race and had the third best local average time with a 17:45 just three seconds behind LC. Junior Ben Walker led the Vikes with a 17:17 and Chris Weeks turned in 17:22.

Potomac Falls depth on the boys side was evident as the Panthers "B" squad turned in an average 18:08 to take sixth in the varsity "B" race. Briar Woods was ninth.

"Despite all the seniors we lost last year, our boys still have depth," said Potomac Falls coach Charles Null.

On the girls side, Christina Lee ran a 19:57 as the Panther girls averaged 20:50, some eight seconds faster than Loudoun Valley and Loudoun County, which were just behind the Panthers, finishing 13th and 14th in the varsity "A" race. Sophomore Koeley Brady ran 20:37 for PV and teammate, senior Natalie Wright, was just two seconds back. The Panthers times were impressive considering that their No. 2 runner decided to quit the team unexpectedly at the start of the season.

Sophomore Audrey Houghton led the Vikes with a 19:56, good for 29th place individually and teammate Alex Jusbasich ran 20:44. Besides Strange, LC was paced by junior Rebecca Hinch at 20:48.

The varsity "A" race was won by Osbourn Park with West Potomac second. Osbourn Park's Ariel Karabinus took individual honors with an 18:30.

In the varsity "B" girls race, Briar Woods, led by sophomore Madison Horner's 21:23, was third and Heritage finished fourth with senior Hannah McLaughlin at 21:12.

There were four overall junior varsity races as well with the Loudoun Valley girls winning the freshman/sophomore race. Freshman Jackie Scott led the way with a 21:58. Briar Woods was sixth and Potomac Falls eighth.

Another local team took top honors as the Briar Woods junior/senior junior varsity squad won. PF was 8th.

In the two other JV races, the Heritage boys were sixth in the freshman/sophomore race followed by PF 8th and in the junior/senior girls JV race, Briar Woods was third and Heritage fourth.

Farrey and Oblas gave high marks to lead sponsor Moore Cadillac Hummer as their sponsorship allows for the chip timing. Otherwise, it would be difficult to score a meet where some races feature more than 700 runners.

The festive meet featured a virtual tent city of cross country runners as most teams pitched up a home base on the Oatlands countryside and there were food vendor and running equipment vendors, such as Potomac River Running, for athletes and fans ... and of course what looked like a half-mile long line of portable bathrooms.

The only thing to mar the day was a freak injury to Mountain View senior Kristi Lyman who fell at the start of a race and was trampled by other runners, breaking her leg.

Check back for photos from this meet!