Clarke boys dominate, Rams' Ayers wins at regional meet

By Greg Brill -- sports@nvdaily.com

EARLYSVILLE -- There's something to be said about perfection.

It's been going so well for the Clarke County boys cross country team that no one has been able to break up the Eagles' five low-cards. During the course of two postseason races -- first, last week at the Bull Run meet, with Manassas Park's Nathan Thatcher, and Wednesday, at the Region B meet, with Strasburg's Dylan Morey -- individuals from other teams have run with the pack for the better part of the race.

But coming down the final straightaway at Panorama Farms, it becomes a sea of orange. Clarke County posted 15 points for the second straight week and won its sixth straight Region B title.

"Well, we put a big exclamation mark on that one," Eagles coach Nancy Specht said. "You know, there's that mania of seeing your teammates, that same [jersey] color, ahead that just pulls you. And that's why it's so much easier to advance to a state meet or to a big meet, with a team, as opposed to [advancing] as an individual.

"You're racing and you see that team color and you don't want to let it down."

Adam Owens stayed unbeaten in the postseason, as the senior was an easy winner again (16:33) for his first region title. In followed Paul Myer (16:53), Harley Biddle-Snead (17:09), Ilia Donner (17:09) and Colin Brown (17:14). So good are the Eagles that Steven Trayer (sixth, 17:20) and Zach Campbell (15th, 17:47) didn't even have their cards count toward the scoring, though both received all-region honors by placing in the top 15.

That's now seven-for-seven in two postseason meets for getting their name called to come up for a medal.

"I didn't know if our team could step it up and match what we did at districts -- but top six, it's excellent," Owens said. "I think everybody just had a great race."

On the girls side, Katlyn Ayers again showed she is the class of the region, defending her title with ease. The Strasburg sophomore took the lead a half-mile in and her winning time (18:50) was a personal best at Panorama Farms.

Said Ayers: "I just started out fast and kept increasing [the lead]."

Inspired by their teammate, the Rams placed second behind meet winner George Mason, totaling 79 points to easily gain one of the region's four spots for next week's Group A state meet.

"It wasn't an easy second -- it's a tough region," Strasburg coach Jeff Rudy said. "Watching the race unfold, there's some great teams out there. But the girls, they ran really, really well."

The Rams had three freshmen place in their top five, and two made all-region. Kirsten Campbell (21:23) ran 13th and Rachel Taylor (21:34) placed 15th. Taylor took 38 seconds off her gap with Campbell from the Bull Run meet, when Campbell placed seventh and Taylor 11th. Paige Shaw (22:18), the only senior to score, again provided the fourth card and placed 21st, and freshman Sarah Elbon (23:03) returned to the lineup and finished 35th.

When the teams huddled near the podium for the post-race results, the Eagles were not quite sure if they would join their Bull Run rivals. But once Altavista was announced with 107 points, for fifth, Clarke County could breathe easier, knowing its 105, for fourth, was good enough to compete for another week.

The team's only senior, Maddie McKelway (20:16), led the way in fifth, and Ally Kuehm (20:35) was right behind in sixth. But just as important were the races run by Becca York, Courtney Butterfass and Kelly Lee (who missed last week's district meet with the flu). Butterfass improved her time by 1:46 from the Bull Run meet, and York was faster by 1:35.

"Our pack must have been ahead of Altavista's," Specht said. "They all stepped up about a minute and a half in time, and that's what it took. They can do better next week at states, but hey, we're in the show. And that's what matters."

The Rams can vouch for how close things can get. On the boys side, third through fifth was separated by 5 points. Unfortunately for Strasburg, its 119 points placed the Rams right behind George Mason's 118 for fourth. Central took third with 114.

"I'm proud of the boys," Rudy said. "We just came up short."

Both Morey (17:26) and Patrick Kohlhaas (17:32) ran outstanding races for the Rams, placing seventh and ninth, respectively. Morey, who said he usually runs poor races at Panorama Farms, gave Clarke County's pack all it could handle well into the race. Morey ran third after the first mile and still was going strong after the second mile. A late surge by several Eagles kept him out of the top five, but Morey was happy with advancing on to the state meet for the first time.

"Today, I was up with Adam Owens, so I got to the two-mile and the first thing that came to mind [was] 'I'm dying here,'" Morey said. "But I pushed up the [second-mile] hill, amazingly, because I'm bad at hills. I got tired, but I went faster. It surprised me."

Central is just happy to be back in Group A after struggling for years against the always-tough Northwestern District. Sophomore Brandon Poff (14th, 17:45) made all-region and Javier Carreno (21st), Cole Baker (22nd), Alex Nilsen (27th) and Marshall Brill (35th) also ran well for the Falcons.

"We're very excited to have a chance to go to states next week," Central coach Melissa Wright said. "After the race, we felt like we had a chance for third or fourth [place]."

Altavista captured second on the boys side, with 108 points.

George Mason placed five runners in the top 12 and scored 39 points to win the girls, 2 points lower than it scored to win the Bull Run. Page County's 101 points were good enough for third. Central's girls were seventh and Stonewall Jackson's eighth.

The Group A races will be run to lead off next Saturday's six-race slate, which also includes the Group AA and Group AAA championships, at Great Meadows, in The Plains.

Clarke County's boys will be shooting for a fifth title in six years. The meet record for boys in Group A is 17 points, scored by Rappahannock County in the early 1970s.

"We're definitely anticipating winning states and, hopefully, get 15 [points] again," said Owens, who was ninth in the 2008 meet.

"It might be a stretch, but I have little doubt with my team's [chances of scoring 15] after today's performance."