Vikings Claim Regional Crowns

When the boys and girls cross country teams set their goals for the Region 4C Cross Country Championship, their motivations couldn't have been more different. The boys team aimed for redemption after having suffered a loss to Tuscarora in the Dulles District Championships just 6 days earlier, while he girls team sough to repeat their dominant victory from that same championship. Although their journeys had been different, they arrived at Oatlands Plantation, the site of their regional meet, with the exact same goal- to claim a regional title.

The boys team, who entered the meet as approximately 20 point underdogs to the county rivals or Tuscarora, were first to race. Within the first quarter mile of the course, the boys left no doubt that they prepared to redeem themselves. Led by senior Ty Blair, the team flew through the slight downhill of the opening stretch and into the "Half Mile Hill" that passes the first mile mark. Blair was the first Viking to pass the mile mark in second place, behind leader Tarek Benlamkaddem of Broad Run, in a time of 4:48. Although a fast opening split, the leading duo hardly opened any distance on the chase pack, with the next 11 runners within 3 seconds of the lead.

In the chase pack, sophomore Max Panica also split 4:48, with seniors Rylan Wells and Bradley Bernard slightly back in 4:50 and 4:51. Julian Israel and Jordan Cates flew through in 5:05 and 5:07, respectively, as they pushed to compete with Tuscarora who sent 6 boys through the mile in under 5 minutes.

A first mile at Oatlands never paints the future of the race, however, and in the hills of the middle mile the Vikings began to move their way through the pack.

By the time the Vikings emerged at the top of "The Wall," the steepest of the Oatlands climbs, Wells had climbed to 11th place with Bernard close behind in about 15th and Cates pushing for a top-20 placing.

Blair continued to push up front, ultimately finishing in 2nd place with a time of 16:01, his fastest Oatlands performance by 27 seconds. Panica placed 6th in 16:45, scoring only 5 points for the team total. Wells maintained his position, finishing in 10th place, just a few seconds behind Tuscarora's second runner. Through 3 runners, the Vikings were clearly accomplishing their goal. But with any championship meet, crucial points can pass in an instant as runners begin to pour into the finish line.

Any fears were alleviated when Bradley Bernard launched into his finishing kick, finishing in 17:13 for 13th place and 6 seconds ahead of his main competition.

With 4 through the chute, the team title would come down to the team's 5th man. Both vying for the final scoring spot, Jordan Cates and Julian Israel ran incredible final half-miles to finish in 17:30 and 17:37 for 19th and 24th places, respectively, surrounding the 5th finisher of Tuscarora. Baylor Bartlett rounded out the squad in 28th place with his time of 17:58.

As team reconvened in the finish area, they began to see the magnitude of their performances. Redeeming themselves from a 9-point loss just 6 days prior, the Vikings flipped the switch and upset the region with a 18-point victory, scoring just 42 points. Tuscarora finished an impressive 2nd place with 60 points, while Broad Run claimed the final state berth with their third place finish with 83 points.

Most impressively, the Vikings score 7 less points in the a more competitive 6-team regional meet than they did in their 5-team Dulles District Championship.

Girls story coming soon!