The Oakton High boys’ cross country team finished first overall at the seven-team Concorde District championships, which were held Oct. 22 at Burke Lake Park.
The Cougars won with 45 points, besting second place Robinson (50), third place Centreville (84) and fourth place Herndon (110). Each of the top four team finishers automatically qualified for the Oct. 30 Northern Region championships at Burke Lake.
Four Oakton runners earned top 15 medals. Leading the way for the Cougars was Neal Hendricks (3rd overall, 15 minutes, 34 seconds). Also for Oakton, Andrew McCullen (4th, 15:36), Patrick Fulghum (7th, 15:39) and Dante Morales (14th, 16:01) earned medals.
Herndon’s Todd Van Luling finished sixth overall with a time of 15:38.
The individual champion was Robinson High’s Jared Berman (15:22).
<b>ON THE GIRLS’</b> side, Herndon (52 points) and Oakton (55) finished second and third, respectively, in the team standings, behind first place Robinson (40). Finishing fourth to earn a seeding in the region championships was Westfield (123).
Herndon had four girls finish in the top 15, with Hirun Wijayaratne (3rd overall, 18:28) leading the team. The other top 15 Hornet finishers were Carolyn Hennessey (5th, 18:39), Carly Kulik (8th, 18:45) and Jessica Wilds (15th, 19:14).
Oakton’s Becca Kassabian led the Cougars with a second place overall finish at 18:27, behind first place finisher Stephanie Bray (18:22) of Robinson.
Also for Oakton, Lanie Smith (4th, 18:31) and Kathryn Berlin (13th, 19:06) both placed.
<b>THE SOUTH LAKES</b> High boys’ cross country team finished a strong third place at the eight-team Liberty District championships, which were held Oct. 22 at Burke Lake Park.
By finishing among the top four team finishers at districts, the Seahawks earned a spot at the upcoming Northern Region championships, set to be held this Thursday (Oct. 30) at Burke Lake Park.
South Lakes, at districts, finished third with 98 points, behind champion Thomas Jefferson (19 points) and second place W.T. Woodson (52). Finishing behind South Lakes was fourth place Stone Bridge (137).
Finishing fifth through eighth at districts were Langley (144), McLean (151), Madison (161) and Marshall (188), respectively.
South Lakes sophomore runner Will Sickenberger earned a top 15 medal as a result of his 15th place overall finish. Sickenberger timed at 16 minutes, 38 seconds on the 2.98 mile course.
The boys’ races overall winner was Jefferson senior Alex Witko (15:58). Jefferson runners garnered seven of the top 10 places.
Other medal winners included Madison sophomore Matt Sollinger (7th place, 16:17), McLean senior Joe Thompson (11th, 16:28) and Langley junior Tommy Bylund (13th, 16:35).
<b>ON THE GIRLS’</b> side, Jefferson was also the top team finisher with 25 points. The other three teams to qualify for regionals were second place Woodson (64), third place Langley (89) and fourth place Stone Bridge (98). Finishing fifth through eighth in the team standings were Madison, McLean, South Lakes and Marshall, respectively.
The individual champion on the girls’ side was Jefferson sophomore Stephanie Marzen (18:01). Stephanie Paradis, a Stone Bridge High senior, was second with the same time of 18:01. Other medal winners included Langley senior Lauren Shaw (7th, 18:45), Langley senior Amanda Steffy (9th, 19:00), Langley senior Carolyn Shaw (12th, 19:15) and Madison’s Brigid Byrne (13th, 19:18).
McLean’s Sam Audet led the McLean girls with a 17th overall finish.