The Madison High girls’ cross country team might be younger overall this season, but there is plenty of optimism in regards to the season ahead.
The Warhawks, both the girls’ and boys’ teams, opened up the new season last Saturday morning at the annual Monroe Parker Invitational. The showcase event, which took place in pleasant, cool conditions, consisted of most of the team’s from the Northern Region. There were early morning freshmen races, followed by the JV races. Then, just before noon, the varsity races took place – first the girls’ competition, and then the boys’ run.
A large crowd of spectators were on hand for the festive, high school event, which took place on the beautiful 2.98-mile course at Burke Lake.
The Madison varsity girls did not have any top 15 place finishers, nor did the Warhawks finish among the top five teams. But the young squad, coached by Craig Chasse, had a solid showing nevertheless.
Madison’s top two girls’ runners were senior Alyssa Tutterow and junior Christina Leas, who were 56th and 57th overall, respectively, in a field of 181 runners.
Tutterow, Katy Reines and Elizabeth Goff are tri-captains for the Madison girls this season.
“This year we’re trying to re-focus,” said Reines, a senior and fourth year member of the program. “We’ve got some new people on the team. In this race today, we did a lot better than we have in the past.”
The girls’ varsity team champion was Lake Braddock with 77 points. Finishing second was West Potomac (95), followed by third place West Springfield (108), fourth place Jefferson (126) and fifth place Robinson (154). The top three teams received team trophies during early afternoon awards presentations.
Liana Epstein, a senior from Lake Braddock, was the individual champion. The top 15 runners earned medals.
Marshall High’s top finisher was Courtney Herbolsheimer (45th overall).
In the freshmen girls’ race, Madison’s Anna Stone finished third overall in a field of 114 runners.
THE MADISON BOYS’ varsity was led by senior Tom Inglis, who finished a strong 21st overall in a field of 233 runners. Also for Madison, junior Matt Sollinger finished 36th overall. Marshall’s top runner was Logan Hirka.
The Madison boys finished ninth out of 26 teams. The overall team champion was West Potomac (122), followed by second place Jefferson (147), third place Lake Braddock (161), fourth place Centreville (162) and fifth place South Lakes (169). The individual boys’ champion was Chantilly senior Christopher Foley.