The Oakton girls’ cross country team won the Conference 5 championship on Oct. 30. Photo by Ed Lull
A scheduling mishap led to members of the Oakton girls’ cross country team having additional time away from competition.
The Cougars did not appear rusty on Oct. 30.
The defending state champion Oakton girls’ cross country team repeated as Conference 5 champions, winning the conference meet with a score of 30 at Burke Lake Park.
Each of the Cougars’ five point-scoring harriers placed in the top 10, and Oakton’s seven best each placed in the top 15. Robinson finished runner up with a total of 49, followed by Westfield (83) and Chantilly (116).
“We have some kinks to get out because we haven’t raced in a while, but overall they were good performances, for sure,” Oakton head coach Alisa Byers said. “They all ran beyond what I thought they were ready to run, so that’s always a good sign.”
Byers had planned on the Cougars competing at the Glory Days Invitational on Oct. 11, but thought the meet was full, so she cancelled the trip to Bull Run Regional Park. It turns out Oakton was already signed up, Byers said, and the error led to additional time away from competition.
It didn’t matter on Oct. 30, as Oakton jammed seven runners into the top 15.
Allie Klimkiewicz led the way with a third-place finish, recording a time of 17:46. Casey Kendall placed fourth (17:48), Leya Salis finished fifth (17:54), Kira Buttrey was eighth (18:24), Jill Bracaglia finished 10th (18:28), Kara Kendall took 13th (19:03) and Thi Nguyen placed 14th (19:04).
Robinson’s Lauren Berman won the individual competition with a time of 17:39.
“We want to make it back to states, obviously, and do the best we can,” said Byers when asked about the team’s goals. “Training-wise, we’re a little bit behind where we were last year.”
The Oakton boys' team finished runner-up, earning a regional berth. Chantilly won the event with a score of 47, followed by Oakton (52), Robinson (62) and Centreville (86).
Simon Iyob led the way for Oakton, placing third with a time of 15:24. Chris Holland placed eighth (15:42), Isaac Mills finished ninth (15:43), AJ Woodhouse finished 14th (15:59) and Phillip Hrinko was 18th (16:13).