CENTRAL REGION BOYS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP: Jason Witt Paces Midlothian to Crown

Midlothian's Jason Witt Cruises to Win in 2006 Central Region Cross Country Meet. Photo: Linda D'Amato.

At the end of Saturday afternoon�??s Central Region Cross Country Championship, the four teams that finished 3rd through 6th were separated by a total of just two points. Of the four, only the teams finishing 3rd and 4th qualified for the Virginia AAA State Meet at Great Meadow next Saturday. Meet officials didn�??t recall such a similarly close result among four teams, deciding State Meet eligibility, in the 41-year history of the regional meet.

Held at Pole Green Park in Hanover County, the regional was raced under good conditions, with the temperature around 50° and a light breeze.

Midlothian junior Jason Witt took individual honors with a time of 15:37 over the 5K course. Witt stuck to his plan of staying relaxed over the first mile, and then giving it his all the rest of the way. By the finish, he had put 20 seconds between himself and the second place finisher, Hermitage senior John Vial (15:57).

The pre-race team favorite (and Dominion District champion) Midlothian captured the regional crown �??going away�?� with an impressive score of 25. Nationally ranked Midlo (#11 in the current Harrier Super 25 poll) placed its top six runners among the first 12 spots, with all six finishing at 16:22 or better.

Midlothian�??s win should solidify its position as a team favored to be invited to the Nike Team Nationals meet in Portland, Oregon on December 2. However, Midlo�??s focus is on something closer to home. As Witt expressed, �??The goal is to win States. Nationals would be just icing on the cake.�?�

Colonial District champion Hermitage (currently ranked #4 in the Nike Team Nationals Southeast Region rankings) was the only Central Region team generally thought capable of having a chance to seriously challenge Midlothian for the regional title. The Panthers ran well this day, but were no match for Midlothian and finished second with 69 points.

The top four teams at the regional qualify for the State Meet. Midlothian and Hermitage qualified by taking 1st and 2nd, but the fight for the 3rd and 4th qualifying spots provided much of the day�??s drama.

At least six schools were legitimate contenders for the final two qualifying slots, including the well-regarded Douglas Freeman squad which had placed 2nd in the Colonial District Meet a week ago. At the regional, Freeman was without the services of freshman Will McPherson, but the Rebels had a solid replacement in Colin Custer. Other teams to watch were Central Region titlist Thomas Dale, Capital District winner Atlee, Manchester, Maggie Walker, and Mills Godwin.

Dominion District runner-up Manchester�??s chances coming into the day seemed perhaps a little long, because its pacesetter, Andrew Duty, has been nursing a variety of leg ailments that have cut significantly into his workouts. Also, Manchester coach Paul Kline indicated that �??some intestinal thing has been going through the team�?� the week before. But, he added that, �??Qualifying for states last year was a surprise, but we came into this season with some expectations.�?�

Following the gun, Freeman�??s hopes were hurt significantly in the first 100 meters of the race when senior Taylor Irvin lost one of his shoes and ran the rest of the way with only one shoe.

When the dust had settled at the end of the race, Manchester had placed 3rd with 141 points, Atlee had taken 4th also with 141 points, Thomas Dale had placed 5th with 142 points, and Freeman had placed 6th with 143 points. Maggie Walker placed 7th with 156 points, only 13 points behind Freeman.

Manchester beat Atlee for 3rd place on the strength of a tie-breaker �?? Manchester�??s #6 man beating Atlee�??s #6 runner, but both Manchester and Atlee qualified for the State Meet. Thomas Dale, Freeman, and Maggie Walker were eliminated.

The outcome came down to multiple head-on-head, individual races. If any one of Dale or Freeman�??s top 5 runners had been able to move up two spots in finishing, he would have sent his team to the State Meet. Manchester�??s #4 and #5 runners beat their Freeman counterparts by one place each. If either of the Freeman runners had passed his Manchester counterpart, Freeman would be in the State Meet and Manchester would be out. Likewise, Atlee�??s #2 runner, Zach Ganey, beat Thomas Dale�??s #2 runner, Nathanael Kistner, by one place. If the order had been reversed, Thomas Dale would be in, and Atlee would be out.

Lancer coaches Kline and Will Byrnes were ecstatic with their team�??s success. Said Coach Kline, �??I knew it was going to be close, but �?� ,�?� and then he just smiled.

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Booth Hornsby, Deep Run sophomore, won the Boys Sub-Varsity race in a time of 17:09, followed by teammate junior Matt Turner (17:20) and Freeman senior Andrew Gilligan (17:23). Deep Run took team honors, followed by Hermitage in second, and Midlothian in third.

In the Boys Freshman race, Cameron Napps from Maggie Walker broke the tape with a time of 17:56, followed by his teammate Walter Goethel at 17:59 and Clover Hill�??s Alden Negaard at 18:19. Maggie Walker took the freshman team title, followed by Hermitage in second, and Manchester in third.

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Top Individual Finishers

Note: The top 15 individual finishers earn All-Region honors.

Team Finishes

Note: The top four teams and the top 15 individual finishers advance to the Virginia AAA State Meet.

Sub-Varsity Race Top Individual Finishers