By Dustin Renwick
Around the region, high school athletes log sweaty summer miles in preparation for the 2013 cross country season.
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DCXC
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It was a perfect Saturday to skip a workout: temps in the teens, icy wind blasting across the track. To add to that, for Meghan Lockett – a 15-year-old runner who does not compete for a high school and is not allowed to join a club – the day’s scheduled 1K and 2K reps were hardly compulsory.
Yet, there she was, on the track at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, happy to hop in a workout with a group of post- collegiate women who run for Georgetown Running Club – and in general, just happy to be running.
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Northern Virginia is littered with high schools, and most are gigantic. George Mason High School is not. With fewer than 650 students in four grades, it is dwarfed by nearby George Marshall, McLean, Falls Church and Yorktown high schools.
But like a sapling under a forest canopy, the Mustang cross country teams have thrived, stretching their roots far away to find the competition that matches their size. Even if that means racking up miles on the bus.
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It’s been a banner year for northern Virginia cross country, but it’s not over yet.
[button-red url=”http://runhigh.com/2012RESULTS/R111012AA.html” target=”_self” position=”left”] Virginia State Meet Results [/button-red]Four local runners are headed to the Footlocker Cross Country Championships this Saturday in San Diego to take on the nation’s best high school runners. It’s the largest contingent the area has sent to the race since 1996 and two of the runners have legitimate national title hopes.
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Runners at the Georgetown Day School have long been passionate about the sport, but their results in races did not always reflect their dedication and effort.
Until now.
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Cindy Walls trusts that her Bishop O’Connell teams will come together in the end of the season, and cap off the cross country season in style.