The word Brian Shrader kept saying over and over – to reporters, to friends, to race organizers, and to new fans seeking his autograph – was “shock.”
For example: “I’m still in shock,” he said, after winning the .US National 12k championship in Alexandria this morning. “I don’t even know what to think.”
Oakton’s girls kept everyone guessing all season, including coach Alisa Byers. Into late October, she didn’t know where her defending 6A champion team stood.
“We never really got to race together,” she said. “People had college visits, people on holidays, so we didn’t have everyone racing until the conference meet.”
But for some more fortuitous scheduling, Lake Braddock’s boys may have had “throwback Thursday” on their hands. A throwback to something none of the Bruins were alive to remember.
So they settled for a #sometimeagoSaturday. But that’s all the settling they did.
For the second year, the .US National 12K championships will be held in Alexandria, capping off the 2014 USA Running Circuit (USARC).
How it works: The USARC each year hosts national championships at distances ranging from one mile to the marathon. The first 10 U.S. runners at each race earn points, and also qualify for the 12K, which features $100,000 in prize money. Points are doubled at both the 12K and in the marathon.
While runners completed the 2014 Veterans Day 10k with varying finishing times, many gave the same response post-race when they described the scenic, 6.2-mile course: fast.
[button-red url=”http://www.zippyraceresults.com/search.php?ID=4486″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]Pacers/New Balance runner Chris Kwiatkowski of Arlington bested all runners with a 30:11 finish, while 25-year-old Kerri Gallagher finished first among female runners, and 21st overall, with a 33:50 finish.
Evan Woods decisively won the boys 4A Maryland cross country state championships Saturday, snapping rival Diego Zarate‘s winning streak for the season.
Woods, a senior at Walt Whitman, finished in 15:49. Eric Walz, a junior at Dulaney, took second in 15:56 with Zarate coming in third less than a second behind.
For Georgetown Day School’s Tristan Colaizzi, it wasn’t quite the day he envisioned when he toed the line for the Maryland-DC Private Schools Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood.
Battling a chronic lung infection for the past few months, Colazzi knew early that he wasn’t going to be the one to challenge Good Counsel junior Jack Wavering for the top spot on this decisive race day. That’s when he tapped teammate senior Aidan Pillard less than a mile into the race and told him he’d have to be the man.
In spite of a tough season, Northwood’s girls have a lot to celebrate. Even with two top runners missing time because of injuries, one the entire season, they’re on their way to the state championship for the first time in almost 30 years.
Lest that sound like a long futility streak, know that from 1987 to 2004, the school itself was closed and the building used as a haven for other school’s students during renovations. Prior to that, the team scored state championships in 1975, 1977 and 1978.
Racing down the final downhill straightaway in first place, with a strong finishing kick, Tyreece Huff was the picture of confidence. Even on a hilly course at Fort Dupont Park, with “brutal hills on the backstretch,” Huff was not fazed. “This course is like a backyard to me. I train here,” he said. “And I love hills.”
He proved his point, running a 17:42 on the rolling 5k course at the third annual D.C. State High School Cross Championships, winning with a wide lead over second place Jake Gosselin of Sidwell Friends School in 18:01.
On his way down the hill with about 400 meters to go at the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Lake Fairfax Park, Good Counsel’s Kevin McGivern took a headfirst spill on the mud, spooking Gonzaga’s Jacob Floam, who managed to stay on his feet despite jumping to avoid McGivern.
McGivern recovered and eventually passed Floam on the way to a three-second margin in claiming second place. It was emblematic of the Falcons’ team that day: just too strong.