Loudoun Valley

Loudoun Valley wins NXN with a kick and a smile

Published December 6, 2017 at 2:43PM | Updated December 6, 2017 at 10:58PM

Photo: Steve Klotz, Youth Runner

Cross country runners aren’t imposing figures, and Peter Morris knows that. The Loudoun Valley guys couldn’t walk up to the rest of the Nike Cross Nationals field, stare everybody down and expect a response, but Morris knew if they could just be themselves on Portland, Ore.’s Glendoveer Golf Course, everyone would have a good reason to be scared of them. Like an alligator’s grin, a Viking’s laugh was a sign of danger to come.

“We just showed up and were united and knew if we ran our best, we’d win,” he said. “The way we’ve bonded has been one of the reasons we’ve run well, and we’ve bonded because we have fun together.”

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DCXC

Loudoun Valley sweeps top five for Va.’s first perfect score

By Charlie Ban

Published November 12, 2017 at 7:45AM | Updated November 26, 2017 at 3:52PM

From right: Sam Affolder leads Peter Morris and Jacob Hunter in the second mile of the Virginia 4A championship. Photo: Bruce Buckley

On the eve of the the most dominant team race in Virginia history, Sam Affolder was a little disappointed.

“We had a team meeting, and I was expecting an inspirational speech about how we were going to make history and we’d come out fired up,” he said. “We talked about what we were going to wear the next day. Nothing about trying to sweep or go after the state record. I’d never had a pre-race meeting like that before.”

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DCXC

Loudoun Valley shows off for D.C. area at Oatlands

By Charlie Ban

Published September 16, 2017 at 9:09PM | Updated March 30, 2018 at 3:30PM

Sam Affolder (middle) stalks Philip Lambert (left) and Peyton Barish 2k into the Oatlands Invitational. Photo: Charlie Ban

The Oatlands Invitational in Leesburg served as a showcase for the nearby Loudoun Valley, but not just the school’s nationally-top-ranked boys’ varsity team. Junior Sam Affolder‘s 15:43 win for 5k led the way for five team titles and three runner-up finishes for various Viking teams.

Affolder, seniors Peter Morris (third, 16:01) and Colton Bogucki (ninth, 16:19), and juniors Jacob Hunter (13th, 16:29) and Jacob Windle (20th, 16:52) scored 46 team points and had all finished before second place Cary, N.C.,’s Green Hope had two runners in. The Falcons, who also came up for the 2014 DCXC Invitational, scored 117 points and Delaware’s Salesianum School was third with 194 points.

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DCXC

Loudoun Valley: Putting the ‘country’ in ‘cross country’

By Charlie Ban

Published September 5, 2017 at 12:38PM | Updated December 1, 2017 at 2:46PM

As last season came to a close in North Carolina, Loudoun Valley’s disappointment felt cushioned by potential.

Though the Vikings failed to make Nike Cross Nationals, they were on the cusp. They made up ground on a team that had beaten them soundly seven weeks earlier and one junior, Peter Morris, had qualified for the finals with another, Colton Bogucki, one spot away. Jacob Hunter, just a sophomore, was 20th.

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