Combined Great American Boys Results
Thanks to Steve Lee, webmaster for Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, for his photos used in this article.
Boys Race of Champions
Jacob Burcham (Cabell Midland WV), the pre-race favorite, did not disappoint as he led the lead pack through the lightning-fast first half-mile in 2:08. He was joined by Jacob Thomson (Holy Cross KY), Sam Roberson (Broughton NC), Andres Arroyo (Colonial FL), James Brown (Bell County (KY), and Daniel Moore (Holy Trinity FL) in a pack that stayed together until the midpoint of the race.
At that point Burcham and Thomson began to pull away a bit, with Arroyo and Moore trying to stay connected. With 1000m to go, Moore made a big surge to take the lead, with Burcham and Thomson following. As they emerged from the woods with about 400 to go, Burcham once again took over the lead. He could not hold it all the way up the hill, though, and Moore capped his inspired day by pulling away on the final stretch for a 3-second. Moore's time was a new course record of 14:57, almost 40 seconds faster than his previous PR. Burcham more than lived up to his hype, despite finishing second, as he tied the old course record with his 15:00, and Thomson closed out in 15:02 for #4 all-time on this course.
In the team competition, Cardinal O'Hara (PA) took the coveted title, led by an eighth-place finish from Dan Savage. The Great Oak (CA) boys justified their long trip across the country, and their #16 national ranking, with a strong second-place finish. Brookwood (GA) edged Bishop Hendricken (RI) for third place.
Boys Seeded Invitational
This race was closely-packed throughout, with as many as six guys in the front group until the base of the final hill. That's where Joe Kirtner (Winfield WV) and Jack Riely (Good Counsel MD) pulled away, battling up the hill until Kirtner finally sealed the deal in the last 100m. The next three runners came in hard on each other's heels: Marquis Worsley (Norview VA), Gray Lindley (First Presbyterian Day GA), and William Roberson (Broughton NC). In the team results, Good Counsel put three guys in the top 10 to take the win over Danbury (CT), with Oakton (VA) in third. Broughton (NC) finished sixth, but their top runner (Will's brother Sam) ran in the Race of Champions; they would have been right in the mix for top 3 with him in the race.
Boys Invitational Red
Dan Crowley (Ludlow MA) went straight to the front of this race, leading at the bottom of the hill and already opening a small gap after 1 mile.
Crowley held onto his win with a powerful finish up the big hill, perhaps aided by the coolest temperatures of the day. He seemed to have plenty of energy after the race, too, as he celebrated a successful trip to North Carolina with his teammates (check out their interview). Aside from Crowley, though, this race belonged to the boys from Saratoga Springs, who put three in the top 10 on the way to a 48-point win. Jay Nevin and Spencer Patterson led the way for Saratoga, and Dan's brother Brian Crowley finished fourth, just ahead of Matt Stitzlein (Sherwood MD).
Boys Invitational White
It took a while for the lead group to sort itself out in this race, but after 1 mile it was Cody Wellons (Manchester VA) battling Jeremy Miekley (Miller Place NY) for the lead, with Austin Lushinski of Stone Bridge (WV) tucked in behind them.
Wellons proved to be too strong over the middle section of the course, and when he emerged from the woods the second time he was in command. Brady Guertin (Stone Bridge) led the charge for his team, finishing second to go with Lushinski's fifth and two more in the top 10. Adel Yoonis (Wheeler GA) was third after a HUGE kick, and Ian Murphy (Maryville TN) fourth. Needless to say, Stone Bridge won the race convincingly; the battle for second, however, was tight until the end, with Wheeler narrowly edging Oakton (VA), Manchester, and Briar Woods (VA), all of them within 10 points of each other. Briar Woods is noteworthy for possessing the most, um, interesting uniform combination of the meet, as well.
