Combined Great American Girls Results

 

Thanks to Steve Lee, webmaster for Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, for his photos used in this article.

 

Girls Race of Champions

 

Leading the early charge was freshman Julie Wollrath (Holy Trinity FL).  Perhaps inspired by teammate Daniel Moore's surprise victory a few moments before the start of her race, Wollrath ran aggressively and seemed unfazed by the talent around her.  Chasing her was nationally renowned Haley Pierce (Tatnall DE) who, in her first race of the fall season, looked very comfortable with the initial pace.  Those two ran ahead of the main pack, which contained Vanessa Valentine (Melbourne FL), Katie Fortner (Cave Spring, VA), and Megan Moye (Cosby VA), among others.  Pierce took the lead near the halfway point and steadily took control of the race, gradually pulling away from Wollrath over the last mile.  Moye and Fortner made a charge in the last 1000m, with Fortner finishing strong up the last hill to end up a close second to Pierce.  Moye finished third and Valentine fourth, while Wollrath's agressiveness took its toll as she faded to fifth (but you have to think it will pay off for her in what promises to be a bright future).

 

 

 

 

Just behind all the individual action, a wicked team battle was raging.  Perennial power Saratoga Springs (NY) had the 6th-place runner, while Tatnall's second was seventh, giving them the early advantage.  Green Hope (NC) had two runners in eigth and ninth, followed soon after by two more Saratoga girls and Tatnall's third.  In the end Saratoga's depth took the day for a narrow 64-72 over Tatnall.  Green Hope, missing one key runner and having another lose her shoe, could not hang on and wound up fourth, with Assumption (KY) sneaking into the third spot.

 

 

 

 

 

Girls Seeded Invitational

 

This was the only race of the day that was a complete runaway, as Carolyn Bethel (Hidden Valley VA) took charge early and steadily increased her lead.  Behind her, Allie Klimkiewicz (Oakton VA) had a good race against Victoria Coppage (First Presbyterian Day GA), and they finished 2-3.  Similarly, Allison Huschke (Albemarle VA) and Hailey Dougherty (Oakton VA) battled to the line to finish fourth and fifth.  Oakton also had Briana Stewart in eighth place to secure the team win over Hidden Valley, while Albemarle made it an all-Virginia top three in the team scores.

 

 

Girls Invitational Red

 

Saratoga's girls displayed their characteristic depth in this race, as their B team immediately took command of the race.  Led by Spencer Hayes and Olivia Morrow, Saratoga had five in the top 10 after 1 mile.  Local runner Brianne Boldrin (Athens Drive, NC) held onto second place early, with Tiffany Lang (Oakland Mills MD) and Taylor Kozam (Good Counsel MD) hard on her heels.

 

 

 

With 400 to go, Hayes and Morrow still held the lead, but a small chase pack had formed within striking distance.  The final hill is the equalizer on this course, though, and nobody could bridge the gap to the Saratoga teammates, who finished where they started, 1-2.  The only late shake-up came from Theresa Enright (Green Hope NC), who kicked past Lang in the final stretch to get fourth behind Kozam.  While Boldrin faded to 10th, she was overtaken by the Saratoga pack, who secured the first win of the day for their school.  Green Hope's B team finished second, with the second seven from Assumption (KY) in third.

 

 

 

 

 

Girls Invitational White

 

After the initial surge of the downhill start, there was no clear team in the front of the race.  After the mile mark, however, Wake Forest-Rolesville (NC) appeared to have an advantage with two runners in the top 5: Tara Komlo in the lead, and Grace Yoakum trailing a few places behind.  Pushing Komlo were Lucy Srour (Churchill MD) and Abby Davis (Leesville Road NC), while Caitlin Bolton and Courtney Gibson of Stone Bridge (WV) lurked a bit behind.  Sam Kiblinger (Wheeler GA) was also right in the hunt for a top 5 spot at this early stage.

 

 

 

After one trip up the hill and around the big loop, Srour was in the lead with Komlo trailing close enough to threaten.  Davis was solidly entrenched in third, followed by Yoakum, with Bolton, Gibson, and Kiblinger together a bit further behind.  Bolton made a strong move up the hill to gain fourth place, while Kiblinger got past Gibson in the same fashion.  In the end, Srour led Churchill to the team win, with Stone Bridge second ahead of the Brookwood (GA) B team.  Local Wake County teams Leesville Road and Wake Forest-Rolesville rounded out the top 5 teams.