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from MileStat, the web
site for Virginia high school track
Kippy Keino and St. Mary's Dominate
and Episcopal Surprises Again!
by Milestat.Com Staff Writer Tristan Wilson
The Independent Boys Varsity Individual race was billed as a duel
between Fork Union Military Academy's Kippy Keino and Roanoke Catholic's
defending Champion Brian Doherty. It was all that and more. Despite
the hot climate and windy conditions, the two hundred and forty
Varsity competitors ran a very exciting race on Woodberry Forest
School's tough 3.1 mile course. Kippy Keino took control of the
race from the start, passing through the first mile in 4:56. Doherty
and Walshington Academy's sophomore sensation Tony Brickhouse followed
closely behind in 5:00 and 5:05, respectively. After 1.5 miles,
Keino began to build his lead and flew through the two mile marker
at 10:15 to take full command of the race. Even with Doherty sixteen
seconds behind, Keino's long stride seemed to speed up even more.
With Brickhouse fading, Potomac junior James Hawthorne took advantage
of the opportunity by slipping into third place. Working the last
hill and then gliding through the last downhill, the Kenyan Fork
Union star Keino finished easily in 16:27, which was impressive
considering the course conditions. Brian Doherty finished twenty
seconds behind in 16:47, with James Hawthorne of Potomac taking
third place with a 17:14. "I felt pretty comfortable today,"
said the humble and well spoken Keino on beating the defending State
Champion. He plans to finish the rest of his season for his team,
compete at Foot Locker Regionals, and might attend the Milestat.com
Invitational.
The team varsity race was much closer than the individual race on
the Boys Varsity side. Led by their captain and frontrunner Luke
Clay, Episcopal High School of Alexandria captured their first state
championship in over a decade. Despite co-captain Matt Rhodes valiantly
going out a blistering pace and just barely crossing the finish
line much slower than his PR, Episcopal found a way to pull out
a win. An incredible performance by Episcopal's regular number 4
runner, Jon Paretti, was a huge factor in their state title. With
143 total points and their top five in the top forty-five finishers,
EHS captain Luke Clay was very excited. "We all did awesome,
especially Manly Norris and Job Paretti. I was really pleased that
we reached our potential," said the EHS star. Trinity Episcopal
and defending State Champions Woodberry Forest were second and third
with 162 and 166 points, respectively. After being crowned the Alexandria
City Champions, winning the first small school division at the Georgetown
Prep Classic, and taking Woodberry Forest in their annual dual meet,
the new crowned state champions look to win the tough IAC conference
meet next weekend.
St. Mary's of Richmond won the Girls Varsity race in a landslide.
With a score of 21, St. Mary's had six runners in top 10! Harrison
and Doswell both crossed the line in 20:07 as they easily cruised
to victory with an exceptional performance.
Episcopal High School got another win from Jessica Williams in
the JV girls race, but that was not enough to stop St. Catherine's
strong JV runners, who captured the team title with an impressive
team score of 31. Molocko of Peninsula Catholic won the boys JV
race and Woodberry Forest took the team title on their home course.
On another note, the meet directors made it clear that the Boys
Varsity field would have to be downsized next year. This may lead
to a team qualifying system.
DyeStat Virginia
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