Jefferson Boys Win Three-Peat at Interstate Classic

Preston’s Kaitlyn Workman seizes Girl’s Title; Musselman Girls Team Third

Jefferson Boys celebrate three-peat at Interstate - Rollie Jacobs Photo

West Virginia was well represented at the Interstate Classic in Clear Spring, MD on Saturday competing against a strong field of 19 teams from West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland including the Washington DC and Baltimore suburbs.  The hot and humid conditions kept local medical personnel busy throughout the day but that didn’t stop the Jefferson High School boys’ team from seizing the Large School Boys division title for the third consecutive year.  In the Girls’ race, Preston’s Kaitlyn Workman raced away from the field to claim the Large School Girls individual crown while the Hampshire girls posted an impressive third place team finish.

 

Ryan Graf of Jefferson chases champion Weston Carvalho - Rollie Jacobs Photo

Jefferson was led by senior Ryan Graf who overcame early shoe problems to race from the back of the pack of nearly 170 runners to finish second in 16:07.9 to champion Weston Carvalho (15:58.9) of Winters Mill High School of Westminster, MD.  Graf was backed up by strong performances by teammates Andrew Milliron (6th; 16:40.2), Jackson Jacobs (17th: 17:17.2); Zac Wiberg (24th; 17:26.2) and Rhett Zillinger (28th; 17:28.9).  Other significant West Virginia finishes included Preston’s Brody Born (5th; 16:24.2) and Musselman’s Shane Rigsby (13th; 17:10.3).  In addition to Carvalho, Graf and Born, Ben Freed (3rd; 16:14.7) of Gov., Thomas Johnson High School of Frederick, MD and Brady Guertin (4th; 16:20.0) of Stone Bridge High School of Ashburn, VA rounded out the top five.  In the race for the team title, Jefferson (77 points) was followed by highly regarded Gov. Thomas Johnson (92 points) and Centennial High School of Ellicot City, MD (94 points).  Other West Virginia teams included Musselman with a strong 8th place finish, Hampshire (11th), Washington (16th) and Martinsburg (19th).

 

Preston's Kaitlyn Workman led the way - Rollie Jacobs Photo

In the Girl’s Large School race, Preston’s Kaitlyn Workman seized an early lead and never let up to score a thirteen second victory in 19:12.8 over River Hill’s Allison Krein (19:25.6).  Rounding out the top five finishers were Winters Mill’s Jennifer Breichner (19:29.9), Glenelg’s Julia Nardone (19:39.9) and Jefferson freshman Abby Colbert (19:50.6).  Hampshire’s Ashleigh Martin (8th; 20:07.9), Rachel Lipps (13th; 20:23.4), Morgan Roach (15th; 20:41.9) and Mary Feaster (20th; 21:11.7) placed in the top 20 overall to lead Hampshire (128 points) to a well-earned third place finish behind first place River Hill (Clarksville, MD; 86 points) and Centennial (113 points).  Other top 25 individual performances by West Virginia girls included Musselman’s Heather Jenkins (17th; 20:50.1) and Jefferson’s Anya Wallace (21st; 21:13.6).  In addition to Musselman, other West Virginia team finishes included Musselman (6th), Jefferson (8th), Preston (11th), Washington (16th) and Martinsburg (17th).

WV Runners - Jefferson's Abby Colbert and Hampshire's Rachel L:ipps (418) and Ashleigh Martin (419) - Rollie Jacobs Photo

In the Small Schools’ Girls division race, Berkeley Springs finished 5th in a 13 team field.  They were led by Sara Younker (14th; 22:35.7), Kinsey Reed (18th; 22:48.9) and Victoria Krone (25th; 23:24.8).  In the Boys’ race, Berkeley Springs finished eighth led by Cory Shelter (8th; 17:35.1) and Zac Simmons (21st; 18:15.9).  Shorthanded Paw Paw fielded an incomplete team in the race.  Freshman Tim Abrell led the way for Paw Paw finishing in 22:31.4.