Girls cross country capsules

BRC

LCA Bulldogs

COACH: Tracy Wu (First season)

KEY RETURNEES: Lindsay Papet Sr.; Sarah Quigg So.; Abby Quigg eighth grader; Courtney Powell Fr.

TOP NEWCOMER: Katie Wilson eighth grader

OUTLOOK: Liberty Christian Academy should be in contention for the Blue Ridge Conference title this season, led by Papet, who missed half of last season with a stress fracture which she re-injured toward the end of indoor track season. She is a senior captain this year, backed up by a strong core of underclassmen. “Lindsay’s kind of out there, but the next four girls (the Quigg sisters, Powell and Wilson) are at about the same fitness level,” Wu said, noting Roanoke Catholic is the defending champion. “They have a shot of beating (RC) if they continue to work hard and improve. It’s going to be close.” Abby Quigg and Katie Wilson are eligible to compete at the BRC and VIC meets, even though they’re eighth graders.

VES Bishops

COACH: Jennifer Anderson (Third season)

LAST SEASON: Placed third in the BRC meet, 10th in VIS Division II.

KEY RETURNEES: Shannon Huger Sr.; Charlotte Kane Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Chelsea Graves Jr.

OUTLOOK: Virginia Episcopal School lost Hannah Snead, who placed fifth in the state at last year’s Virginia Independent Schools Division II meet, due to a nagging hamstring injury. She opted to manage a team this year and try to rehabilitate for soccer in the spring. The Bishops have nine girls, paced by Graves, a transfer from Texas, and co-captains Huger and Kane. “They’re not going to run really fast, but they have a superior work ethic, which is all a coach can hope for,” Anderson said.

Dogwood District

Altavista Colonels

COACH: Darryl Smith (11th season)

LAST YEAR: Placed first in Dogwood, third in Region B, fourth in state.

Sarah Murphy Jr.; Alix Hines Sr.; Cara Haskins Jr.; Christiana Marjankangas So.; Krysta Davis So.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Brittany Robinson Fr.; Jessica Myers Fr.

OUTLOOK: The Colonels didn’t lose any of their top five runners from last fall and have a healthy mix of experience and youth to work with this season. “The potential they have is to develop into the strong team they were last year or possibly even stronger,” Smith said. “We’ll see how well we can compete with the top schools in the state.” Altavista’s postseason success will hinge on how healthy they can stay until then.

Appomattox Raiders

COACH: Lisa Richardson (10th season)

LAST SEASON: Did not field a complete team.

KEY RETURNEE: Kate Killotson So.

OUTLOOK: With only one runner, the Raiders can’t score as a team and will count on Killotson to strive to represent them in the postseason.

Gretna Hawks

COACH: Mickey Orrell (Second season)

LAST SEASON: Placed third in Dogwood , 10th in Region B.

KEY RETURNEES: Michelle Adams Sr.; Carrie Dudley Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Kathryn Fulper Fr.; Heather Gibson Fr.; Paige Moorfield Jr.

OUTLOOK: The Hawks return all but one runner from their team last fall, though that was their best in Ashley Hardy. Still, they could be a darkhorse to contend for the district title, with Altavista being the favorite. “We’re looking to give them a run,” Orrell said. “They have an awesome girls team, but we want to make them earn it.”

Nelson County Governors

COACH: Richard Noles (First season)

LAST SEASON: Placed fourth in Dogwood, ninth in Region B.

KEY RETURNEES: Elizabeth Aldersen So.; Fiona Jones Jr.; Samantha Cunningham Jr.; Brittany Ross Jr.

TOP NEWCOMER: Rachael Shepard Fr.

OUTLOOK: Noles, who was predominantly a sprinter on Lynchburg College’s track and field team, takes the reins of the Governors’ cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams. He has a solid foundation in place, with no seniors in the top five. “The ran at the Ragged Mountain Relays (hosted by Albemarle on Sept. 6) and did very well,” Noles said. “My background’s more in sprinting, so it’s a lot of new stuff they’re learning, and they’re learning it quickly.” Jones and Ross are also sprint and middle distance runners on the track.

William Campbell Generals

COACH: Clint Turner

LAST SEASON: Placed seventh in the Dogwood.

KEY RETURNEES: Eliza Snyder Jr.; Tonya Bapties So.

OUTLOOK: The Generals are trying to field a full team, with Turner in the process of recruiting runners after starting out with four girls and four boys. He does return his top girl from last fall, Snyder, to set the pace. “Once we round out our teams, I feel we will be competitive in the Dogwood and we’ll get as many of our runners to regionals as possible.”

Seminole District

Amherst Lancers

COACH: Terri Grey (Seventh season)

LAST SEASON: Placed third in the Seminole, 12th in Region III.

KEY RETURNEES: Jacqui Wentland Sr.; Laura Phelps Jr.; Caroline Hall Jr.; Tori Kendrick So.; Mandy Tomlin Jr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Jessie Schnurer So. Allison Myers Fr., Megan Adams So.

OUTLOOK: Two of the Lancers who were projected to lead the pack this fall opted not to run, leaving the team in a bit of a rebuilding mode. “I’m happy with the way they’re progressing,” Grey said, noting the girls tend to run as a pack. “They’re very supportive as a group. They’re a fairly young team, but they’re very easy going. There are no ego things going on.” Wentland, who had some stellar meets last fall, was the overall winner in Amherst‘s opener.

Brookville Bees

COACH: Cory Morris (Ninth season)

LAST SEASON: Placed second in Seminole, third in Region III, ninth in Group AA state.

KEY RETURNEES: Janel Reeves Sr.; Hailey Flowers Sr.; Kelsey Greene Jr.; Mary Ellen Wendt Jr.; Cathleen McCarron So.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Kaitlyn Brown Fr.; Annie Ketterling Fr.

OUTLOOK: The Bees return their entire lineup from last year paced by Reeves, the area’s fastest runner, and McCarron, who had a great late-season surge as a freshman. “We have everybody back, we had good conditioning over the summer and we’re looking to get back to the state meet again,” said Morris, noting the Bees qualified for state as a team for the first time in her coaching tenure last fall. “The girls and JF will have a competitive meeting at the end of October (at the Seminole District and Region III meets).” Forest won the first showdown last Wednesday at Rustburg.

Heritage Pioneers

COACH: Matt Day (Second season)

LAST SEASON: Placed fourth in Seminole, ninth in Region III.

TOP RETURNEES: Amanda Wimbush Sr.; Sarah Nilles Sr.; Maria Michael So.; Eleni Phelps So.

TOP NEWCOMER: Kylee Hammersmith Fr.

OUTLOOK: The Pioneers face a rebuilding season after graduating Group AA state champion Laura Rapp. “They’re working really, really hard and looking forward to the season,” Day said, noting Nilles, the new team captain, is showing excellent leadership.

Jefferson Forest Cavaliers

COACH: Jerome Loy (18th season)

LAST SEASON: Placed first in Seminole, first in Region III, 11th in Group AA.

KEY RETURNEES: Cameron DeWitt Sr.; Nikki Jannah Jr.; Leigha Schimmoeller So.; Olivia Jackson Jr.; Bilynda Brinkley So.; Allison Fishburne Jr.; Kelsey Shelton Sr.; Katherine Drablos Jr.; Rachel McKeague Jr.; Suzanne Sciarrino Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Emilee McDaniel So. ; Mary Deis Fr.

OUTLOOK: The Cavaliers are once again the team to beat in the district, after winning the past 15 titles and counting, though Brookville has closed the gap in recent years. “I look forward to having the competition because we haven’t had much in this area,” Loy said. The Cavaliers’ top five usually consists of one senior (DeWitt), two juniors (Jannah and Jackson) and two sophomores (Schimmoeller and McDaniel, who Loy said “can be as good as she wants to be.” Asthma has affected at least a couple members of the team, including McKeague, a star on JF’s basketball team, and Sciarrino, who also excels at soccer.

Liberty Minettes

COACH: Sara Krycinski (Fourth season)

LAST SEASON: Placed fifth in Seminole

KEY RETURNEES: Teresa Padgett So.; Sarah Phillippe Jr.; Kim Nowlin Sr.; Rachel Smith Jr.; Virginia Phillippe Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Alex Daniels So.; Taylor Bailey So.; Phoebe Weber So.

OUTLOOK: “Our girls are going to be pretty good,” said Krycinski, who coaches the team with her husband, Matt, who are both distance runners. The Minettes didn’t qualify any girls for regionals last fall, but Padgett should have an excellent shot this year if they don’t go as a team. “Teresa, she’s unbelievable,” Krycinski said. “This year, she’s smoking it. She’s running with our guys in the workouts. She’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s got the determination in her eyes.” Nowlin has been diagnosed with compartment syndrome in her lower legs and has not been able to run, though she has been doing some aqua-jogging and physical training since undergoing surgery last month. “She has stronger muscles than a football player in her calves,” Krycinski said. “We thought she had shin splints (because) every time she runs, she’s in ridiculous amounts of pain.”

Rustburg Red Devils

COACH: Phil Reynolds (season)

LAST SEASON: Placed seventh in the Seminole.

KEY RETURNEES: Alex Landis, So. (top girl last year, running third this year)

TOP NEWCOMERS: Candice Bradley Sr.; Danielle Christ Fr.; Erin Flynn Fr.; Kristina Marinak Jr.

OUTLOOK: “The girls team is definitely stronger this year than last year as long as everyone stays healthy,” Reynolds said. Landis, who was the fastest runner last fall, is running third this year behind Bradley and Christ.

Staunton River Golden Eagles

COACH Joe Hubble (12th season)

LAST SEASON: Placed sixth in Seminole.

KEY RETURNEES: Natalie Andrusky Sr.; Lindsey Kingrey Sr.; Kelly Prince Sr.; Sarah Zimmerman Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Katie Brown Jr.; Mary Hubbard Sr.

OUTLOOK: If the Golden Eagles aspire to make a postseason run as a team, this would be the year to do it with the majority of the frontrunners seniors. “They work together well,” Hubble said of the seniors. Brown, one of a number of runners who also play soccer, is giving Andrusky a competitive push in practices. “It makes a world of difference,” Hubble said of cross training. This is Staunton River’s last season competing in the Seminole. “I don’t know if there’s a tougher district in the state from top to bottom,” Hubble said. The team has a couple eighth graders who show promise for next year, when the Golden Eagles move to the Blue Ridge.

Western Valley District

E.C. Glass Hilltoppers

COACH: Danny Boyers (Fourth season)

LAST SEASON: Placed first in Western Valley, 10th in Northwest Region.

KEY RETURNEES: Kate Martin Sr.; Lindsay Hitchcock Sr.; Haley Smith So.; Kristin Ulmer Sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Hannah Davidson Fr.; Shannon Raines Fr.

OUTLOOK: Boyers believes the Hilltoppers could be really good this season and for years to come, with an influx of 15 freshmen out of 31 girls on the roster. “We have 12 kids fighting for seven spots,” he said. “The top are three pretty set (Martin, Hitchcock and Smith), but from four to 12 are really kind of a mystery. With every meet, I’m learning more about the kids and how they race. How it’s going to turn out in the end, is a little up in the air. We’re getting better (but) we have to wait and see. We’ve got some girls with some talent. We’ll see how they take to the training.”