Arrington adds to her honors

By Robert Daski

Published: October 23, 2008

She had two All-Cardinal District cross country honors, a district indoor and outdoor one-mile and two-mile track title, and an all-state medal in the 1600-relay.
On Thursday, Lindsi Arrington added a district cross country championship to that list.
The Gar-Field junior won Thursday’s girls’ race in 18:08, continuing her improvement in district cross country meets from placing fourth as a freshman and second as a sophomore.
“It’s nice to finally get first,” Arrington said.
The race winner figured to be either Arrington, Potomac sophomore Debra Baner or Woodbridge senior Michelle Britto, bidding for her third straight district title. Baner and Britto stayed up front and finished second (18:17) and third (18:36), respectively.
Arrington maintained a sizable advantage as the runners approached a downhill part of the Leesylvania Park course after running in the woods. She continued leading as she got closer to the finish line.
“I figured my chances of winning were pretty good,” Arrington said. “I don’t think Debra’s beaten me at Leesylvania, not this year anyways. I felt I had a good chance, but I knew it was going to be hard to race with Debra.”
Arrington and Baner have raced against each other for most of the season. After Arrington’s 10th place finish at Octoberfest on Oct. 4, two spots better than Baner’s, the two met raced a week later at the Albemarle Invitational where Arrington finished third, Baner ninth.
Racing together has helped both develop a friendship. Baner walked up to Arrington following the race and both shook hands.
“They’re two of the best runners in the state, so they have an opportunity to match up a lot,” Potomac coach Steve Petrosky said. “Anytime they match up with something on the line, they’re going to give their best.
“They’ve both come out with great performances, but only one person can win. It’s a healthy competition between them. They’re making each other better.”
Forest Park won the team title with 39 points. Alison Dunleavy led the Bruins by finishing fifth (19:06) and her teammates Gabby Owermohle (19:14) and Emily Cate (19:27) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
“The goal is hopefully to improve on that performance,” Forest Park coach Andy Tramel said.
That opportunity comes Oct. 30 at the Northwest Region meet where the Bruins look to improve on their ninth place finish from 2007.
“We’ve got a very talented region,” Tramel said. “The goal I’ve implemented in them is we want to focus on that region. There are competitive teams in the district, but the region’s even tougher.”
RESULTS
TEAM SCORES
1. Forest Park 39, 2. Woodbridge 50, 3. Potomac 102, 4. Hylton 103, 5. Gar-Field 109, 6. Freedom 141.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Lindsi Arrington (Gar-Field) 18:08, 2. Debra Baner (Potomac) 18:17, 3. Michelle Britto (Woodbridge) 18:36, 4. Erin Rolaf (Woodbridge) 18:52, 5. Alison Dunleavy (Forest Park) 19:06, 6. Gabby Owermohle (Forest Park) 19:14, 7. Emily Cate (Forest Park) 19:27, 8. Theresa Tweedie (Gar-Field) 19:31, 9. Chelsea Jacobsen (Forest Park) 19:37, 10. Lexi Coulson (Freedom) 19:40, 11. Brianna Cole (Woodbridge) 19:41, 12. Diana Davis (Forest Park) 19:43, 13. Marisa Hess (Forest Park) 19:45, 14. Dominique Whidbee (Potomac) 19:48, 15. Maddy Hodges (Woodbridge) 19:55.
BRENTSVILLE WINS NORTHWESTERN DISTRICT
Brentsville’s girls’ cross country team won its district with 40 points.
Allison Bartels led the Tigers by finishing second. Brentsville’s Morgan Price, Maggie Gentry, Sarah Earman and Caitlin Hoffman were also all-district.
Times and finishes were not available.
“It’s nice to win the district meet rather handily,” Brentsville coach Rob Dulin said. “We have room to improve. Talking to the girls after the race, there was definitely a sense of a we can do better attitude. For us to make a run at the state title, we’re going to have to race stronger.”