Place an Ad | Subscribe | Advertise With Us

Gentry leads Tigers to fourth in ‘A’ race

By HUGH RIST For the News & Messenger
Published: September 14, 2008

Perhaps a bit subdued by the disappointment of her relay team’s narrowly missing a medal, Brentsville senior Maggie Gentry still managed a slight smile and a polite thank you when she was offered congratulations after running her team’s anchor leg at the 8th annual Brentsville Relays Saturday night.
But considering the weather conditions, and how many runners she had passed, just to earn her team a fourth-place finish was quite an accomplishment for Gentry. The Tigers outpaced a determined and talented Osbourn Park team (which finished seventh) to earn the area’s top finish in the Girls’ ‘A’ race.
Gentry endured a soggy course that left every runner, including Gentry, covered in mud at the finish. A 90-minute lightning delay and the steady, often heavy downpour that ensued tested the endurance of every runner in a race that ended minutes before 11 p.m. on Saturday. Yet Gentry moved past eight other runners on her split to secure the Tigers’ fourth-place finish at 50:04, nearly two seconds behind first-place Midlothian, and :08 behind third-place Herndon.
“I wanted to place (third),” Gentry said. “But they (her teammates) said I passed eight people, so I guess fourth place is a good finish. At first, when I told them where we finished, they were like, ‘Fourth? I thought we were in eighth or ninth.’ This is our favorite race of the season and we always do well here. My teammates and I are hard workers and mentally tough. It got us through tonight.”
Coach Rob Dulin remarked that the Tigers team of Morgan Price, Caitlyn Hoffman, Sarah Earman, Allison Bartels, and Gentry “came out of nowhere” at the finish.
“We had our best runners running (the) fourth and fifth (legs) and I thought they did well,” Dulin said. “This is an exciting event, with a lot of teams that return year after year, so you know it is a good event.”
Gentry said the relays, which put teams from Groups A, AA and AAA in the same races, is a good variation from the normal cross-country regimen, which emphasizes high individual finishes by team members for scoring.
“(Racing at) this event gives us confidence,” Gentry said. “We have big dreams of winning district, doing well at states, and even making nationals, so doing well here is something we focus on. I think we are happy with the season so far.”
The top individual finisher in the girls’ A race was a familiar face, Midlothian’s Kathleen Lautzenheiser, who posted the event’s all-time best split of 8:43 last season, but managed “only” a 9:09 on the rain-slogged 2,500-meter course to again post the top girls’ individual split.
Meanwhile, the boys’ A race was dominated by out-of-area teams. Atlee finished first, with senior Ben DeJarnette posting the best individual split at 7:43. The best finish among Prince William County teams was posted by Battlefield, whose lineup of sophomore Kyle Beach, junior Darren Driscoll, senior Matt Shaughnessy, sophomore Nathan Moyer, and senior Gary Martin, finished 13th, while Brentsville posted a 15th place finish.
“The day was a success,” Martin said. “There will be other races with weather conditions like this—this is cross-country season. We started our summer conditioning a little late, but races like this against good competition will prepare us for late in the season. Things have just started to fall together for us.”
Brentsville’s girls’ “B” and “C” teams and its boys’ “C” team each posted fourth-place finishes, while Osbourn Park’s girls “B” team was third, and its “C” team was fifth.
Dulin noted this was not the first time the event experienced weather-related problems. In 2005, a hurricane touched down in Nokesville, causing a delay.
BRENTSVILLE RELAYS RESULTS
(Top 5 and area finishers)
Boys’ A relay—1. Atlee, 41:28; 2. Potomac Falls 42:04; 3. Robinson 42:12; 4. Mountain View 42:18; 5. Douglas Freeman 42:19. Others: 13. Battlefield 43.06; 15. Brentsville, 43:19; 17. Osbourn Park; 24. Forest Park 44:19; 43. Hylton 46:18; 58. Potomac, 54:54.
Boys’ B relay—1. Mountain View 42:44; 2. Midlothian 42:49; 3. South County 43:23; 4. Potomac Falls 43:34; 5. Colonial Forge 43:35. Others: 10. Battlefield 44:03; 12. Osbourn Park 44:11; 16. Forest Park 44:27; 20. Brentsville 45:13; 34. Seton 46:39; 38. Hylton 47:22.
Boys C relay—1. Potomac Falls 44:56; 2. Midlothian 45:07; 3. Colonial Forge 45:23; 4. Brentsville 45:24; 5. Lake Braddock 45:28. Others: 9. Forest Park 46:11; 15. Osbourn Park 47:12; 35. Hylton 51:34.
Girls’ A relay—1. Midlothian 48:08; 2. Lake Braddock 49:47; 3. Herndon 49:56; 4. Brentsville 50:04; 5. Ocean Lakes 50:29. Others: 7. Osbourn Park 51:00; 25. Forest Park 54:33; 35. Woodbridge 56:18; 40. Hylton 57:29; 47. Potomac 60:08.
Girls B relay—1. Midlothian 50:38; 2. Lake Braddock 50:44; 3. Osbourn Park 50:48; 4. Brentsville 51:42; 5. Ocean Lakes 52:27. Others: 22. Forest Park 55:02; 32. Woodbridge 58:41.
Girls’ C relay—1. Lake Braddock 53.10; 2. Colonial Forge 54:06; 3. Robinson 54:16; 4. Brentsville 54:41; 5. Osbourn Park 54:50. Others: Forest Park 56:40.

Post a Comment

The commenting period has ended or commenting has been deactivated for this article.

Tags relating to this article:

No tags are associated with this article.

Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search: