OP girls capture title

By Robert Daski

Published: October 22, 2008

CULPEPER — Entering the homestretch of the Cedar Run District girls’ cross country race, Kayla Tyrrell and Ariel Karabinus ran side-by-side, each hoping one final burst would push one past the other to victory.
As they approached the finish line, Tyrrell’s surge paid off. She seized the lead and held off her Osbourn Park teammate to win her first district cross country title.
The finish could not have been closer. Tyrrell’s time was 19:46, Karabinus’s was 19:47.
“It feels really great,” Tyrrell said. “I’m really happy. Ariel pushed me.”
Tyrrell also pushed herself during the race. She stayed close to Karabinus, who spent the majority of her time either leading or in second.
“We both wanted it,” said Tyrrell, a sophomore.
Osbourn Park coach Michael Schuster’s goal was to have Tyrrell and Karabinus finish one-two. He stated that to Karabinus before the race.
While Tyrrell’s victory denied Karabinus her third straight district title, Karabinus showed no ill will with conceding her reign to a friend.
“I’m definitely pleased,” Karabinus said. “You can’t do anything besides your best. It’s more team-oriented this year. I’m happy that I did as well as I could and got second. That’s all you can do.”
The first and second place finishes helped provide the 26 points Osbourn Park received to claim the Cedar Run championship.
It also illustrates how accomplished Tyrrell has become in 2008. She won the 800-meter run at the district outdoor track meet and helped Osbourn Park win a district title in the 1600-meter relay.
Tyrrell’s first sign of a breakout in cross country came Oct. 4 at Octoberfest when she placed 14th. She followed with an eighth place finish a week later at the Albemarle Invitational.
Individual accomplishments, however, were not on Tyrrell’s mind when asked the reason for her season-long success.
“It’s like we were all running together,” Tyrrell said. “We really wanted it.”
Finishes from Natalie Geleta (sixth, 20:19), Ashley Wybersky (seventh, 20:25), Kelly O’Toole (10th, 20:42), Kaitlin Mulder (13th, 20:52) and Brandy Wybersky (14th, 20:53) helped the Yellow Jackets win.
“If you have good front-runners, you’ve got to have good runners filling in behind to do well,” Schuster said.
Osbourn Park and Battlefield, third with 75 points, qualify for the Oct. 30 Northwest Region meet in Charlottesville.
Julia Zewe (fourth, 20:05) and Elanie Travers (11th, 20:43), were Battlefield’s all-district runners.