Clarke Runners Dominate
Girls Widen ’04 Winning Margin
By Greg Brill
The Winchester Star
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PLAINS — Erin Broy called the experience “cool.”
Clarke County’s Liz Mumaw (center) and Danielle Moyer (left) take off at the start of Saturday’s Group A state cross country meet at Great Meadow.
(Photo by Jeff Taylor)
A freshman and impact runner competing in her first Group A state race, Broy could hardly believe what she and her Clarke County High School girls’ cross country teammates accomplished Saturday afternoon.
Three months of training and a season full of new experiences for a young crop of runners paved the way for the Eagles making it two state titles in a row.
Unlike last year, Clarke did not have to sweat things, rolling through its third straight postseason meet. The Eagles had four all-state runners (top 15 finish) and ran by everyone, posting 38 points on the 5K course at Great Meadow.
The margin of victory was the largest of the postseason for Clarke. Bull Run District foe George Mason grabbed second for the third straight week but was never a threat with its 101 points. Patrick Henry-Glade Spring scored 119 for third and the final trophy.
The Eagles’ fourth state championship — they also won in 1986, 1987, and last year — was a bit easier this time. Clarke edged Central-Woodstock by three points last season. But with a better usage of pack running, the Eagles put together the lowest score in their classification since Brentsville won with 33 points in 2001.
“It’s my first states on the high school team,” said Broy, who was Clarke’s second runner to cross and eighth overall. “It’s just amazing to be on a team this good.”
Youth served itself well for Clarke. One year after winning the state individual title, sophomore Danielle Moyer settled for sixth this time and paced the Eagles in 19 minutes and 36 seconds. Broy was close by in eighth (19:40), freshman Sophia Holmes gathered ninth (19:41), senior Liz Mumaw placed 11th (19:43) to make all-state for the second straight year, and the Eagles’ third freshman, Tori Neuber, posted the final counting score by finishing 27th (21:15).
“Our team did a really nice job of preparing ourselves, and proving that we are still state champions,” Moyer said. “Everybody’s really excited.
“At the end of the season, everybody picked up. Erin had some unbelievable races. And Liz and Sophia always battled off each other.”
Though not in contention for the state team title, Strasburg had its only two runners at the meet make all-state. Senior Nina Pfeiffer finished 13th (19:54) and freshman Samantha Hancock was 14th (20:15).
Making all-state for the third time in her final race helped Pfeiffer erased the disappointment of last season, when she dropped out midway through.
“It’s a good finish for my last year,” Pfeiffer said. “That was my goal — to get in the top 15. I just wanted to do well.”
In a mild upset, Craig County senior Lori Crotts blazed by Region C rival Kelly Clark to win her first state title (18:15). Crotts was second as a freshman. Clark, who won the meet in 2003, finished runner-up for the second straight year. Clark is set to run next fall at Virginia Tech.
Some upgraded training in recent weeks helped the Eagles avoid an upset. Assistant coach and 2001 Clarke graduate Dustin Sweeney presented the plan, and the Eagles did well to carrry it out. Clarke’s first four finishers improved their placements along the way and ended up separated by seven seconds.
“With the speed work they’ve had the last two weeks, (Sweeney) had them hammer from mile two on,” Clarke coach Nancy Specht said. “If you saw them at the end, they moved up and moved up. Moved up well.”
As she has done all season, Moyer provided the lead. Putting aside aspirations of repeating as state titlest, with Crotts, Clark, and George Mason sophomore Susanna Sullivan tearing through the course, Moyer concentrated on giving the Eagles guidance.
Though she did not win, Moyer’s time improved 21 seconds from last season’s race.
“I guess there’s always a disappointment when you don’t repeat,” Moyer said. “But my time was better. Just looking over it, I’m happy where I finished.”
All of the Eagles could be a little happier with their final race of the season. Broy established herself as Clarke’s No. 2 runner the last two weeks of the season. And Holmes, the niece of former Clarke basketball great Carla Holmes, came back strong with a pair of top-10 finishes after missing more than a month with a fracture to the big toe on her left foot.
“Having three freshmen and a sophomore in our top five makes everything feel really good,” said Broy, who joined older brother Bryan as a top-10 finisher at state. “We still have two or three good years left together. I think we’ll stay pretty good.”
Said Holmes: “I was very eager and ready to run today. We ran a very smart race.”
And though their races did not count toward Clarke’s score, the efforts of senior Jen Griffith and junior Audrey Lawrence helped the team glue. Griffith and Lawrence both made the all-Bull Run team.
The graduation of Mumaw, who will run next season at Roanoke College, and Griffith will be missed, their coach said.
“We’re going to miss them terribly,” Specht said. “We’ll miss their leadership. It’s awful nice that they got to finish as state champions their last two years. Each were in our top seven for four years.”
Buffalo Gap’s Mariah Hagadone, who won the Region B meet last week, was fourth this week.
