Maryland XC Weekend Rundown: Bull Run Was A Lot To Take In...Need A Few Days To Process It All

MileSplit Staff

DCXC Invitational

September 26, 2015 @ Kenilworth Park in Washington, DC


While many of Maryland's top teams and individuals were up running a challenging and hilly 3 mile course at the Bull Run Invitational, there was a good number of the state's runners and squads especially from Montgomery Country also racing on a flat and fast 5K course at the DCXC Invitational in Washington, DC.

Now that's the Walter Johnson girls team that we expected to see as the best in the state at season's beginning. Missing #3 runner Katie Kirsch in their last two meets and their #2 runner Emily Murphy in their last race at Oatlands, the Walter Johnson girls were the best team from Maryland at DCXC ahead of last week's Oatlands Invite winner Walt Whitman by 50 points for second place in the results team merge among all the class races. Only James Madison High School from Virginia had a better day overall in the girls varsity races.

Their typical top performer in sophomore Abbey Green actually struggled a bit in a competitive sophomore race with last year's Virginia 5A state champ Heather Holt of George C. Marshall and slowed down to third place in a time of 19:26 in the sophomore race. The fastest time posted by a Walter Johnson runner was actually produced by Emily Murphy with her fourth place season best 5K run of 18:50 in the senior race ahead of Whitman's #1 runner Sami King (18:57).

Kirsch's impact in her return was felt as well running just over 20 minutes for 7th in the junior race at 20:05, while Jasmine Garrett continues to step up this season for the Walter Johnson girls in running a 19:49 PR for 11th place in the senior race.

The Walt Whitman girls had a solid day as well to follow up their big win at Oatlands as they would have finished third overall in a results team merge. Their team had 3 girls clock sub 20 minute times including Sami King, Olivia Woods (19:46), and Erin O'Connor (19:48). Woods was the team's highest finisher in her race taking third place in the junior race.

Top Maryland girls individual finishers included Winston Churchill's Julia Reicin for runner-up honors in the junior race with a time of 19:35 and Poolesville's Nandini Satsagni also grabbed a second place finish, but in the freshmen race with a time of 20:12 clocking.

Fastest boys times came out of the senior race with top 10 finishes from Northwood's Michael Abebe (6th, 16:20) and Liam Walsh (8th, 16:23). Two of the top returning runners out of Montgomery County entering this cross country season.

Thomas S. Wootton had the top performing boys team as their top 5 performers among the 4 class races put them fourth in the overall meet results merge. Their team had two under 17 minutes on the day in Colin Sybing (16:24) and Cliff Tilley (16:36) for 9th and 13th place in the senior race. Wootton had 3 more boys under 17:20 and appear to be a team capable of winning the Montgomery County title this fall.

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