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Home > Sports > State XC: Panthers display true team effort
Led by Juan Campos' 16th place individual finish, Potomac Falls finished third in the AA boys' team standings Nov. 14 at Great Meadow.--Times-Mirror Photo/Lisa Johnson

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State XC: Panthers display true team effort

Sports
By Carl Lukat
Source: Loudoun Times-Mirror
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 2009

The Potomac Falls Panthers displayed consistency throughout its pack of boys' and girls' runners at the Group AA state cross-country championship meet, earning a pair of top five team finishes Nov. 14 at Great Meadow in The Plains.

The Panther boys followed up their Dulles District and Region II titles by placing third in the state. Blacksburg ran away with the team title, accumulating just 51 points through its top five runners.

Spotswood (131) finished a distant second and Potomac Falls (134) was right behind. Junior Juan Campos (16:45) led the Panthers with his 16th place individual finish.

Nicholas Mogensen (17:11), Christopher Johnson (17:20), Alvaro Morales (17:24) and Patrick Wilson (17:27) also factored in Potomac Falls' scoring. All five Panther runners placed 56th or better individually.

The Panther girls were even more consistent as each of their top five runners finished inside the top 50. Hidden Valley (40) won the girls' team title, followed by Blacksburg (54), Western Albemarle (95) and Potomac Falls (114).

Potomac Falls senior Christina Lee crossed the finish line in 19:47 to place 18th in the AA girls' race.--Times-Mirror Photo/Lisa Johnson  

Seniors Natalie Wright (19:22) and Christina Lee (19:47) paced the Panthers. Wright placed 11th and Lee was 18th. Koeley Brady (20:12), Rachel Diniega (20:45) and Rachel Hagen (20:48) also scored for Potomac Falls.

Sticking with the AA girls' meet, Loudoun County -- led by standout senior Julie Strange -- placed sixth as a team. Strange crossed the finish line fifth with a time of 18:57 to close out her high school career.

Loudoun County senior Julie Strange breaks away from the pack early during the Virginia AA cross-country meet Nov. 14 at Great Meadow in The Plains. Strange finished fifth in the girls' race with a time of 18:57.--Times-Mirror Photo/Lisa Johnson

The Raiders also received strong efforts from Becca Hinch (20:05), Kathryn Eder (20:43), Leslie Lyford (21:00) and Shelby Rombach (21:04).

The best finish by a Loudoun athlete was recorded by Loudoun County junior Tommy Curtin. Fresh off winning Dulles District and Region II individual crowns, Curtin completed the Great Meadow course in 16:04, good for second place. Curtin was only three seconds off the pace of state champion Kyle King of Grafton.

Loudoun County junior Tommy Curtin, left, attempts to catch Grafton's Kyle King in the home stretch of the AA boys' race. Curtin (16:04) finished three seconds off King's pace, but still enjoyed the best local finish with his runner-up performance.--Times-Mirror Photo/Lisa Johnson  

Freedom sophomore Thorpe Lichtenburg (16:55) placed 19th in the boys' AA meet.

Loudoun Valley's girls' team was the only AAA squad from Loudoun to qualify for the state meet.

The Vikings placed 12th in the AAA meet, led by sophomore Audrey Houghton (19:29) and freshman Alex Juzbasich (19:57). Houghton placed 24th individually.

Loudoun Valley's Audrey Houghton strides behind Osbourn Park's Ashley Wybersky during the AAA girls' race. Houghton led the Vikings with her 24th place effort.--Times-Mirror Photo/Lisa Johnson  

Jackie Scott (20:51). Kendall French (20:57) and Michelle Crowley (21:37) also factored in Valley's scoring. All five of the Vikings' top runners are either freshmen or sophomores, setting up a bright future for the program.



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