An Oct. 15 Sports article incorrectly identified Nick Bax as a runner for St. Albans School in England. He runs for the school of the same name in the District. Also, the article described Bax as having trailed another runner for the first 4,000 kilometers of a race. It was the first 4,000 meters.
CROSS-COUNTRY
Bax Comes a Long Way, but Can't Quite Catch Spooner
Sunday, October 15, 2006; Page E11
When Nick Bax of St. Albans School in England found himself running on the heels of West Springfield senior Mike Spooner for the first 4,000 kilometers at the Glory Days Invitational at Bull Run Regional Park in Manassas, he realized just what a special position he was in. By that point, Spooner, who is one of the top runners in Virginia, is usually far ahead of the pack.
So with about 1,000 meters to go and feeling good about his performance, Bax decided to go for the win over the defending course champion. Spooner, however, used a powerful kick in the home stretch to hold off Bax and win in 15 minutes 24 seconds.
"I knew he had a horrendous kick," said Bax, who ran a personal-best 15:34.
"He just flew past me, and I knew he wasn't going to slow down. He's got a reputation for being fast, but I'm really excited to have finished that close to him."
The team race was close as well, with nine points separating Quince Orchard (142 points) from second-place West Springfield (151). The victory marked the second straight week the Gaithersburg school has entered the fray in Virginia and come out on top. The Cougars defeated Jefferson by 19 points at Octoberfest Oct. 7.
Oakton (180) rounded out the top three. Washington-Lee senior Chris Tyson, who was third at both Monroe Parker and Octoberfest, finished fourth.
On the girls' side, W.T. Woodson's Sarrah Hadiji overcame a slow start and ran neck and neck with Quince Orchard's Cara Harrison and Northwest's Emma Eckerstrom before separating herself in the last 800 meters and winning in 18:16.
Despite solid performances earlier in the season in which the senior All-Met grabbed fourth at Octoberfest and won Monroe Parker, Hadiji gambled by tweaking her racing style, and it paid off.
"I wanted to race a little differently than I normally do," said Hadiji, the Virginia AAA runner-up last year.
"I decided to go out a little slower and not take the lead in the beginning at the sprint. It's always good to stay versatile. I was expecting great runners today, and I was lucky."
Fourth-place finisher Elizabeth Heath paced West Potomac to the team title (135 points), as the Wolverines had three other runners finish in the top 25.
Chantilly, led by sophomore standout Lia DiValentin, was second (155) and Lake Braddock, which won at Oatlands two weeks ago, ran to a strong third-place finish (185).
Glory Days Invitational Crossing the Pond: St. Albans School, which is located in Hertfordshire, England, is the sister school of the one located in Northwest. Region Dominance: Schools from across the Northern Region took eight of the top 11 spots, including the top five, in the seeded girls' varsity race.
