Girls' Cross-Country Preview
River Hill's Katie Harman, middle, is a big reason why the Hawks are favored to win another Maryland 2A title.
(By James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
An exciting rivalry budded last year between Eleanor Roosevelt senior Teshika Rivers and Northwest sophomore Britt Eckerstrom, and it should come into full bloom this season. The pair of All-Mets ran shoulder-to-shoulder down the stretch at last year's state meet before Rivers surged to a one-second victory. The duo are expected to go the distance once more at the Maryland state meet on Nov. 8. . . .
Chantilly's Lia DiValentin and Herndon's Hiruni Wijayaratne, both seniors, will resume their competition in the Virginia AAA Northern Region. DiValentin won last year's region title before finishing second at the state meet. But Wijayaratne had a dominant spring -- she owned the area's fastest 3,200-meter time and the second fastest for 1,600 meters -- and hopes her performances transfer over to the cross-country course. The Sri Lankan also has an experienced team behind her. Herndon returns six of its top seven runners and will challenge 2007 state runner-up Oakton, led by Becca Kassabian, for supremacy in the region and on the state meet podium. . . .
There has been quite a bit of turnover among private schools, but Potomac School junior co-captains Anneka Wilson and Shivani Kochhar are back and have their sights set on winning their first Independent School League championship. Although Wilson won the individual title last year, her efforts weren't enough to hold off two-time defending league champion National Cathedral, which isn't as deep as it was last year but will be competitive behind talented junior Lottie Hedden and senior Rebecca Weingarten. Wilson also is vying for her first individual Virginia Independent Schools championship, but must take down O'Connell senior All-Met Megan Fitzpatrick, who last season won the Arlington County, Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and the VIS titles, each time leading the Knights to the team championship. . . .
Three Howard County schools earned spots on the state podium last year, and much of that distance-running talent is back this season. River Hill, which was the only area school to win boys' and girls' state titles a year ago, returns six of its top seven runners, including defending individual champion Katie Harman, and is favored to repeat in Maryland 2A. After losing three of its top five scorers, Howard may find it tough to capture a third straight Maryland 3A title, but senior Elyse Borisko and junior Meredith Mill should keep the Lions competitive. . . .
Seniors Sophia Holmes and Erin Broy will look to lead Clarke County to its fifth straight Virginia A championship. The talented tandem helped Clarke County make Virginia High School League history in 2006 when it became the first school to earn boys' and girls' state titles in three straight years.
-- Carl Little
Runner
to Watch
Katie Harman,
River Hill, Senior
Harman performed brilliantly last year, winning the individual Maryland 2A championship while lifting the Hawks to their first team title. She got faster as the year went on, capturing state titles at 1,600 and 3,200 meters during the indoor track season and placing in the same events outdoors. With Harman, River Hill Coach Ed Lauer said, "This could be one of the best girls' teams I've had."
