Potomac Falls's Lee Finishes Career Strong

HARRISONBURG, Va., May 30 -- Christina Lee's road back to running was a long and painful one.

For the Potomac Falls junior, it started in the fall with shin splints that forced her to sit out the cross-country season. It continued in January when the former Virginia AA Dulles District cross-country champion, accustomed to massive amounts of weekly mileage, was only allowed to run 17 minutes per day.

But on Saturday, the road culminated in a state championship.

After a third-place finish earlier in the day in the 1,600 meters, Lee ran the 800 in 2 minutes 16.70 seconds to claim first place at the Virginia AA state championship track meet at Harrisonburg High School. She helped the Panthers to a third-place finish in the girls' team event with 37 points.

"It means a lot," Lee said afterward. "I really wanted to try to win in the mile, and that didn't happen, and our 4x800 team got [disqualified for a false start] yesterday, and that was really disappointing, and I just wanted to come out here at the end of my season and go out with a bang."

Especially considering the way her school year started.

"It was an amazing race based on what we've come from," Potomac Falls Coach Dolph Null said. "I think it says a lot about her character, a lot about her heart, and a lot about her personality."

Lee went into both races knowing that Blacksburg's distance stars -- who accounted for most of the Bruins' 52 points in their girls' team event victory -- would sit back early in the race and try to kick late. In the 1,600 meters, she stayed with Blacksburg twins Joanna and Kathleen Stevens, but she finished in 5:06.94, just more than 1.5 seconds behind Joanna's winning time.

In the 800, however, Lee had more of a burst left in the last 150 meters and blew away Hidden Valley's Annie LeHardy and Blacksburg's Sarah Dorrell in the final stretch.

"I was just trying to see who was going to take it out and stay on their shoulder," Lee said. "I guess that the speed work we've been doing really helped in the last 150."

Lee was one of several athletes to capture gold medals over the weekend. Briar Woods's Omar Omokodian, who didn't even qualify for the Dulles District meet last year, won the discus with a throw of 167 feet.

"It's pretty awesome considering the hard work I've put into it," Omokodian said.

Heritage placed first in the boys' 4x100-meter relay and the girls' 4x400 relay. In the 4x100, the team of Roger Smith, Brian Dove, T.J. McPhaul and Ross Madison finished in 42.64. In the 4x400, Emma McLaughlin, Amy Taylor, Shaquera Leach and Hannah McLaughlin finished in 4:00.10.

On Friday, Brenstville senior Danyelle Kent Robinson won the girls' high jump at 5 feet 4, and James Monroe's Jake Kroko won the shot put in 55 feet 2 inches.

Virginia AA State Championships Team Titles: Western Albemarle, led by Stanford-bound distance runner Tyler Stutzman's wins in the 800 and 3,200 meters, won the boys' title with 48 points to second-place Brookville's 46. Blacksburg defeated second-place Brookville in the girls' event, 52-41.