* Hannah Rae Shaffer tackles the Knights Crossing course on Saturday
Photo Credit: MileSplit Virginia
Mathes, Rae Shaffer Star In Early-Season Meet In Virginia
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The best meet on the Virginia calendar so far this season came on Saturday in Salem, with the Knights Crossing Invitational playing host to nearly 3,000 athletes across the state at Green Hill Park.
Monticello senior Bazil Mathes, a returning VHSL Class 3 champion, pocketed a new 5K best of 15:04.30 to take the tape by 19 seconds, impressive considering the race featured 454 runners.
The performance was a 36-second improvement from his time last year and could be an indicator of future success.
BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS
1 Bazil Mathes 12 Monticello 15:04.30 1
2 Junior Allen 12 Oakton 15:23.90 2
3 Alex Jordan 12 Jefferson Forest 15:29.20 3
4 Rives Boltwood 12 Abingdon High School 15:35.10 4
5 Luke Mussard 12 Dobyns Bennett High School 15:44.40 5
6 Isaac Lamprecht 12 New Kent 15:50.00 6
7 Ty Blair 12 Loudoun Valley 15:50.80 7
8 Tristan Yoder 11 Broadway 15:53.50 8
9 Nayan Kasperowski 12 South County High School 15:58.20 9
10 Gregory Poisson 11 Abingdon High School 16:04.10 10The boys race, meanwhile, went to a familiar name, Blacksburg, which took the boys trophy with 76 points on a 21-second spread. No team had depth like the Bruins on Saturday, with the multiple-time team champion authoring a Virginia-leading average of 16:15.
The girls red race featured five straight Cardinal Gibbons runners across the line for a perfect 15 points, led by junior Hannah Rae Shaffer, who clocked the only sub-18 performance on the course for a female.
She ran 17:45.90 to lead Cardinal Gibbons, one of North Carolina's top programs, to an 18:30 average. Rae Shaffer isn't too shabby, either, as a returning NXN top 40 finisher. She finished fourth in the NCHSAA Class 4A title-race a year ago.
GIRLS 5000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS
1 Hannah Rae Shaffer 11 Cardinal Gibbons 17:45.90 1
2 Maggie Whitham 10 Cardinal Gibbons 18:26.40 2
3 Addy Mitchell 11 Cardinal Gibbons 18:32.30 3
4 Katherine Pagorek 11 Cardinal Gibbons 18:51.00 4
5 Ina Lazarczyk 11 Cardinal Gibbons 18:58.10 5
6 Ryan Davidson 10 Monticello 19:04.30 6
7 Ella Peterson 12 Loudoun Valley 19:10.10 7
8 Ellie Agustin 11 Hanover 19:14.50 8
9 Cassidy Scott 12 Fauquier 19:17.70 9
10 Amanda Ferrante 12 Abingdon High School 19:18.40 10Related Links:
THE SCOOP:
Page 1: The Top 10 Marks This Weekend (So Far)
Page 2: Mathes, Rae Shaffer Dominate At Knights Crossing In Virginia
Page 3: Top Performers From The Liberty Bell Invite
Page 4: Portland Jesuit takes charge at Ash Creek XC
Page 5: Millikan's Jason Parra Threw Down A Blue-Chip Performance