MoCoRunning






WJ Boys Win Division I
By: Michael Menase
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Michael@mocorunning.com

Walter Johnson hosted another meet at Cabin John Regional Park. Their guests were B-CC and Churchill. This meet was the last divisional meet for WJ. Walter Johnson girls were searching for their first victory while the boys were competing for the division title with Churchill. The Churchill girls entered the meet with a 1-0 record and were also in contention for a divisional title. The B-CC boys and girls were also in the middle of all the action.

The start of the boys' race was a mad dash to get into the trails, where, for a mile it is very difficult to pass anybody. Walter Johnson's Sean O'Leary did not get out to an optimistic start but quickly worked his way up to the lead. It was a battle between O'Leary, teammate Roni Teich and Churchill's Sean King. With ¾ of a mile left, O'Leary took the lead for the first time and ran away with the race. His time was 16:52, a PR and three seconds off of the course record. Teich and King together came out of the trails toward the finish but King's kick was too strong. This would not affect the race's outcome because Walter Johnson's Ishan Dey and Alex Willett would soon follow respectively. Matt Davey-Karlson, who could only stay with the front pack for a mile after a very fast start, was the first to finish for B-CC. Matt Bernstein and Will Draffin followed respectively for Churchill then freshman Josh Ellis for Walter Johnson to close out the deal. Walter Johnson defeated Churchill and B-CC, while Churchill defeated B-CC. Walter Johnson is the division I champion.

Senior captain Roni Teich commented on the accomplishment.

"It's gratifying to know that our summer work has paid off thus far. I was very happy that our team took these 3 league meets seriously and ran with intensity in each meet. Almost as exciting as winning the DI title was seeing our freshman Josh Ellis finish in sub-18. I'm very proud that we've remained undefeated for a whole month of the season, and I'm hoping that this sets us up well for the Bull Run Invitational this weekend and for an awesome postseason run as well."

The Walter Johnson girls also pulled out impressive victories, starting with sophomore Anna Bosse. Bosse beat a very talented field which included Churchill's Maryam Fikri and B-CC's Addie Tousley. Like the boys' race, the start was fast and there was no chance for passing in the first mile. But Bosse by far handled the start better than any other girl. She finished all alone in first place in a time of just over 20 minutes. About 40 seconds later was a string of girls one after another trying to out kick the others. The order was Fikri, Tousley, and then Alexandra Giedd. After Giedd there was a 40 second period of waiting time for the next girl to come out of the trails. Then Walter Johnson proved their depth despite a few absences. Jenna Willett was 5th, Maria Moersen 6th and Johna Applestein followed in 7th. Churchill had a complete off day as both B-CC and WJ got their seventh runner in before Churchill's fifth, though Churchill still defeated B-CC due to their strength up front. The Walter Johnson girls got their first and second victories over Churchill and B-CC. The loss for Churchill puts serious dampers on their hopes of a division title with Northwest improving to 3-0 across town. So despite Churchill's strong pair and B-CC's strong number one, depth was the resounding story of the girls' race.






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