The Girls Cross Country team won their first State title since 2018, with a whirlwind of emotions following a narrow victory.

“We have been talking about winning States since our goal-setting session at the beginning of the year,” said senior Lexi Stein. “I was a little more nervous for this race than I have been all season. However, I was focusing hard on staying relaxed, so I wouldn’t get into my head.”

The State meet was held at Oatlands in Leesburg this year, a strenuous running course featuring a series of creeks and steep hills. Although the Spartans were expected to win heading into the race, following the race, results were inconclusive and it took a long time for the points to be tallied.

“I was not supposed to score for the team, just be a possible tiebreaker. However, in the finishing 200 meters I saw [junior] Grace Wevley collapse in front of me. I knew I would end up scoring for the team, and I had to get across the line for our score to stop increasing,” said Stein. “That was the extra boost I needed to find one last kick. After I crossed the line, all I could do was hope that my score had been enough to hold off Langley High School and Woodson High School.”

Usually the fifth and final scoring member of the team, Wevley went out too fast at the start of the race and was unable to run to her best at States. However, even when the team was unsure if they had won or not, there were never hard feelings between any of the runners. Win or lose, the Spartans were going to remain united.

“The team’s been amazingly supportive of everyone throughout the whole season but especially this Saturday,” said Wevley. “Everyone else did amazing. It was actually a really sweet moment when I was recovering and the team came over to tell me we won anyway.”

Wevley was certainly not the only runner to find the race challenging, as both the difficult Oatlands course and the looming expectation to win a championship affected the entire team. Alongside the physical duress that comes with running a competitive race, runners also had to battle their own minds as they raced towards the finish.

“This race was probably one of the hardest races to get through mentally even though I physically felt great,” said junior Aidan MacGrath. “The entire race I had to remind myself that I deserved to be there, where I was in the race, I deserved to be there. I had worked so hard all season to show it off at the State meet. I crossed the line knowing I had done all I could’ve done to help the team win.”

MacGrath finished third, and led the way for the team as three other runners also finished in the top 15. Senior Kenza Elakari, sophomore Adeline Barker, and junior Chloe Miller rounded out the team’s top four, joining MacGrath as All-State finishers, making this the first time that any team, Boys or Girls, has had four runners finish All-State. With Stein coming in clutch to pick up Wevley, and junior Katherine Len also running a solid race as the other potential tiebreaker, the Girls Cross Country team found a way to win just their second State title in school history.

“Saturday was truly the best day of my life because I won something so rare and I did it with my best friends,” said Stein.

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Photo courtesy of Nicole Barker

After the race concluded, the team was unsure of the results and regrouped while waiting for the official announcement.