Mason Striders Finish Strong at Stonewall Jackson Invitational

By Liz Twentyman (Oct. 8, 2001)

Mason striders Annie Maynard and Andrew Montgomery emerged victorious at the 4^th annual Stonewall Jackson Cross Country Invitational Meet on Saturday, each winning their respective races. The girls’ team came away with a first place finish, with Maynard, Liz Twentyman, Louisa Fairfax, and Alison Penland all medaling. The boys’ team captured a fourth place finish.

With many region teams present, the meet hopefully served as a precursor to districts, regionals, and states. Coach Julie Bravin acknowledges that the girls team is "going to be hard to beat at districts," saying that they had a "great performance at Stonewall Jackson."

Despite struggling with injuries--Mason’s second place runner, Melissa Womble, was not able to compete on Saturday--the Mustangs are proving to be a team to be reckoned with. At Wednesday’s home meet, Mason lost in a tie-breaker to Madison County. The previous Wednesday, literally running through cow fields at Clarke County, the girls came away with a first place finish.

The boys’ team has also proved to be strong, winning both Wednesday’s home meet and the meet at Clarke County. Coach Bravin credits Montgomery’s strong running and solid pack running by the rest of the team, with Mason’s second through eighth runners less than a minute apart. 

Junior Annie Maynard and sophomore Andrew Montgomery are clearly the runners to look out for on Mason’s cross country team. "Annie and Andrew are having a great season," Bravin said. "They are very strong runners and I expect them to continue their success at districts, regionals, and states."

The Mustangs compete at Strasburg on Wednesday.