By Mery Kanashiro (November 14, 2003)

The boys’cross country team, led by an exceptional second place showing by Andrew Montgomery, took second place and the girls’ team took fourth in the State Finals at Great Meadows Saturday. 
 

After qualifying for states at the Region B with a boys’ fourth place finish and a girls’ third place finish on Nov. 1, both Mason’s varsity cross country teams headed for The Plains, VA on November 8th to compete for the state title for only the second time in Mason’s history.  The state’s best teams gathered at Great Meadows to race early Saturday morning, with the single A division girls running first. Early in the race, it was clear that the Mason ladies were up against tough contenders, but they kept together and gave the other teams serious competition. Senior Luisa Fairfax showed the meaning of true dedication, running despite a painful stress fracture in her leg. She was also the first of the girls’ team to cross the finish line, achieving a time of 22:03 and finishing 27th out of more than a hundred runners.

With gleeful smiles, the boys and girls cross  country team captains pose after a 2nd and 4th  place finish at the VHSL States competition. (Back Row: From left: Ben Andrews, Orie  Bumgarner, Andrew Montgomery,  Kristin  Schwind, Emily Walden, Louisa Fairfax.   Front Row:  From left:  Coaches Kate Smith,  Julie Bravin)

Following closely behind was sophomore Kristin Schwind, finishing with a time of 22:24 and placing 36^th overall. The rest of the varsity girls, famous for being a tight-knit team, helped keep the score low by crossing the line within a minute of each other. Sophomore Kaity Hauter finished with a time of 23:02 and a place of 46^th, junior Melissa Womble finished at 23:17 48^th place, and sophomore Jessica Porzel finished with a time of 23:26 and an overall position of 51^st. Rounding out the team were sophomores Emily Walden and Maggie Person, finishing in tandem and running a time of 24:06 and overall places of 68^th and 69^th, respectively.

The single A division boys followed the girls later that morning. Reigning champions Page County were given a run for their money as senior Andrew Montgomery ran a very strong race, finishing at 16:46. He achieved a stellar second place, ending just behind Page County’s Todd Somer and barely losing his chance to win the individual State title that has eluded him throughout his high school career. Within a minute came senior Orie Bumgarner, finishing at 17:39 and a 13^th place, and then junior Jonathan Beyers, with a time of 18:20 and a place of 27^th. Hot on his heels came newcomer and junior John Sullivan, finishing at 18:28 and a 28^th place finish; then came junior Chad O’Hara, running 18:44 and placing 38^th. Finishing within three seconds of each other were junior Alex Nette with a time of 19:08 and senior Andrew Yancey with 19:11, and places of 55^th and 58^th respectively.

The girls’ team achieved a fourth place finish out of 16 schools, defeating Madison County but finishing behind champions Floyd County and runner-ups Central Woodstock and Clarke County. The boys’ team finished with an outstanding and unexpected 2^nd place, edged out of the state title by Page County. Both teams finished a solid two places higher than the previous year, which was the first year both boys and girls varsity made it to states together.
 

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