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Kaitlyn Davis of Mountain View High School reaches the finish line in first place in the Group AAA cross country state championships held at Great Meadow in The Plains. |
BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH
THE PLAINS--
Mountain View senior Kaitlyn Davis keeps a written log of every run she completes.After each workout or race, she scrawls details about how far and how fast she went, as well as what body parts ached more than others.
"Every meet," Davis said, "a minimum of five things hurt."
Yesterday morning, as Davis prepared for the Group AAA state meet at Great Meadow, she flipped through the pages of that log to remind herself how far she had come.
She noticed a blank spot on the paper. It was a spot where she would have recorded the results from last week's Northwest Region meet, where she finished second, 1.7 seconds out of first.
"I didn't write that one down because I didn't like the feeling at all," she said. "And that race really stuck with me."
So yesterday, the senior took to this hilly and muddy course with focus and determination.
She was about 11 seconds off the pace with one mile remaining, but she used her strong kick to glide past Brooke Point's Katherine Walker down the final stretch.
Davis crossed the finish line in 18 minutes, 21 seconds, and she won the Group AAA state championship.
"I knew coming down that straightaway that if I could get my foot down a little faster than [Walker] and move my arms a little faster," Davis said, "it would happen."
Walker, who failed to qualify for this meet last season, finished second, 3 seconds behind Davis.
Stafford freshman Hannah Lowery came in fifth, giving the Fredericksburg area an impressive trio in the top five of the state's largest classification.
"At the beginning of the year I had no expectations," Lowery said. "so it's so exciting to be able to do this."
Davis said she did not approach Great Meadow with a specific plan. Instead, she chose to react to the progress of her competitors.
She said one girl burst ahead of the field at the start. But when Davis approached her near the two-mile mark, she could tell the girl was low on energy.
"She was making weird noises," Davis said. "I've grunted at the end, but she was grunting at the two-mile."
Davis pushed forward and saw Walker, her Commonwealth District rival, in front of her.
She said this was somewhat comforting, because she was familiar with Walker's style.
"We were just fortunate that Kaitlyn was close enough to have a chance to catch her," Mountain View coach Dave Davis said.
Davis began her late surge, and she told herself she would not settle for another second-place finish.
"I knew she was coming and I gave it my all," Walker said. "But she definitely has a great kick. But I put it all out there, so I have no regrets."
Davis said she didn't remember exactly when she passed Walker, but she did remember crossing the finish line. And now she has a wonderful addition to her running log.
Mountain View placed 10th in the team standings, and Colonial Forge came in 13th.
Riverbend's Peyton Lowe finished 21st overall and Colonial Forge's Shaina Manuel placed 26th.
In the Group AA race, Spotsylvania placed 13th and King George finished 15th.
Chancellor's Samantha Huffman, who came in 32nd, was the area's top individual finisher.
"I just wanted to have fun," Huffman said, "because this is my last cross country race ever."
GROUP AAA GIRLS Team scores1. Lake Braddock 82, 10. Mountain View 263, 13. Colonial Forge 286
Top individuals1. Kaitlyn Davis (Mountain View) 18:21, 2. Katherine Walker (Brooke Point) 18:24, 5. Hannah Lowery (Stafford) 18:39, 21. Peyton Lowe (Riverbend) 19:25, 26. Shaina Manuel (Colonial Forge) 19:33
GROUP AA GIRLS Team scores1. Hidden Valley 40, 13. Spotsylvania 329 , 15. King George 375
Top individuals1. Kathleen Stevens (Blacksburg) 17:34, 33. Samantha Huffman (Chancellor) 20:24.
GROUP A GIRLS Team scores1. George Mason 62, 12. Washington & Lee 325.
Top individuals1. Katlyn Ayers (Strasburg) 19:03.
Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com
