Ending the regular Cross country season with a bang, the Running Rams took on the Milestat Invitational on October 19^th. They raced the best of the best and all the runners left everything out on the course. Many of the runners took advantage of the relatively flat course and ran big personal records (PRs). All the runners who ran a PR were allowed to sign a red banner and write their new times. Senior Captain Allison Crookston came in 14^th place, earning a medal for finishing in the top 15.

The following Monday, the Running Rams attended the Grafton meet where they raced Grafton, Tabb, and Smithfield. Rescheduled from the previous week when it was rained out, the meet took place on October 21^st. This did not allow the runners much recovery time, since they had run just two days before, but they didn’t let that stop them. The Grafton course was very flat, with the track built into a large portion of the race. Again, the runners took this opportunity to make many PRs. Allison Crookston finally broke 20, running 19:52, a goal she had been reaching for all season.

Once the regular season was over, the Running Rams began training in the post season for regionals. The coaches, including head coach Craig Wortman, had to figure out who would be running in the top seven spots at Regionals, and who would be the three alternates. The runners battled it out on the course all season for the top seven spots. In the end, the top seven girls were Senior Captains Allison Crookston, Scottie Coleman, and Kali Panoutsos along with Juniors Tiffany Morris and Isabel O’Connor, Sophomore Ainsley Lord and Freshman Delaney Cox. The alternates for the girls’ team were Milagro Riofrio and Samantha Burcham. For the boys’ team, the top seven spots went to Senior Captains Brenner Beard, Zachary Barbarji, Juniors Edwin Buret-Rojas, Dru Dun, and Ryan Koval, along with Sophomores Nick Spadaro and Chris Smith. The alternates were Carter Thrash, John Murphy, and Connor Wright.

On Wednesday November 6^th, the Regionals team loaded onto the bus and headed to Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake. The race that the team prepared for all season had finally come. The course was all grass, which the runners loved because they were able to wear their spikes. It was pretty flat the first mile, but the second half had a lot more hills. This did not stop our Running Rams, however.

The boys team ran first and our runners gave it their all. Brenner Beard finished 5^th, Zach Barbarji finished 7^th, and Chris Smith finished 10^th, earning them an automatic qualification to run at States. Ryan Koval came in 19^th, Edwin Buret-Rojas came in 26^th, followed by Nick Spadaro in 27^th, and Dru Dun finished 31^st. This earned the boys team a total score of 66. This score earned the Lafayette Boys Cross Country team second in the 3A region.

The girls team ran right after the boys finished. Allison Crookston brought home the gold, winning the whole race. “It was unbelievable to cross the finish line in first, finally all my hard work from the past 4 years paid off,” she said. “It felt so great to get that win after battling with my competitor throughout the race. The hills were definitely hard but they pushed me even more. I was also so close to breaking 20 again and I know I can do it at States. I’m so proud of my teammates because we worked so hard to get to States and we did it!”

Delaney Cox finished 7^th with Isabel O’Connor not far behind in 10^th. All three of these runners automatically qualified individually. Ainsley Lord finished strong in 17^th place, Scottie Coleman finished in 24^th, Tiffany Morris in 25^th, followed by Kali Panoutsos in 32^nd. The total score of the girls’ team was 59, earning them the third-place spot in the region 3A competition. They beat the second-place spot, York, by only six points. When asked about the race, Ainsley Lord said, “I felt like it went really well and am so happy that we get to go to States for the second year!”

With both teams finishing top three in the region, they advance to the state level. The State meet will be November 16^th at Green Hill Park in Roanoke Virginia. The competition at the next level is fierce, but the runners are ready for anything. Rain, snow, mud, or even flowing streams in the middle of the course, will not defeat our Running Rams.