Albemarle’s Anthony Kostelac knew if he could just stay with Riverbend sophomore Shaquon Wilkins, he’d be able to take over down the stretch in the Northwest Region cross country championships. But Wilkins didn’t make it easy.
“He really killed it up Cardiac (Hill) and that actually got me a little bit worried,” Kostelac said. “But I felt like if I could keep him within reach I could kick past him, I’m pretty confident in my kick.”
The push didn’t give Wilkins, who battled valiantly, enough of an edge to knock off Kostelac, as the Albemarle senior passed the Riverbend runner near the top of the home stretch before pulling away for a decisive victory at Panorama Farms.
Kostelac’s first place finish helped spark Albemarle, who finished third in the Commonwealth meet, to a second place finish in the Northwest Region, punching a ticket to the Group AAA meet.
“As I was getting closer to the second mile I could see Anthony up in front I thought, there, we’ve got one spot, now we need a team behind him,” said Albemarle sophomore Ben Deal.
Deal, Adam Visokay, Evan Karweik and Austin McPhillips came up with a strong collective performance to snag the second place finish. Visokay and Karweik finished back-to-back at 16th and 17th overall. Deal and McPhillips checked in at 20th and 26th to round out the scoring.
The quartet made a huge move in the last 500 meters, picking up several key places during that final stretch to secure the runner-up finish. According to coach Buz Male’s plan, the group made its first move on the back hills at Panorama, in the 1.25 to 2-mile stretch, then rested for a short time before making the long final kick.
The Commonwealth District flexed its muscles at the meet with a sweep of the team state meet qualifying spots — the top four team scores advance. Mountain View won the team title, Stafford took third and Colonial Forge notched a fourth place finish.
Huschke qualifies for states
On the girls side, a youthful Albemarle squad finished sixth as a team, missing out on a team trip to the Group AAA meet, but the future is clearly bright.
Freshman Allison Huschke picked up a 13th place finish to qualify for the state meet as an individual.Her 19:49.5 was a personal record, and just two ninth graders, Franklin County’s Melissa Teeple and Stafford’s Hannah Lowery, finished ahead of the Albemarle youngster.
The Patriots’ other four scorers finished in a tight pack with junior Elizabeth Sinclair, freshman Maggie Tubridy and junior Summer Shepherd taking 42nd-44th. Lauren Truwit crossed shortly thereafter at 46th and Ciera Ulan took the sixth spot for the Patriots at 48th.
Katherine Walker, a Brooke Point senior, won the individual title in a tight race with Mountain View’s Kaitlyn Davis.
