Kelsey Chmiel solos 16:50, Loudoun Valley boys win

By Ka’Deem Wynn for DyeStat

Kelsey Chmiel came to North Carolina to run fast Saturday at the Great American Cross Country Festival. RESULTS

“I just wanted to get out fast and see what happens,” the Saratoga Springs NY junior said. 

Chmiel handily won the girls Nike Race of Champions, running a 5-kilometer best of 16 minutes, 50.3 seconds. She won by 36 seconds. The meet record of 16:40.9, set in 2010 by Aisling Cuffe, was within sight.

She took out the first mile alone in 4:57 and used her strength to keep pushing through the rest of the race, leaving the field behind.

Battles ensued behind her as Ana Wallace (Lawton Chiles FL) and Kaitlynn Wolfe (Blacksburg VA) were the first two to tear away from the chase pack. Wallace crossed the finish line in 17:26.5 and Wolfe in 17:31.4.

Wolfe's Blacksburg team won the title with 115 points. Wallace's Chiles team finished second with 143 points. 

The boys Nike Race of Champions featured Dalton Hengst (McDonogh School MD), a pre-race favorite, leading the way virtually throughout. With a very enthusiastic jump to the finish line, Hengst won the race in 14:57.1. Michael Phillips of Chiles was in tow, crossing the line in 14:58.1 for second.

“When you’re beating guys by close margins, you have to show some excitement,” Hengst said.

Hengst also had the boys from Loudoun Valley VA, the nation's top-ranked team, on his heels. Peter Morris and Sam Affolder finished fifth and sixth, running 15:04.6 and 15:09.1, and the Vikings put four in the top 13 but then had a 37-second wait for their fifth scorer. Jacob Hunter (11th, 15:30.5), Colton Boguki (13th, 15:33.5) and Connor Wells (60th, 16:10.9) rounded out the scorers for Loudoun Valley, which remained unbeaten following a 62-point effort.  

Green Hope NC, led by ninth-place finisher Peyton Barish (15:18.5), made a fair attempt to take a run at Loudoun Valley. Green Hope had a 44-second spread among its top five and finished with 81 points. 

“We knew coming out of Oatlands that we had a lot of work to do, specifically being able to hold on through two miles,” Barish said.

Barish added that recently incorporated team-centered training played a large part in the group's success Saturday.

Southeast region No. 3 St. Xavier of Louisville, Ky., and No. 5 The Bolles School FL were also in the mix, finishing third (128 points) and seventh (279), respectively.