Hasty three-peats at NXR SE; Loudoun Valley VA rolls

By Ka'Deem Wynn for DyeStat

Brodey Hasty competed against high school runners for the first time all fall and won the NXR Southeast regional for the third straight year, clocking 14:36.2 at Wake Med Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C.

RESULTS

Hasty, running with the Brentwood XC Club, will advance to Portland alone. His team finished sixth Saturday. His time was a season best and just shy of his personal-best 14:32.2, which he ran on the same course at the 2016 Great American Cross Country Festival.

Hasty was third at Nike Cross Nationals last year and opened the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason individual rankings. Hasty and his teammates did not run for their school during the Tennessee regular season and opted to practice with coach Guy Avery instead.

The Brentwood High senior didn’t seem to mind, however.

“I kind of like it,” Hasty said. “It really allows you to focus on your training and do specific things versus trying to win a meet here and trying to win a meet there. ” 

The Jungle TC (Loudoun Valley VA) continued its unbeaten season, taking the boys championship race team title with 72 points. Loudoun Valley has been ranked No. 1 nationally all season.

“They’ve really jelled over the season,” coach Joan Hunter said. “But I think they can run better. I don’t think we had a perfect day today.”

Led by Sam Affolder, who took was the runner-up in 14:58.1, the team put three of its runners in the top 15. The fourth and fifth scorers finished further back in the top 50. Peter Morris was fourth overall in 15:08.6 and Colton Bogucki was 14th in 15:32.6. Jacob Hunter (15:41.8) and Connor Wells (16:01.4) finished 22nd and 49th, respectively.

Charles Hicks, a 2016 Foot Locker finalist, nabbed third place, running 15:05.7. The junior’s finish helped pave the way for a rather surprising and emotional runner-up team finish (118 points) for his team, Bulldog XC (Bolles FL). The team from Jacksonville came to the meet expecting to gain experience, but got much more than that.

Later, Western Cary (Green Hope NC), third with 125 points, was named as an at-large qualifier to NXN. Louisville (St. Xavier KY) finished fourth with 145 poitns, and Milton GA was fifth with 155 points. 

Milton was expected to contend with Loudoun Valley VA for a NXN berth.

Lydia Olivere (The Creek XC Club/Padua DE) led the girls field, battling it out with a host of competitors. The 2016 NXN qualifier’s experience proved to be a deciding factor as she emerged as the regional champion, breaking the tape in 17:21.5. Olivere finished third in the race in 2016. She will look to improve on last year’s 24th-place performance at NXN.

The race for the next four spots saw Sasha Neglia (Dbxc TN) finish as runner-up in 17:27.1, Kaitlyn Lacy (unattached KY) fourth in 17:30.1 and Blacksburg XC Club VA sophomore Kaitlynn Wolfe fifth overall in 17:31.9. 

Wolfe matched her Oct. 7 performance at the Great American Cross Country Festival almost to a tee, where she ran her personal-best 17:31.4 to finish third. 

Wolfe's team went into the meet as the regional favorite, but took third with 157 points. Blacksburg had to wait a few hours but was named as one of the four at-large qualifiers that will advance to NXN. Blacksburg won the regional title in 2014 and 2016, and was second 2013 and 2015. 

Raleigh Catholic (Cardinal Gibbons NC) took this year’s team title, totaling 120 points. Louisville Rams (DuPont Manual KY) scored 148 points to nab the second automatic qualifying berth.