For Hanover County, the cross country season brings the usual high expectations for local teams and this year could field the best overall talent among the four local schools.

ATLEE

  The Raiders boys expect another exciting season led by senior Andrew Catanese, who turned in a smoking 14:52:50 to win the Fork Union Invitational.  “He’s off to a terrific start,” said Head Coach Jim Triemplar who fields the largest boys squad he’s ever had. 

  Behind Catanese comes a field of virtual newcomers to the varsity scene.

  Juniors Evan Ratke and Zach Snider Jr. as well as sophomore Griffin Carmichael have been running the top spots behind Catanese. Also debuting with great performances have been freshmen Nathaniel Hall and Bizz Alidost.  Equally impressive are juniors Evan Harris and Austin Smith, as well as sophomores Thomas Franco, Fitz Rogers and Matt Peery. “We’re probably the third ranked team right now, and will have to really perform well to move up beyond that,” Triemplar said.

  The Atlee girls, though young, bring in their talent with tightly-packed runners from one to seven, like sophomores Paige Harrar and Scarlett Bavin, juniors Rebekah Hamlett and Katie Bland (who is currently out with an injury) as well as freshman Julia Fraser.  Harrar, who put in the most miles over the summer, “has demonstrated some tremendous leadership,” Triemplar said. 

HANOVER

  The Hawks are packing their lunch to make a run at first place in the Capital District.  Leading the field for the girls’ is senior Anna Gordon and freshman Molly Breidenbaugh. Over the summer, Breidenbaugh trained over the summer with her brother Matthew, the top runner for Maggie Walker, putting in weekly mileage in the upper 30s and lower 40s.  The training schedule seems to work for Breidenbaugh, although Hanover head coach Hopper and Assistant Coach Sherry Hannay normally prefer freshmen to work in the upper 20s to lower 30s.  “The main thing for us is to keep everyone healthy,” Hopper said.  “If we keep everyone healthy, we should have a pretty good showing.”

  Rounding out the girls’ top five are freshman Annie Sadler, sophomore Rachel Gaunt, and senior Blake Potts.  Hopper feels they are looking solid for the district, and added, “Our one deal is that Lee-Davis is going to be tough for us,” he said. “We’re certainly in there for number two in the district.  Whether we take out Lee-Davis or not…that certainly is going to be a tall order.”

  With eight seniors, the top-heavy Hanover boys’ team is also looking for a Capital District win, making the top four for the region, then moving on to states.  Running together since middle school, the top five are seniors Michael Goolsby, Baylor Dickerson and Sam Rosser along with juniors James Poyer and Lucas Nachman.  Hopper feels that Goolsby, Dickerson, Poyer and Nachman are evenly matched. “Those four any given day could be our number one runner,” he said. “They are all very, very tight as far as the competition goes, with Sam Rosser just a little bit behind that group.  [Rosser] is our solid number five runner.”

  Running six and seven are senior Joe Jarrells and freshman Casey Cook who turned in times in the 18s at Knights Crossing.

LEE-DAVIS

  Although young, the C-Fed girls look solid in the Capital District race with strong runners like sophomore Bonny Turnage and senior Tiel Westbrook.  Though only a in her second year of varsity Turnage has already become the girl to beat but Head Coach Neil Matthews feels Westbrook will have a break out season due to her success as a regional champion in 500m indoor track and a strong contender in the 800m and mile in the outdoor season.  “For cross country, this is the first season where she has been a real contender,” Matthews said. “I think she’s going to have a real strong season.” 

  Other hot contenders are junior Samantha Perkins, Victoria Doss and Melissa Davis, sophomore Haley Uliasz, and Halie Warren. 

  According to Matthews, Uliasz is built similarly to Turnage and, though timid, has “a great motor, good foot speed, and has that extra gear that you hope your runners will have.  We’re trying to work on her being more aggressive.”  Warren, who worked wout with the JV program last year, has a taller slender build and long legs that eat up the ground when she runs.  “She’s confident, and doesn’t like to lose,” Matthews said. 

  The C-Fed boys’ come seasoned with eight seniors who have been running together for five years, including senior Cody Snyder who came in just over 16 minutes at the Great Meadow Invitational in August.  “Cody is an exceptional runner, an exceptional talent,” Matthews said. “We don’t get Codys every year when you coach.  So you want to prepare him for the next level, because he will definitely be a collegiate runner, so we do things a little bit differently with Cody to prepare him for that.” 

  Other top performers include senior Robbie Longest, who worked really hard for four years to be a strong and exceptional runner.  In the younger ranks is sophomore Joey Brissette and freshman Paul Adam, who has the potential to rival Snyder’s progression. According to Matthews, Adam is “learning the ropes, and he’s young.  He needs to get stronger to be able to challenge up front. He’s a heck of a competitor; needs experience but is a good racer,” Matthews said. 

PATRICK HENRY

  Patriots head coach Jeremy Dobrinski is excited to see improvement across the board with his teams this year. 

  The girls, though very young, are showing talent in sophomores Logan Harrington, Melina Richardson and Tyler Kittel, as well as junior Allison Nichols.  “They’ve been pushing in our top four and kind of swapping positions at every meet,” Dobrinski said.

  Up and comers include sophomore Tyler Kittel, who ran impressively at the Sports Equestrian.  “I look to see some good things from her as the season goes on,” Dobrinski said. “Her times are dropping rapidly.”

  For the boys, senior Julian Menk leads the team in best times.  “I look to see good things from him, being one of the better kids in the Colonial District as well as placing in the top 15 or so in the Central Region,” Dobrinski said.  Other bright spots for the Patriots are sophomore Tyler McReynolds, and senior David Halstead. With only three seniors and the rest underclassmen, the Patriots look forward to seeing their strength develop further in the coming seasons.
Sophomores Nathan Nayda and Wyatt Campbell are running very well though both are nursing injuries right now. “I look to see when they get healthy to be very helpful for our team,” Dobrinski said.