Boys Cross Country Team Places Fourth at States

Members+of+the+Boys+Cross+Country+Team+during+their+state+race

Credit: Cherie Witt

Members of the Boys Cross Country Team during their state race

Tyler Phillips, Staff Writer

With Jack Frost blowing in cold wind for winter, the popular fall running sport among males, Boys Cross Country, came to a successful end. The team had a very good season, led in large part by star runner Gannon Willcutts, as the team blew through regular competition in locations such as Fork Union High School and Panorama Farms.

After their dominating regular season, the post-season meets were a piece of cake. Trevor Stutzman and Willcutts ran wild in the Jefferson District Tournament, finishing in fourth and second place. And after advancing through the conference tournament, Willcutts broke the course record with an impressive time of 15:47.80 in Blacksburg to win first place in the 3A Regional Tournament.

Then it was time for the 3A State Championship, and Willcutts again didn’t disappoint. He placed second in the state, finishing behind Andrew Hunter of Loudoun Valley who broke the state record by 6 seconds. Willcutts finished in 15:35, and the rest of the team was right behind. Trevor Stutzman finished sixth, Jack Ehlenberger took 46th, Ethan Sewell took 58th, and Ben Skinner took 61st for an overall team score that put the team in 4th.