By Ryan Sonner, Northern Virginia Daily

MADISON--Two things were expected at Wednesday’s Bull Run District cross-country meet. One was Dustin Sweeney finishing first in the boys race, which he did in record-breaking fashion. The second thing that was expected was that Strasburg’s Leslie Grant and Sara Hines would finish second and third. Sweeney set a new Madison County course record with a time of 16:53, crushing the old record by more than a minute. Clarke finished fourth in the boys meet with 73 points, just good enough to qualify as a team for the Region B meet, which will be held at Stonewall Jackson. Brentsville finished first with 58 points, Madison was second with 62, and Strasburg came in third with 69 points. But Sweeney stole the show by dominating yet another race. “I felt strong the entire race,” he said. “I felt consistant and I paced myself.” In the girls race, Grant crossed in 20:27 and Hines wasn’t far behind with a 20:49. Grant started out strong as usual, but Hines started slow and worked her way up to the front of the pack by races end. Coach Matt Hiserman knew what to expect out of his top two runners. “I wanted them to take no less than 2-3,” Hiserman said. “It should be that way in regionals too. Sara and Leslie ran very well today.” Brentsville also won the girls race with 34 points. Freshman Mindy Peele helped the Tigers’ cause by finishing first with a course-record time of 20:12. Madison came in second with 63 points, Strasburg was third with 56 and George Mason just made regionals in fourth with 84 points. The overall impression of the course at Madison was not a good one. Runners complained of the hard surface and the winding hills that led around the football field and in front of a 4-H center. “It doesn’t seem like districts would be held here,” Grant said. Added Sweeney: “I didn’t like the course too much. There was too much gravel and pavement. The soil and ground was really hard.” Sweeney was not pleased with the team finish either. “This is not what we had in mind at all,” Sweeney said of the fourth-place finish. “But we definitely expect to move on to states.” Strasburg’s boys were led by Chad Neff’s eighth-place finish. Robbie Olsen crossed in 11th, Brian Watson-Jones finished 14th, and John Wilburn was also in the top 15 at 15th. Hiserman was glad to see that his runners ran a consistant race. “Neff ran a great race,” he said “This is by far the best race he’s ran all year long. Robbie also ran a good race. I don’t know if he was pleased, though. His goal was to beat [Tim] Tomblin.” Clarke’s Tomblin finished ninth, two ahead of Olsen. Both Strasburg and Clarke sprinkled eight more runners into the top 37. In the girls race, Strasburg placed five more in the top 30 while Clarke had two more in the top 38. With the Region B meet held at Stonewall, Hiserman expects a lot from his teams. “They’re going to have to get up a little bit further,” he said of his back three girls runners. “But we’ll be one of the top four teams if we run like we’re capable of running.” Specht echoed Hiserman’s remarks. “We can’t be too disappointed,’ she said. “We need to work hard for next week.” The only thing that wasn’t expected was for Clarke County’s girls to move two runners into next week’s Region B meet. Kathe Krumich (11th) and Jessica Creamer (12th) both finished in the top 15 to advance. Clarke coach Nancy Specht was more than pleased. “I was so happy that I cried,” she said. “Those two continue to believe and they have great attitudes."

Teams

1. Brentsville 58

2. Madison 62

3. Strasburg 69

4. Clarke 73

5. George Mason 92

6. Rappahannock 173

7. Manassas Park 204

Individuals

1. Dustin Sweeney CC 16:53 CR

2. Andrew Montgomery GM 17:31

3. Eric Bohler MC 17:34

4. Andrew Cheshire B 17:47

5. Maurice Styles MC 17:48

6. James Brock GM 17:50

7. Ben Trushel B 17:57

8. Chad Neff S 17:59

9. Tim Tomblin CC 18:00

10. Dylan Haas B 18:03

11. Robbie Olsen S 18:19

12. Phillip Thomas RC 18:21

13. Travis Hunnicut MC 18:23

14. Daniel Watson-Jones S 18:24

15. John Wilburn S 18:26

Teams

1. Brentsville 34

2. Madison 63

3. Strasburg 66

4. George Mason 84

5. Rappahannock 122

Individuals

1. Mindy Peele BD 20:12 CR

2. Leslie Grant S 20:27

3. Sara Hines S 20:49

4. Lydia Hastings MC 21:09

5. Bethany Kitonis BD 21:47

6. Heather Waters BD 22:08

7. Jessica Karnis GM 22:13

8. Kathleen Sullivan BD 22:34

9. Jesse Pastore MC 22:49

10. Shelley Knewstep MC 22:53

11. Kathe Krumich CC 22:59

12. Jessica Creamer CC 22:59

13. Alyssa Berry RC 23:03

14. Sarah Thornton MC 23:05

15. Anya Byers GM 23:09