Oatlands Hosts XC Invitational

101 Schools, 4,400 Athletes Compete in Leesburg

By Carl Little

Saturday, September 20, 2008

If anyone had come to yesterday's Oatlands Invitational in Leesburg expecting to find out just how talented Solomon Haile is, they might have left with more questions than answers. Sure, the Sherwood senior covered the five-kilometer course in record time.

But judging by how easily he won - his time of 15 minutes 25 seconds lowered the course record by 20 seconds - many were left to wonder if he could have gone faster.

"I was surprised by how much he won by," Sherwood Coach Dan Reeks said. "There was a tight pack of about four or five guys midway through, but he burned them. He has an engine that's pretty good."

Before yesterday, Haile, who emigrated from Ethiopia last fall, had been largely untested on the area cross-country scene. Oatlands was just his second invitational on U.S. soil.

Although he did not run cross-country last year, Haile enjoyed tremendous success during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, setting several national and state records and earning All-Met honors. Even with those accomplishments, Haile said that cross-country is his favorite sport, so the best is yet to come.

"In Ethiopia, we train every time in the mountains," Haile said. "When I ran indoor and outdoor [track last year], I missed these moments."

Oakton won the boys' team competition with 133 points, finishing ahead of Robinson (165 points) and Potomac Falls (216). The meet hosted 101 schools and 4,400 athletes from seven states, including Colorado, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was the largest high school sporting event ever held in Virginia, according to meet co-director Matt Oblas. Oblas is the assistant athletic director at Freedom-South Riding, one of the meet’s host schools.

The Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) girls' team used its speed and depth to clinch its second straight win at Oatlands. It scored just 33 points to outdistance Brentsville (206 points) and Oakton (218).

Mountain View junior Kaitlyn Davis was the only area girl to finish in the top five, placing second in 19:01. Senior Kate Rosettie of Corning (N.Y.) won in 18:54.

"This is bigger than my state meet," said Davis, who competed for Jacksonville High in North Carolina last year.

Note: For the first time in its four-year history, the meet used chips placed on each runner’s shoes to electronically record the time they crossed the finish line.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks