Last year, the Albemarle boys cross country team won the Virginia High School League Class 5 state championship in nail-biting fashion, edging Clover Hill on a tiebreaker. This year, the Patriots left no doubt. Albemarle won its second straight state championship in dominating fashion on Saturday at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens.
All five of the Patriots' scoring runners placed in the top 20, while their No. 6 and 7 runners both finished inside the top 25. AHS finished with 36 points, 59 points clear of second-place Riverbend (95 points).
Even if the Patriots sixthand seventh-place runners had been added to their point total, they would have still won the state championship comfortably. "I am in awe of these boys, and it's not just the seven that raced," Albemarle coach Adrian Lorenzoni told The Daily Progress. "It's the three alternates, Brody Lawson, Joey Coleman and Hayes Costello, and the fourth captain, Alan Pellissier, that traveled with the team to states.
It's the 20-plus boys that weren't part of that 11 that traveled to the meet [coming] on their own to cheer on their teammates. "It's the entire 67-boy roster that challenges themselves and their teammates every day. This is a special group that worked together to accomplish special things this season.
" JT Hillis was the first Albemarle runner into the chute, earning a fourth-place finish in 16:26. His teammate, Eli Phillips, was not far behind, placing fifth in 16:28. Baelin Duncan placed 11th (16:48), while J.