The Woodbridge Vikings Cross Country team reclaimed the Cross-Country State Championship at Oatland Farms in Loudon County for the first time since 1990 on November 11th, and the team has never been happier.
After being crowned 6A State Cross Country Champs the Vikings celebrated their success, Nate said, “It felt surreal,” said McMahon, “I believed in myself, my teammates, my coaches, and the training we’ve done since the very beginning 3 years ago. It felt great and it was a testament to all the hard work and dedication that was put in.”
The Vikings came into the Class 6 State Championship determined and focused on coming out as state champions with Hayden Goodman, Nate McMahon, Cameron McDuffie, Owen Renquist, Collin Keehan and Deavan Roberts all placing within the top 50 in the 5000m race. Both Nathanael and Hayden placed within the top 10 with McMahon running a 16:04:00 and placing 9th while Goodman ran a 15:44:00 and placed 5th.
The cross-country team had begun preparing for the upcoming season early in the summer. Coach McGreal put together training plans based on mileage and time. They primarily focused on building their base and logging the miles they ran per workout, and “running that far in the heat seemed to help a lot. When the season came it was an easy adjustment.” “While I mostly handled strength and weightlifting, Coach McGreal handled the running and training. Collectively we were all consistent and had a common goal which made us into the best team in Virginia,” said Coach Mcarthy, “Everyone really bought into what we wanted to achieve and I’m proud of what we have accomplished.”
Looking forward to next season, the Vikings hope to repeat their success and come back again and win it all. “Winning states this year showed us that we can do it; now we just need to do it all over again.”
