By Jim McGrath | jmcgrath@alextimes.com
The top harriers from each of Alexandria’s four high schools will square off next week at the Joe Halm Memorial City Championships at the Episcopal High School campus on Oct. 7.
The Halm Memorial, named for the former Episcopal cross-country coach who led the Maroon distance program for 18 years before his passing in 2014, has a meet history dating back to the early 1970s. In previous years, the schools would alternate hosting duties; however, soon after Halm’s passing, Episcopal took charge of the logistics and has preserved the meet, which is one of the few opportunities to see all four city schools compete for a city title in any sport.
This year’s version should provide for some exciting outcomes, particularly in the boys race. The top five runners from Alexandria City High School and Bishop Ireton High School are separated by a miniscule three-second average for their season-best 5K times, in favor of the Titans, who are hoping to reclaim the boys championship that was won by Ireton last fall.
ACHS is led by the trio of Jack Hersey, El Mehdi Manafi and Connor Foley, all of whom have posted times between 17:11 and 17:26 this season. Ireton will be led by senior standout Jason Day, who won the meet last season, and has posted a season-best time of 16:01.1, from the Wolverine Invitational in Purcellville earlier this month. Day’s time ranks him third among all Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I runners.
St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School should also post two runners in the top six finishers, with Henry Krebs (16:40) and Liam Riedy (17:06) ranked among the top 12 runners in the same Division I rankings.
For the girls, the Titans will be heavy favorites, although ACHS and Ireton tied for the team title last season, with ACHS winning on the basis of their sixth best runner placing one spot ahead of Ireton’s. Based on times, the ACHS top five girls average 19:44 for 5Ks. One, Quinn Salerno, has run 18:48 this season, but is an eighth grader and unable to compete with the varsity.
However, Sophie Meisner will be the favorite to win. Meisner has clocked a time of 18:34 this fall, in her eighth-place effort at the Wolverine Invitational on Sept. 19.
Other runners to watch will be Meisner’s teammate Quinn McGlinchey, former city champion Catherine Messing of Ireton, Sydney Wanamaker and Avery Giblan of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes and Episcopal’s Lydia Navitsky.
The Titans, coached by former Titan standout Robert Callahan from the Class of 1996, are not taking the meet lightly.
“This will be the first time that we will be running our top eight [runners] this season,” Callahan said. “We look at this meet as a stepping stone for our [Patriot] District, Region [6C] and state meets. This weekend, the Titans will travel to Cary, North Carolina, to compete in the Great American XC Festival, a race that includes the best teams from all over the East Coast.”
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