Edison cross country coach Bernadette Flynn wanted senior Myah Hicks to push herself earlier than normal during the Monroe Parker Invitational on Sept. 11 at Burke Lake Park. Competing against Lake Braddock’s Sophie Chase, Hicks stayed with the sophomore standout early before Chase pulled away.
While Hicks failed to keep pace with her Bruin opponent, she left the rest of the field staring at her heels.
Hicks placed second with a time of 18 minutes, 4 seconds on the 2.98-mile course, eight seconds better than third-place finisher Lisa Junta of Thomas Jefferson. Chase won the meet with a time of 17:32.
Hicks is also a decorated track athlete, winning the AAA state championship in the 800 meters as a junior.
Hicks did well Flynn said. "The plan was to push herself a little more in the beginning, the coach said. "She’s been fairly conservative in cross country and she did a really nice job on her start. We’re trying to get a little bit out of her comfort zone [during] the first few miles and to stay as close to Sophie as possible."
Hicks said she felt OK during the race, but wants to build endurance in hopes of improving her performance during track season. She wants to run faster than 18 minutes on the Burke Lake course and bring her 5K (3.1 miles) down to the low 18-minute mark.
"My arms are pretty tired," she said after the race. "Breathing-wise, I think I was OK. … My initial goal was to stay with [Chase] for the race. I think I was with her to the [1]-mile [mark], then she took off."
Hicks’ second-place finish helped the three-time-defending National District champion Edison girls team place 14th out of 23 teams with 412 points. Edison junior Tara Tinsley finished 52nd with a time of 20:24. Sophomore Nicole Lyon placed 118th (21:52).
Thomas Jefferson had three top-10 finishers: Junta, Sarah Stites (fourth, 18:26) and Stephanie Marzen (seventh, 18:58). West Potomac junior Sarah Underwood finished fifth with a time of 18:26. T.C. Williams junior Shannon Smyth (sixth, 18:51), Langley sophomore Courteney West (eighth, 19:00), Madison sophomore Anna Stone (ninth, 19:01) and Washington-Lee junior Helen Amend (10th, 19:02) completed the top 10.
West Springfield sophomore Maddie Wittich finished 12th (19:06) and Lee senior Nina Srikongyos was 17th (19:10).
Thomas Jefferson won the team title with a score of 44 points. West Potomac placed second with 86 points, followed by Lake Braddock (122), Langley (137) and West Springfield (150). Hayfield finished 22nd (520).
In boys action, Lake Braddock had to two top-10 finishers. Senior Sam Rubenking placed second (15:26) and senior Luke Sohl finished fifth (15:37). Lee senior Abraham Yacob finished sixth (15:39) and West Springfield senior Colin Taylor was ninth (15:54).
Annandale junior Ahmed Bile (third, 15:28), Robinson’s Nick Reed (seventh, 15:45) and South Lakes seniors Will Sickenberger (eighth, 15:49) and Nick Guarnaccia (10th, 15:55) completed the top 10.
West Potomac defended its team title with a score of 84 points. South Lakes finished second with 116 points, followed by Lake Braddock (141), Thomas Jefferson (175) and Hayfield (206). West Springfield finished seventh with 257 points, Edison was 13th (354) and Lee was 16th (430).