Maryvale Prep edges Edgewood in tight MDXC Red & White Varsity Girls team race

HUNT VALLEY, Md. — Mount Hebron junior Charlotte Roder ran away with the individual championship, while Maryvale Prep emerged from a three-team battle to capture the Red & White Varsity Girls team title at the MDXC Invitational on Oct. 10 at Shawan Downs.

Roder established herself at the front of the field and finished in a personal-best 19 minutes, 13.8 seconds, winning by 28.7 seconds.

Bryn Mawr sophomore Brooke Hackmann finished runner-up in a season-best 19:42.5, while Edgewood sophomore Jada Erickson was close behind in third, recording a personal-best 19:45.6.

Edmund Burke senior Frankie Newman finished fourth in a personal-best 19:51.8, making her the fourth and final runner to break the 20-minute mark.

Maryvale Prep freshman Hope Eliason followed in fifth with a personal-best 20:16.0, beginning the scoring effort that would eventually give Maryvale the team championship.

Annapolis Area Christian sophomore Ariel Gorski placed sixth in 20:18.1, and Edgewood junior Katherine Gotfredson was seventh in 20:19.5. Friends sophomore Elia Gregg finished eighth in 20:32.6, Bryn Mawr sophomore Kiki Noyes was ninth in 20:34.5, and Middletown sophomore Lydia Barnette completed the top 10 in a personal-best 20:35.9.

While Roder had a comfortable advantage in the individual race, the battle for the team championship could hardly have been closer.

Maryvale Prep won with 85 points, just three ahead of Edgewood’s 88 and seven ahead of Bryn Mawr’s 92.

Maryvale used depth to overcome the strong front-running performances from Edgewood and Bryn Mawr. Eliason led Maryvale with her fifth-place overall finish and fourth-place scoring position. Senior Natalia Sidor followed in 18th overall, while sophomore Annabel Muehlschlegel was 22nd, senior Kate Gerbereux finished 24th, and sophomore Skylar Grant completed the scoring five in 28th overall.

Those performances translated to scoring positions of 4, 16, 19, 21, and 25, giving Maryvale its 85-point total. The Lions’ five scorers combined for 1:46:11.7, averaging 21:14.4.

Edgewood came within three points of taking the championship, powered by one of the strongest front threes in the field.

Erickson’s third-place finish gave the Rams three team points, Gotfredson followed with six points, and junior Sofia Hedrington added 14 with a personal-best 20:53.5. That put three Edgewood runners across the finish line before Maryvale’s second scorer.

Junior Charnele Johnson finished 34th overall in a personal-best 22:20.3, and sophomore Scarlett Chester was 37th in a personal-best 22:27.7 to complete Edgewood’s scoring five.

Edgewood’s scorers combined for 1:45:46.6 and a 21:09.4 average, both faster than Maryvale’s corresponding marks. But cross-country championships are determined by finishing positions rather than cumulative time, and Maryvale’s tighter fourth and fifth scoring positions provided the three-point difference.

Bryn Mawr was equally close to the championship.

Hackmann’s runner-up finish provided two points, while Noyes contributed seven and sophomore Lillian Mangum added 13 after finishing 15th overall in 20:45.6. Sophomore Harper Trader and junior Olivia Strauss completed the scoring five.

Bryn Mawr totaled 92 points, leaving the Mawrtians only four points behind Edgewood and seven behind Maryvale. Their five scorers combined for 1:45:58.3, giving them a 21:11.7 average.

The result produced an unusually tight podium: Maryvale, Edgewood, and Bryn Mawr were separated by only seven points, and their five-runner cumulative times were separated by just 25.1 seconds.

Behind the leading trio, Winters Mill finished fourth with 121 points. Senior Kara Richmond led the Falcons with a 12th-place overall finish in a personal-best 20:41.3, while senior Hannah Neske was 17th in a personal-best 21:00.7. Winters Mill also posted one of the tighter scoring spreads among the leading teams at 1:53.3.

Annapolis Area Christian rounded out the top five with 128 points, led by Gorski’s sixth-place finish. Freshman Abby Patrylo and junior Kip Noll also finished among the first 27 runners overall.

Middletown followed in sixth with 145 points, St. Vincent Pallotti was seventh with 194, Atholton eighth with 199, La Plata ninth with 205, and Rockbridge Academy completed the top 10 with 259.

For Mount Hebron, the individual championship highlighted a different type of performance. Roder scored one team point with her victory, but Mount Hebron’s remaining scorers finished much farther back in the field, leaving the Vikings 12th in the team standings with 310 points.

At the front, however, no one could match Roder. Her 19:13.8 personal best gave her a 28.7-second victory, while Hackmann and Erickson were separated by only 3.1 seconds in the battle for second.

Behind her, the team race provided the drama. Maryvale’s balanced scoring ultimately proved enough to withstand Edgewood’s formidable front three and Bryn Mawr’s own top-heavy lineup, giving the Lions the Red & White Varsity Girls championship by the narrowest team margin of the MDXC divisions covered so far.

Top five individuals: Charlotte Roder, Mount Hebron, 19:13.8; Brooke Hackmann, Bryn Mawr, 19:42.5; Jada Erickson, Edgewood, 19:45.6; Frankie Newman, Edmund Burke, 19:51.8; Hope Eliason, Maryvale Prep, 20:16.0.

Top five teams: Maryvale Prep, 85; Edgewood, 88; Bryn Mawr, 92; Winters Mill, 121; Annapolis Area Christian, 128.

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Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors who helped bring together another competitive field for the MDXC Invitational at Shawan Downs.