Murphy leads Lake Braddock to first NXN

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

There is no question that the two best girls cross country teams in Virginia -- Lake Braddock and Blacksburg -- are also the two best in the NXN Southeast region. 

The two teams proved that on Saturday and earned the automatic bids to go to NXN Nationals. 

But which team is better, Lake Braddock or Blacksburg?

They come from vastly different parts of the state and don't regularly compete against one another. Lake Braddock is a 6A school located near Washington, D.C. Blacksburg is a 3A school in the mountain town that's home to Virginia Tech. 

PHOTO GALLERY - by Phil Ponder

And two weeks ago at the Virginia state championships, Blacksburg was better. The two teams ran on the same course, but different days. 

Lake Braddock went first, scored 44 points to win the Class 6A title. The average for the top five was 19:04. The next day, Blacksburg whipped the 3A field with 23 points and averaged 18:47.

But on Saturday at Wake Med in Cary, N.C., Lake Braddock was superior. With low stick Kate Murphy out front, the Bruins had big advantages at 1 and 5 while the 2-3-4 matchup was virtually even. The final tally was Lake Braddock 62, Blacksburg 99. 

And at NXN, Murphy could be a difference maker as Lake Braddock competes at NXN for the first time. Murphy could win the entire race and score one point. 

The boys race, as expected, was tight -- but only for the second spot. 

Marietta GA got the job done with the NXN Southeast title but they did while taking a huge risk. Marietta only had five finish the race. And Carlos Torres, Marietta's Class 6A Georgia state champion, suffered through a bad race and finished 50th in the scoring. 

Somehow, Marietta survived and without any insurance of a sixth and seventh finisher. 

The fight for second place was intense and 13 points separated five times trying to earn a trip to nationals. But none of them could get five guys to click. 

Trinity Prep (Winter Park) FL got second place on the strength of its 3rd and 4th runners, but took a big number at 5 and held on by a few points. Winter Park returns to the national meet for the first time since the inaugural NTN back in 2004. 

Individually, Brentwood TN's Brodey Hasty ran 14.55.8 for an impressive 11 second victory. Kevin Murray from Charter of Wilmington DE was second in 15:06.8.