05/31/2026
What a last regular season finale we had yesterday. First, the girls had boundless energy yesterday. The bond between all of them while playing all day was really fun to see. They truly all get along. Yesterday was really notable for how well we became a team during the course of the year.
We traveled to a really cool part of Virginia to take on a totally new subset of runners in Purcellville. The weather was perfect temperature wise, but was terrible at the start of the meet for distance runners in the 1600 and 800. Then, it would have been perfect for sprinters, but died down just in time for sprints. And finally, the wind disappeared totally for the 3200 and 4x400, which was perfect. So, a really weird night of weather with the wind. Here's what I can remember.
The 4x400 relay (Abby, Harper, Catherine and Raleigh).
Simply put, the team had a bunch of competition but in the end we won the relay. In winning that relay, we might have had the most impressive run in Valley Blaze history on Raleigh's final leg. Abby, Harp, and Catherine did an admiral job running and keeping us somewhat close. However, Raleigh, in her last ever Valley Blaze race got the baton with about a 60 - 80 meter deficit and just took off flying and aggressive. She sprinted the entire 400, and not only wiped out the lead, but won handily en route to first place. It was unreal. She locked in, chased, and kept going to where 2nd place had no answer. It was an awesome way to end the season. Simply in awe of that run. Congratulations ladies.
The 4x100 relay (Brooke, Harper, Emily, and Abby)
This is our young team that takes a backseat to nobody. The team consists of three 5th graders and one 6th grader. They got 4th overall going against stacked teams with 8th graders. They were only .15 out of third place and a few seconds from second. Watching how confident and fundamentally sound this group is at such a young age is so cool to see. Can't wait to see them run a year older next year.
Molly - Molly had another terrific night. She PR'ed in really windy conditions in her 800. She ran a perfect strategy by leading the race, falling back behind the favored seed for a while, and then blazing to a finish that blew everyone away for first place. As if that wasn't enough, she then ran the 3200 for the first time. She ran it well, and labored very little after she settled in to her pace. IN addition, she ended the race in no man's land and still have a huge kick at the end and ran a 12:23.60. Molly had an awesome night in her last run ever for the Valley Blaze. We are going to miss her.
Raleigh - Besides her relay, Raleigh ran the 1600 in really windy, and bad conditions, for a distance runner. She won the race pretty easy, pulling away from Harper at the end. While not a PR it was a terrific run because of running into heavy wind for 200 of the 400 meter track. This was a great way to end her season. This first place run and the 4x400 relay should be awesome for Raleigh's confidence.
Harper - Harper gutted out a relatively heavy workload while running the 4x100, 1600, and 4x400. She had an incredible run in the heavy win in the 1600. She finished behind Raleigh, and in front of a 7th grader from NOVA AC. As small as Harp is, cutting that wind was tough for her yesterday, but her competitive spirit never disappoints. Harper has a bright future coming, and we can't wait to see her in XC soon.
Catherine - Cat started off running the 800 and scored for the team finishing sixth. She said she wasn't overly happy with her run, but it was solid nonetheless. She then came back a while later and ran her favorite event, the 400. She scored again for the team which was terrific. She earned her way on to the winning 4x400 squad last night and got first in that event. Catherine really worked on consistency the last half of Outdoor season and achieved that goal nicely as an 8th grader. She will be moving up to a loaded Spotswood distance group and will add much needed depth next season. We can't wait to watch her high school career.
Abby - Abby was her terrific self again last night. She scratched out of the 400, but finished fifth in the 100m. She was sandwiched between 8th and 7th graders above and below her, but her effort is there every week, which is important. You can't PR every week, but the consistent effort is one of the most important things a runner can have. She has it. Abby had a great season as a 5th grader and is shaping up to be a great runner in the future.
Brooke - It is amazing how far Brooke has come this season. She is now a pretty fierce competitor. She's a trusted leadoff on our young 4x100, and she works from gun to finish on her races. She also ran a PR of 31.11 yesterday and finished 2nd among 6th graders. She was 14th out of 41 runners yesterday with almost all of the girls above her being 7th and 8th graders. Brooke is coming. She became a consistent runner this season, and we hope she joins us again next year.
Emily - Despite being only being a 5th grader, and one of the smallest runners out there week after week, you never have to worry about the fiesty-ness of Emily. She's a gamer and competes hard in all of her races. She excels on relays as well. She was handily the 2nd best 5th grade runner in the 100 (behind Abby), and the 2nd best 5th grader by only .05 seconds behind a runner from Dominion Christian School. Pretty solid. She's a consistent high achiever in her age group, and very solid overall as only a 5th grader. Another young runner with a bright future coming shortly.
That was a fun way to end the season.
