Ahmed Bile proved why he was chosen as the Gatorade Cross Country runner of the year back in January, with his showing at the Northern Region indoor meet Saturday. The 6-foot-3 junior from Annandale followed up an impressive Patriot District meet with a first-place finish in the boys 1600-meter run, second place in the 1000 meters and was part the Atoms third-place squad in the boys 4x400 meter relay.
The Annandale boys team found themselves in a heated battle with South Lakes High School throughout the day at the Northern Region championship at George Mason University, but Bile’s impressive outing wasn’t enough as South Lakes finished in first place overall with 71 points, while Annandale came in second with 62.
It was a long day as usual at regionals, with over 20 boys and girls teams competing in a combined 30 different events.
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“Luckily with this day the events are very close to each other, so everyone stays pretty pumped up throughout the day,” Atoms head coach David O’Hara said in between events. “We all have the same goal we just want to come out and win as a team and of course everyone has their individual goals, but its always great if you can win as a team.”
Bile wasn’t the only first place finisher for the Atoms, as seniors Joel Hoisington finished first in the shot put event, and John Jenkins finished first in the 55-meter hurdles. Jenkins also finished fifth in the 300-meter dash.
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“Shot put was very competitive this year,” Annandale head coach David O’Hara said while watching the boys 1600-meter relay. “Joel was going up against some tough guys this year, so it was an impressive win for him.”
Bile, Hoisington and Jenkins will join Bile’s 4x400 meter relay team to represent Annandale at the AAA VHSL state meet in Hampton on Friday.
