Molly Hardwick figured the odds of her finishing first in her initial high-school cross-country race were about as long as winning the billion-dollar Powerball lottery.
“A million to one, about zero chance,” the Yorktown Patriots‘ sophomore runner said of her victory expectations.
But Hardwick was wrong. The speedy rookie indeed hit the big jackpot, finishing ahead of the pack in the season-opening girls Monroe Parker Invitational meet the morning of Sept. 6 on the 2.9-mile Burke Lake Park course.
Her time was 18 minutes and 1 second in difficult running conditions on a warm, humid day with thick air.
The race included nearly 200 runners and some of the top competition throughout Northern Virginia. Hardwick’s win helped the Yorktown girls place fourth in the Monroe Parker race.
Hardwick had never run the course before, but she “is very fast and doesn’t like to lose,” Yorktown coach Emily Stewart told ARLnow. “She proved that during spring track.”
In the race, Hardwick started conservatively, falling back 20 or so yards off the lead through the first couple of miles, especially during a rocky section with loose tree roots in abundance.
She then finished strong, taking the lead for good late on the course.
“I was terrified going into the race,” Hardwick said. “Hopefully, I wanted to have a top 10 or top 20 finish. I was feeling it late in the race so I went for the lead. I wasn’t expecting this.”
Hardwick played junior-varsity field hockey last fall. She was turned on to cross-country when she enjoyed significant success running the mile, 800-meters and relay races for Yorktown’s outdoor track-and-field team last spring.
“I knew then I would run cross-country this fall,” Hardwick said.
Also for Yorktown, Ali Mathews placed 26th in 19:39, Nicky Chinchilla was 29th (19:45), Ayla Mehmood 30th (19:46) and Cecilia Floom 41st (20:15).
“We applied a strong team form today,” Stewart said.
The Washington-Liberty girls finished eighth, the Wakefield runners 22nd and the Bishop O’Connell team 23rd.
For W-L, Maddie Brys was 40th (20:15), Emily Buckwalter 44th (20:25) and Mina Dowler 47th (20:27).
Wakefield’s top runner was Aila Simkiss in 36th (19:58). For O’Connell, Sadie Smith was 88th (21:31).
