Bursting on the high-school cross-country scene by winning her first race as an unknown sophomore runner in early September, Molly Hardwick continues to prove she is no fluke.
The Yorktown High School harrier capped the 2025 campaign with probably her biggest accomplishment and against the toughest competition Saturday (Nov. 8) — a runner-up finish in the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 girls state championship meet.
Her second place is thought to be the highest ever by a Yorktown girls runner in the state meet.
Hardwick’s time on the 5,000-meter Oatlands Plantation state-meet course in Leesburg was 18:19. Oakton High senior Caroline Sapperstein won by a comfortable margin in 17:58.
A few days earlier, in the 6D North Region meet at Burke Lake Park, Hardwick also finished second behind Sapperstein.
At the state meet, Hardwick ran with the top pack the entire way. She finished strong by passing West Springfield junior Allie Horner (third, 18:27) in the final yards.
“I went out fast in the first mile,” Hardwick told ARLnow. “Then, at the 2-mile mark, I was 100 meters from the lead, then I picked up the pace some and ran hard to get past[Horner] at the end.”
Hardwick said her mindset prior to the race was a top-five finish.
“The course was so hard and so tough, especially a hilly section in the woods in the middle of the race,” Hardwick said. “At that point I just wanted to finish in the top 10. It was 100% the hardest course I ran all season.”
That season included three victories, including a win in the postseason Liberty District meet. Her first win came in early September at Burke Lake Park at the Monroe Parker Invitational, which had another big field of runners. Hardwick also won the Arlington County championship at Bluemont Park.
Hardwick started running cross country just this fall, after having some success as a freshman runner for Yorktown’s outdoor track-and-field team last spring. She plans to run on Yorktown’s indoor track-and-field team during the upcoming winter season and for the outdoor squad in the spring.
“What an excellent season Molly had, and it started right from the start,” Yorktown coach Emily Stewart said. “She held her own in the state meet and hung in there, then had a strong finish to get second.”
Hardwick helped the Yorktown district-champion and region third-place team place sixth in the state, only six points behind fifth-place Oakton.
“The entire team ran well,” Stewart said. “We’re happy with their effort.”
Also for the Yorktown girls at the state meet, junior Ali Mathews was 21st in 19:58, sophomore Ayla Mehmood was 32nd (20:30), freshman Aria Hedderly 50th (21:12), sophomore Cecilia Floom 55th (21:24), senior Claire McArdle 67th (21:58) and senior Hannah Hawkins 83rd (22:55).
From Washington-Liberty High School, sophomore Maddie Brys placed 45th in the girls state meet in 20:59.
