Covenant, St. Anne’s dominate in Division II meet

It’s official now — Central Virginia is a powerhouse region for private school girls cross country.

For the second straight season, St. Anne’s-Belfield and Covenant placed first and second at the state meet, with Covenant rolling to a VISAA Division II state title on the power of six top-20 finishers, including Brittany Murphy and Bethany Coppock’s four-five finish overall at Woodberry Forest’s course.

“They’re the rock of the team, they led us the whole season,” said first-year Covenant coach Margaret Marshall. “It wasn’t their PR

[personal records], either, but they were great. Neither of them were ranked to finish in the top five, and our whole team was only ranked to finish third.”

The Eagles finished with 37 points, outpacing St. Anne’s total of 81. The Saints had the area’s top finisher, though, as Peri Bowser rolled to a second place finish overall.

Only Roanoke Catholic’s 91-point finish came close to rivaling either local squad’s depth, with Covenant’s scores really never leaving the meet in doubt.

Covenant’s top five runners in the 5K event were Murphy (21:13.46), Coppock (21:12.32), Alicia Fox (eighth in 21:57.84), Tori Meakem (12th, 22:18.75), Rachel Rapp (19th, 22:46.44). Right behind those five, though, were Nellan Hendley in 20th and Kara Coppock in 23rd.

Even without seniors Murphy and Bethany Coppock, the Eagles would have won the title.

“Our depth is awesome,” Marshall said. “A lot of our depth is eighth graders and sophomores.”

Abby Velie of St. Anne’s finished 11th for the Saints, Sydney Wicks finished 26th, Sam Moore finished 30th and Corinna Coffin finished 32nd to round out the Saints’ scoring and spur STAB to its runner-up performance.

Nelson to host local clinic

Olympian Adam Nelson is hosting a shot put clinic on Nov. 15 at Albemarle High School from 10 a.m. until noon. The clinic is free for coaches, while athletes are asked to give a $15 donation. For more information, email Albemarle track and field coach Buz Male at .