South Lakes XC Girls win first-ever region title, finish fourth at States
- The Reston Letter Staff
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By Shanen Elliott, Guest Writer
The South Lakes Girls Varsity Cross Country Team finished their 2025 fall campaign on a high note with an excellent postseason run. Following a razor-thin 1-point second place finish to Oakton at the Concorde District Championship, Coach Scott Raczko's girls squad flipped the script the following week, winning their first ever Northern Region Girls Cross Country Title over second place Oakton. The Seahawk Girls finished with 53 points, ten points ahead of Oakton's 63 points; the lowest score wins in cross country. The quintet of senior Caroline Elliott (3rd place), freshman Quinn Jackson (6th), senior Aya Ryan (7th), sophomore Olivia Levey (15th), and junior Lillian Swartzbaugh (23rd) combined to score for their team, complemented by strong 28th and 30th place finishes by sophomore Charlotte Captain and senior Irene Ha.
The trio of Elliott, Jackson, and Ryan earned All-Region honors, recording three of the top 10 times in South Lakes XC history in the process on Burke Lake's renowned 2.98 mile course. Senior Elliott set a new school record, completing the race in 17:09, surpassing the previous mark of 17:23.
The Seahawks concluded their season with an impressive 4th place finish at the Virginia Class 6 State Championship on the challenging hills of Oatlands 5000 meter Course in Leesburg, VA. South Lakes runners Elliott (4thPlace, All-State), Jackson (14th), Levy (31st), Ryan (34th), and Captain (52nd) comprised the scoring for the Seahawks 101 points, finishing just two points behind 3rd place Woodson (99 points). State Champion Robinson (58 points) and runner-up West Springfield (84 points) finished 1-2 for the second consecutive year.
The Seahawk Girls look to carry their momentum into the 2025-26 Indoor Track season, where they are expected to be strong contenders in the district, region, and state. The Seahawks will be led on the oval by seniors Elliott and Ryan, who will be competing next year in Division 1 Cross Country and Track and Field at the universities of Virginia and Richmond, respectively.
