Smooth as...well, Glass!

That shot you just heard sail across the bow?  That came from the guns of E.C. Glass.

Mike Forster

Jefferson Forest's Jesse Englund (left) and Abby May flank E.C. Glass runner Monica Gomez as the ladies hit the hill at the Presbyterian Home course. Waiting to make her move is Hilltopper Sims Jennings.

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The Hilltoppers made a clear statement of their intent to dominate the Seminole District cross country scene this season.

That declaration came at the 'Toppers' home course at the Lynchburg Presbyterian Home.  It was there that the Glaziers took convincing wins over district foes Jefferson Forest, Brookville and Heritage.

With Amherst, Liberty and Rustburg not expected to be terribly strong at the team level (that is, there are some outstanding individual performers on those teams), the Seminole crown seems custom-made for Glass.

The team scores from last Wednesday's event:

Women's 5K

E.C. Glass   20

Jefferson Forest   41

Brookville    89

Heritage    101

Men's 5K

E.C. Glass  23

Jefferson Forest   34

Heritage  78

Glass was led by a mix of youth and age.  On the ladies' side, the overall winner was Kamryn DeCarmo, a freshman who blazed home in 21:23.  

The winner on the men's side was senior Collin Montgomery, who clocked in at 17:49.

Top ten ladies

Kamryn DeCarmo  EC    21:23

Hannah Royer EC    21:37

Hannah Owen JF     21:59

Kate Carrington EC    22:15

Claire Malloy EC    22:25

Jesse Englund JF     22:54

Abby May JF     23:14

Sims Jennings EC    23:30

Burke Kelleher EC    23:47

Top ten men

Collin Montgomery EC    17:49

Patrick Cundiff EC    18:46

Ben Ottman JF     18:51

Peter Seufer EC    18:54

Bret Romanzak JF     18:56

Cooper Tedford JF     18:57

Matt Pittard EC    19:04

Caleb Pollard JF     19:14

Joe Seo EC    19:23

Tyler Dolsey HTG 19:34

Jefferson Forest Head Coach Jerome Loy was taken aback by the might of the E.C. Glass contingent.  Three days after the meet, the coach said, "I'm still recovering."

That's understandable.  Jefferson Forest, it is believed, had not lost a Seminole District cross country meet since 1993.  Of course, Glass has only been in the Seminole for the past couple of years.  Obviously, the introduction of the Hilltoppers into the mix will make things more interesting, come Oct. 24 (the date of the Seminole District Championship meet).

Loy somewhat sandbagged the event at the Presbyterian Home, particularly on the girls' side of the house.  The event did not include some of the top Lady Cav runners, including Alyssa Shupe, Erin Saunders, Marie Aboud, Carson Wilkerson and Lacy Sorrell.

The fact that Saunders is the defending Seminole District champion and Shupe is the defending Region III champion shows how much JF held back.

Still, Glass has got some ponies.  "Had I known Glass was so good, I wouldn't have done that," said Loy.

"We look forward to the Seminole District meet," he added.

When asked what his plans were to overcome the Glass edge, Loy shrugged and said, "I'm still recruiting."