CVHS Junior Among the Fastest Cross Country Athletes in the State

Saturday, November 12th was a beautiful day to be outside, with warm temperatures and clear skies—the perfect day for the Virginia State Cross Country meet. The race, held at Great Meadows in The Plains, was also the location of the first ever state meet for Centreville junior Rebecca Vinter. 

If this made Rebecca nervous, she didn’t show it. Rebecca wrapped up her exemplary XC season by finishing 18th in the 5K race for AAA schools, with a time of 18.53—a 6:05 pace. This is a new personal best for her, stripping 40 seconds off her previous best time. This also follows her outstanding finishes in the District and Regional meets, where she placed 4th and 11th, respectively.

In qualifying for States, Rebecca became for the first female athlete from to attend the prestigious event since 2006. To cheer on their teammate, XC Head Coach Kelley Devlin encouraged and organized a mass caravan of team members to make the 30-minute drive to the race site.  Getting to the site early meant better parking locations and less traffic, since teams were coming in from all over the state; to make the time pass until Rebecca’s 11:45am race, frisbees floated through the autumn air, posters were created, and body-painting was applied.

All were welcomed as signs of support for her (which of course also added to the fun for her teammates). As a result, Centreville had the largest presence at the race; 50 fellow CVHS cross country runners brought their spirit, energy and enthusiasm to the meet.