Heathwood Hall cross country | A surprising run

Heathwood Hall’s youthful girls cross country team has been opening eyes while establishing itself as the team to beat in SCISA Class 3A.

But while the Highlanders have proven themselves against many of the top programs in the state — both public and private — the team is not quite sure what to make of its success.

“I thought we’d have a good team, but I didn’t expect it to be this good,” said junior team captain Brooke Grice, who is the only upper classman in Heathwood’s starting lineup. “Winning the first two meets of the season, especially the Coaches Classic, has given us a tremendous boost of confidence, but we also know we still have a long way to go.”

The victory in the 48-team Coaches Classic came as a surprise. So much so that most of the team’s runners had not bothered to hang around for the post-race awards ceremony.

“There were only two of us there for the awards, and when they announced that we were the winners, my first thought was that it must have been a (scoring) mistake,” Grice said.

Even coach Willis Ware admits he did not anticipate this much success so soon for his young team.

“Competing for a state championship is a goal every season, but I have to say that I’ve been a little surprised by how well we’ve run as a team from the very start of the season,” said Ware, who is in his eighth season as coach.

“I knew we’d be strong at the top of the lineup with our three leading runners coming back, but I wasn’t sure about the other two spots. We’ve had some new girls come in and give us real strength in the fourth and fifth positions. To compete at a high level, you must have five strong runners, and that’s something we’ve haven’t had for quite some time.”

Heathwood Hall, the top-ranked team in SCISA Class 3A, has not won a state title since 2001.

Grice is the Highlanders’ clear leader. She earned all-state honors a year ago with a fifth-place finish at the state meet. This season, Grice has been the Highlanders’ top runner at every major event, beginning with an individual title at Hammond’s Skyhawk Invitational. Since then, she’s placed fourth at the Coaches Classic, third at the Lake Murray Invitational (with a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 45.16 seconds), fourth at the Pelion Invitational, second at the Highlander Invitational and third last weekend at the Sandhills Invitational.

Grice and teammate Sydney Ellen are considered the top contenders for individual honors at the state meet, but Grice is not thinking in those terms.

“My only goal is to run the best possible race every time to set an example for the rest of the team,” she said.

Ellen, a freshman, and eighth-grader Ellie Ridley are the No. 2 and No. 3 runners, respectively, for the second year in a row, but the emergence of seventh-grade rookie Kate Nassab and freshman Harriet Rogers as consistent contributors has been the key factor in Heathwood’s rapid ascension.