The Plains, Virginia - Oakton's Keira Carlstrom repeated as the individual girls champion and the Robinson girls broke through and captured the team title, highlighting Northern Region performances at the Group AAA state championship held in The Plains on Saturday.

Last year, Carlstrom pulled away from the front-running pack with 600 meters left on the 5,000-meter (3.1 miles) course and won by 14 seconds in a time of 18 minutes, 32 seconds. She almost duplicated that performance this year. The difference: she went faster. The Cougars' senior pulled away from Hylton junior Jemissa Hess, the two-time Northwestern Region champ, with 600 meters left and won in 18:18 - 14 seconds faster than Hess.

Robinson, one of the girls pre-meet favorites once again, scored 68 points and came throughwith a much-awaited victory. Central Region champ James River took second (91 points), followed by Northern Region champ West Springfield (118), Eastern Region champ Ocean Lakes (176) and Lake Braddock (195).

Individually, Carlstrom entered the race as the favorite, but was not conceding anything from the start. She was in close quarters with Hess, Herndon sophomore Kristin Hart, Lake Braddock junior Kelly Swain and North Stafford senior Kristyn Shiring through the first mile in 5:57. The chase pack followed another 10 meters behind.

Carlstrom, Hess and Hart opened up a 10-to 15-meter gap on both Swain and Shiring by the 1.5-mile mark, and the quartet of Hart, Hess, Carlstrom and junior Megan Isaacs of Menchville - within a couple of strides of each other - hit the two-mile mark in 12:01.

Hess and Carlstrom then pulled away on the steep uphill climb from 2.1 to 2.4 miles and ran shoulder-to-shoulder on the ensuing downhill, before Carlstrom used her superior closing speed for the win. Hess's runner-up time of 18:32 was 20 seconds better than her third-place time of last year. Hart finished third (18:46), followed by Isaacs (18:54). North Stafford's Shiring had just enough left to finish fifth (19:02), holding off fast-closing Centreville sophomore Dacia Barr, who moved up well late in the race and placed sixth, also in a time of 19:02.

``I was a lot more focused and relaxed this year over last year since I had raced against everyone and knew how they raced and what their strong points and weak points were," Carlstrom said. ``It helped that Kristin Hart made a lot of strong moves and surges in the first two miles of the race. I was surprised but happy that she showed a lot of heart in also going after the win. It made it a different race and helped to string out the field with my goal to stay with the leaders and not to touch the lead until at least the two mile mark.

``Even though my goal was to win regardless of the time, I think one reason my time was faster than last year was because Jemissa Hess really pushed the big hill after the two-mile mark. I probably wouldn't have pushed that hard if I was by myself, but I made sure to go right with her and then made a strong move right after the hill to see how she would respond. She went with me, but I think I kind of surprised her, and I had enough left to finish strong at the end."

The top six finishers were all members of teams that did not qualify for the state meet, but the next two finishers were. Juniors Joanna Rodgers finished seventh (19:05) and Sam Ference was eighth (19:10), giving Robinson the Nos. 1 and 2 team scoring cards.

Also, Robinson junior Lauren Hovland continued as the Rams' No. 3 runner, placing 27th overall and 12th in the team scoring at 19:57. Sophomore Courtney Kuhn (42nd overall, 23rd team) clocked in at 20:18, with junior Kelly Givens close behind at 20:22 (51st; 30th). All of Robinson's top five runners return for 2002.

``This was the hardest season in either cross country or track that I have experienced so far," Ference said. ``We really trained hard both physically and mentally all season."

``We were prepared for this meet," Rodgers said. ``We never got down on ourselves after a loss this season and always had this day marked down as the day to perform well."

``The team came into this season with a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure as a top team," Robinson coach Jeremy Workman said. ``The victory is somewhat of a pleasant relief." James River also ran well and also returns its top five scoring runners for next year, including three freshmen.

West Springfield did not click on all cylinders as it had in winning its first-ever Northern Region title two weeks ago. But the Spartans still capped off an exceptional season, with seniors Mo Hagan (23rd overall, 19:50) and Katie Freund (41st, 20:17) the top two finishers for the Spartans.

Swain (19:12) paced Lake Braddock, as the Bruins finished ninth. Jefferson rounded out the Northern Region contingent in seventh place (216 points). Colonials season-long No. 1 runner Sarah Levine, a junior, ran a time of 19:52 for 21st. The region claimed seven of the 15 All-State performers, as Hayfield sophomore Morgan Phelan ran 19:28 for 15th place.

The Northern Region boys were not quite as productive as the girls, but the West Springfield boys scored 136 points and finished third. Also, Herndon junior Rasheed Thompson was as the top individual finisher, taking fourth overall.

The Governor's School in Richmond, formerly housed at Thomas Jefferson High in the state's capitol, was moved to the recently renovated Maggie Walker this year and is now known as the Maggie Walker Governor's School. Maggie Walker coach Jim Holdren, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson in Richmond and the school's coach for 40 years, moved over to Maggie Walker and saw his squad capture the first-ever boys state title in his long coaching tenure. Maggie Walker scored 104 points, edging defending state champion Midlothian (106).

Maggie Walker was led by senior John Piersol's third-place finish (16:05) as the Green Dragons beat Midlothian at the first four team scoring spots, offsetting Midlothian's 22-point edge at the No. 5 slot.

West Springfield gave a creditable performance as the top boys team from the region, led by junior Jeff Day's 18th place in 16:40.

``The team was a little disappointed, but after getting up on the stage and collecting some hardware, it made them a little happier," Spartans' coach Vic Kelbaugh said. ``It was not a great day, but still a good day for the team."

Northwestern Region champ Albemarle was fourth (161), nipping Concorde District champ Jefferson (164). Colonials junior Joey Bylund - the top Jefferson finisher - continued his late-season progress and placed 21st (16:42). However, they lost their chance for fourth place when Jefferson sophomore Christo Landry, who had been running in the top 10 all race, seemingly succumbed to the deceptively demanding long final straightaway that reached up and grabbed many others and finished 32nd overall in 16:55.

The Concorde District grabbed two of the next three spots, with Herndon finishing a solid sixth place (171) and edging out Woodbridge (174). Oakton was eighth (183).

Thomas Dale junior and Central Region champ Alex Tatu overtook Ocean Lakes senior Matt Keally - the Eastern Region winner and pre-race favorite - in the final stretch and took individual honors with a time of 15:42.

Keally, who took second (15:46), and Oakton's Phil Gaeta set the early pace in going through the first mile in a fairly comfortable 5:00, with Gaeta then running with Keally through 1.5 miles. Keally kept pushing the winding back hills of the course and went through two miles at 9:57, with Tatu 10 seconds behind.

Keally made the turn into the infield portion of the course at 600 meters to go still maintaining a 30-meter lead, but could not hold it over the final straightaway as Tatu avenged a decisive loss to Keally at the Georgetown Prep Classic three weeks before.

Piersol, knowing his team was well in the hunt for the team title, was a solid third into the homestretch, but had to hold off the smooth-striding Thompson's move late in the race to maintain third place (16:05.4). Thompson clocked in at 16:05.9, and Northern Region champ Gaeta took fifth (16:09).

``At the district and regional meet I never seemed to get comfortable during the race, I was forcing my pace somewhat," Thompson said. ``Today I was a lot more relaxed and controlled for the first mile. I seem to do better the hillier the course and felt good for most of the race."

The Concorde District grabbed the next spot, as South Lakes senior Richard Smith passed six runners down the final stretch and captured ninth place in 16:26. The Liberty District had two All-State honorees with Lee sophomore Robert Longoria placing 11th (16:33) and Langley senior Billy Bylund taking 14th.

In the boys Group AA race, Jamestown made a claim as the No. 1 team in the state with its 88-point first-place total and a five-runner scoring team average of 16:41.2. (Maggie Walker's was 16:46.3). Rockbridge County finished second (102) and posted a 16:45.6 average, featuring two freshman, a sophomore and a junior among its top five.

Handley senior Bobby Lockhart won an unprecedented fourth straight state individual title with a time of 15:10.1 - the third-best ever at Great Meadow. Former South Lakes star Alan Webb ran times of 15:03.3 and 15:08.7 on the course.

Lockhart had plenty of competition from the gun. Junior John Crews of Rockbridge County matched up with him through a 4:40 first mile and was still with Lockhart at 1.5 miles. By the two-mile mark, Lockhart was decidedly alone with his split of 9:34. Lockhart maintained at least a 50-meter lead for the rest of the race and looks primed for a third consecutive Foot Locker National Final appearance.

Senior Fleet Hower of Marion High ran a controlled pace throughout in placing second at 15:24, with Louisa County junior Daniel Kane running a strong last mile to finish third in 15:33. All three runners ran faster than the winning Group AAA time. Crews held on from the sting of his early pace and also got under 16 minutes and finished fourth (15:44). Senior Bryce Ruiz ran a controlled race and led the Jamestown winners with a fifth-place finish (15:49).

In the girls Group AA race, Jefferson Forest, the nation's No. 7 team according to The Harrier Magazine, lived up to its billing. Jefferson Forest took the title with 35 points, led by senior twin sisters Shannon Saunders and Kristin Saunders. Shannon repeated as individual champion in 18:37, and Kristin was close behind in second place at 18:48. Jefferson Forest averaged 19:25.7, which was slightly better than Robinson's 19:46.7.

In the girls Group A competition, Strasburg senior Leslie Grant improved upon her third-place finish from last year and won in 20:18, edging George Wythe senior Laura Hodges (20:22). Sophomore Mindy Peele led Brentsville to its seventh consecutive state, finishing third overall (20:31).

Meanwhile, the Page County Group A boys had a tougher time than last year, but defended its title with a total of 46 points, followed by Brentsville's 52 points. Senior Michael Buchanan of Patrick Henry successfully defended his individual title, running 14 seconds faster than last year to win in 16:33. Page County sophomores Todd Somers (16:42) and George Mason's Andrew Montgomery (16:49) took second and third respectively.