The only thing nipping at Walter Johnson junior Abbey Green's heels was the biting wind as she cruised to her second straight title Saturday at the Montgomery County cross-country championship at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg.
“It’s definitely pretty windy out there,” Green said. “I was really trying to work the areas where there wasn’t as much wind and just try to fight through.”
The junior, who stuck around for the awards ceremony before leaving to get ready for homecoming, finished well ahead of the rest of the field. Because nobody was in sight to spur her on, Green invented a competitor that she chased the whole race.
“I wasn’t really sure if anybody was super close to me or not,” Green said, “but I just pretended like there was a girl right ahead of me that I had to keep up with.”
Paint Branch junior Yasmine Kass was second in 18:36.1 and Poolesville sophomore Nandini Satsangi third in 18:40.5.
Green wasn't the only runner to successfully defend a county title; Richard Montgomery senior Rohann Asfaw pulled away from the boys' varsity field, powering through the 5K course to win in 15:33.7.
Though Asfaw added another victory to his impressive senior campaign, he wasn’t his usual buoyant self after crossing the finish line and keeping to himself as he took some time to catch his breath.
“I was a little disappointed about the race,” Asfaw said. “I wanted to run a little faster than that today.”
The senior’s face did light up, however, when he mentioned his Sunday plans — an official visit to the University of Virginia.
Poolesville junior Ryan Lockett finished second in 15:53.7. Bethesda-Chevy Chase junior Adam Nakasaka stuck with Asfaw longer than anybody else before dropping off and crossing the finish line in 16:00.1 for third place. Northwest claimed the boys' team title with 85 points. Bethesda-Chevy Chase (124) came in second, and Einstein (150) placed third.
