It was the best race of Haje's life.
"I was talking to (Lilley) on the bus ride here and said, 'I want to go 1-2,'" said Haje, a senior. "But realistically, I didn't think it could happen. But then I was like, 'I can do this.'
"I think I finally learned how to race."
The 1-2 showing helped Williamsport to a fourth-place finish in the field of 24 schools. The Wildcats were the top Washington County team.
"Our team's been training real hard," Lilley said. "We hadn't had a race in two weeks, and we've just been grinding it out. We were ready to race today. We were sharp."
Smithsburg junior David Wilson finished third in 15:50, giving the county an impressive sweep of the top three spots. The only other county runners in the top 25 were Clear Spring's Cory Horton (16th, 16:38), Williamsport's Rio Ferrario (23rd, 16:55) and North Hagerstown's Ben Koefet (25th, 16:57).
In the girls race, Stephanie Bryan led Thomas Johnson to the team title with her course-record 18:37.
Behind her, there was a changing of the guard in Washington County, as junior Alison Harrell (19:45) and senior Taryn Shank (19:49) finished sixth and ninth for North. Williamsport senior Tracey Forsythe, who has dominated the county in recent years, finished 11th in 19:53.
"(Forsythe) is a really good runner, and I just always try to get up with her," Harrell said. "I'm just trying to push myself harder every race."
The Hubs finished third as a team, well ahead of their county competition.
"We're getting pretty strong," Harrell said. "It's pretty exciting. We're pushing each other."
Other top-20 finishers included Shelby Johnson (20:10) and Karena Moran (20:11), who took 12th and 13th for seventh-place Martinsburg.
South Lakes (Va.), the alma mater of U.S. mile record-holder Alan Webb, was the boys team champion.
