Katie Genuario wasn’t sure when she crossed the finish line. It wasn’t until her mother told Genuario that the West Potomac senior knew she had accomplished her goal.

Genuario earned all-state honors at the VHSL state cross country meet, placing 11th in the 6A girls’ race with a time of 18 minutes, 24 seconds on Nov. 15 at Great Meadow.

Last season, Genuario placed 23rd at the state meet with a time of 19:04. The top 15 finishers are recognized as all-state.

“I think it’s always been my goal to somehow make it (in the) top 15 and it feels awesome that I finally accomplished that,” she said. “Our region is really tough and to only finish a few places behind last week (at regionals) is amazing.”

“I think it’s always been my goal to somehow make it (in the) top 15 and it feels awesome that I finally accomplished that. Our region is really tough and to only finish a few places behind last week (at regionals) is amazing.”

--- West Potomac senior Katie Genuario

The fifth-place finisher, Washington-Lee senior Sarah Angell, and the 15th-place finisher, Osbourn Park junior Jillian Everly, finished within 12 seconds of one another.

“I actually didn’t know (if I had finished in the top 15),” Genuario said. “I didn’t think there were that many people in front of me.”

West Springfield senior Caroline Alcorta won the individual championship with a meet-record time of 17:13. Lake Braddock’s Hannah Christen (17:52) finished runner-up, followed by Lake Braddock’s Katy Kunc (17:59) and Oakton’s Allie Klimkiewicz (18:01).

Oakton won the team championship with a score of 55. Washington-Lee finished runner-up with a score of 100, followed by Lake Braddock (112), Ocean Lakes (115), West Springfield (144) and Battlefield (150).

“Each mile gets harder, so (my plan was to) kind of just stay in control and then just give the last mile whatever I had,” Genuario said. “It didn’t really happen because it went out fast and stayed fast, but I held on. The last stretch is really killer. I thought I had some left at the beginning, but as you get through it, it gets longer and slightly uphill, so it was pretty tough. I just gave it everything I had. I don’t think I had anything left.”