In a race that covered 5,000 meters and took over 15 minutes to complete, it was just .02 seconds that separated the winner from second place. In what was truly a photo finish, AHS junior Ahmed Bile was crowned Virginia AAA State Champion for boys cross country after narrowly edging out senior Silas Frantz from Douglas Freeman HS in the state meet at Great Meadows in The Plains on Nov. 13.
“It feels amazing to be a state champ,” Bile said. “I honestly didn’t expect it.”
Bile is the first cross country state champion in the 57-year history of AHS. Coming into the race, Frantz was favored and ranked first in the state. Bile ran alongside the leaders throughout the race, but with about 600 meters left in the race, Frantz was able to separate from the pack a little and establish a lead.
“[Going into the race] I was planning on staying with the front pack for as long as I can and make a move with about 800 meters to go and kick 100-200 meters away from the finish,” Bile said. “I was really exhausted going into the last 600 meters and started to give up because the guy in first was about 80 meters in front of me. But as I got closer, I realized I had to make a move.”
And quite a move he made.
Utilizing his long legs, Bile steadily gained ground on Frantz at the end of the race. As the crowd lined the sides of the final straightaway, Bile pulled even with Frantz and tension built as the distance left in the race turned from meters to feet. As they crossed the finish line, Bile was able to lean into the red tape and finish literally a nose ahead of Frantz.
“He did everything I asked him to and executed the race strategy to a ‘T,’” first-year Head Cross Country Coach David O’Hara said.
Bile’s time of 15:27 was a personal best for a runner who was forced to sit out seven weeks after spraining his foot in the first meet of the season.
“This was my best full 5k time,” Bile said. “It was a lot faster than what I’ve run throughout the season so I’m really happy about it.”
“He overcame a lot of obstacles this season,” O’Hara said. “While everyone else was training, he had to do rehab. He worked really hard and diligently in the training room to get back in shape.”
Bile, who won the Northern Region Championship on Nov. 4, will now compete at the Footlocker South Regional on Nov. 27. The race will feature the top runners from 13 states, with the top 10 finishers qualifying for Nationals in San Diego.
“We’re still training hard this week but, we’ll probably let up on the mileage for the week before [the race],” O’Hara said.
“It’s going to be tough; I’m just hoping to get top 10,” Bile said.
After winning states, O’Hara believes anything can happen for Bile.
“He has a shot,” O’Hara said. “It’s a flat, fast course which will suit him well.”
Regardless of the outcome, Bile has already inked his name into the record books at AHS. In the coming weeks, he will have the opportunity to do it again.
