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In his first workout with the DeMatha High School cross country team, senior Cory Puffett said he thought his spot on the team was in jeopardy.

"We had a time trial and I was the last person who finished," Puffett said. "I was a little worried that day about whether I would be on the team."

That time trial took place at Lake Fairfax Park, site of the annual Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships.

Ironically, at the 2009 WCAC Championships on Saturday, Puffett finished the course in WCAC Championship-record time of 16 minutes, 2 seconds to claim his third individual WCAC crown in a row, also a WCAC record.

Puffett finished a full minute ahead of second-place Gonzaga senior Billy Ledder (17:02) and cut 39 seconds off of his 2008 winning time and broke the old WCAC record of 16:26 by Good Counsel grad Kevin Graves.

"I was really hoping for good course conditions," Puffett said. "I was trying to get into the 15-minute area or somewhere around 16 [minutes] flat. For the conditions to be what they were and to get the time that I got, I'm elated."

Puffett capped what is, arguably, the greatest individual career in the history of WCAC boys' cross country. Good Counsel graduate Nora McCall is the WCAC's only other three-time champion, as she captured three girls' titles from 2004-2006.

Stags coach Bruce Schaper said that Puffett is the greatest runner he's ever coached.

"The great thing about this sport is you can make an analysis on a quantitative level, and quantifiably, he's been the best runner ever at DeMatha," Schaper said. "He's got an inner drive and a sort of refuse-to-die mentality. He's the most competitive runner that I've ever coached. He hates to lose. He's got a real nice demeanor and all that. He shakes hands and smiles, but he hates to lose."

The Stags finished third as a team with 82 points, behind winner Gonzaga (26 points) and second-place Good Counsel (49).

After a quiet season, sophomore Onyx Johnson took 16th, but cut 15 seconds off of his time last season at the same course, finishing in 18:27.

DeMatha's Connor Ford, who finished 18th (18:42), chopped 77 seconds from his time at last season's WCAC meet. Sophomore John Brewer finished 22nd (19:06), improving by 37 seconds from last year, and sophomore Jalen Robinson-McCoy finished 25th (19:14).

Puffett, meanwhile will continue to prepare for the Maryland State Private Schools Championships on Nov. 14 at Georgetown Prep, followed by the Foot Locker Invitational Nov. 28 in the Bronx, N.Y. After four official races at Lake Fairfax and a number of encounters with the course during practice, Puffett said Lake Fairfax is as tough as the fabled Bull Run course at Hereford High School, site of the Maryland public school championships.

Puffett says conquering Lake Fairfax is a matter of brains over brawn.

"I think being familiar with Lake Fairfax helped me a lot," Puffett said. "I've gone down to see the course anywhere between two and eight times a year for the last several years. I know exactly what to expect from each step to the next. It's a very mental course in terms of difficulty. I would compare it to Bull Run, not necessarily in the physical sense."

Elizabeth Seton

Roadrunners' coach Louisa Puffett said her team is trending upward heading into the future, though that wasn't easy to discern based on the team's sixth-place finish (147 points) in the WCAC Championships.

While the team performance does not stand out, Puffett said she saw a lot out of the team's individual efforts.

"I felt pretty good, actually, about the performance of my athletes," Puffett said. "Nicole [Puffett] was diagnosed with strep throat Oct. 28, and for her to go out and get 13th [place], I was really impressed. With Joi Johnson coming in 18th place [23:31], I thought was pretty good. I think Ciarra Walters [37th/25:42] ran a good race in that she passed a couple of girls at the end. And Briauna Kilgore [38th/25:43] ran totally with her heart."

Bishop O'Connell won the girls' team title with 21 points.

Nicole Puffett's time of 23:04 was huge given the illness she faced.

"I rested a whole lot the night before, and I pretty much just gutted it out," Nicole Puffett said. "I just made sure I was able to finish. I think practicing at the course definitely helped. If I hadn't been able to get out there before the race, it would have been really tough."

With only Johnson graduating, Louisa Puffett sees a bright future for the Roadrunners.

"I really think that these girls are forming a work ethic, friendships and enthusiasm for the sport," Puffett said. "That's going to take them a long way. They're really believing in what we're trying to do. We're really excited about what the future is going to bring us. We can see that they're going to get there."

Notes

The Bishop McNamara boys finished ninth (269 points) with junior Christian Harrison leading the way (34th/19:36). The McNamara girls finished ninth (261) led by junior Paulette Fogle (49th/26:56).

E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.