The Mathews High School girls’ and boys’ cross country teams placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in Saturday’s VHSL Group A state championships, which were held at Great Meadows.

The MHS girls accumulated 198 total points for their eighth-place finish, while the boys ended the meet with 228 points. A highlight of the day’s events was the performance of senior Nancy Barnhardt, who ran a personal best of 20:36 on the 5K course to place 15th overall and earn All-State accolades.

Barnhardt has participated in cross country for five years and earned both All-District and All-Region honors for four consecutive seasons. She finished top five in the region for four consecutive years (2009-fifth, 2010-fourth, 2011-first, 2012-third), and led the Mathews pack for five consecutive seasons, although ineligible to compete as a varsity athlete as an eighth grader.

She holds three course records. As a senior captain this year, she led her team to 20 regular season w...