RC To Host Three District Rivals Today
Eight Rockbridge County High School track and field athletes set personal records in a Valley District meet last Wednesday at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird.
“It was a record-breaking night at Spotswood as our Wildcats delivered standout performances across the board,” said RC head coach Jennifer Showalter.
Leading the RC girls was freshman Ariana Mitchell, who tied William Monroe’s Mia Waller for first place in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 10 inches. Mitchell set a personal record (PR) in the 100-meter dash, placing fourth in 13.49 seconds.
RC’s Celia Jones placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 56.13 seconds and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.17. She tied for eighth place in the high jump, clearing 4-4, and finished 16th in the long jump with a leap of 10-11.5. Jones competed in the shot put for the first time, coming in 19th with a toss of 24 feet.
Teammate Emily Carroll placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in 56.4 seconds, finished 13th in the long jump with a leap of 12-4 and came in 18th in the 100-meter dash in a PR time of 14.59 seconds.
Wildcat Abby Harding placed sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 28-3.5 and 14th in the long jump, leaping 12-3.
Kyra Strowbridge came in 14th in the 100-meter dash in 14.14 seconds, a PR, and finished 19th in the 200-meter dash in 30.32.
In the girls’ 100-meter dash, Harper Bruno finished 28th in 15.43 seconds, a PR, and Tasha Shorter came in 29th in 16.12.
The RC girls placed third in the 4 X 100-meter relay team in 54.35 seconds.
For the RC girls’ throwers, Cate Wilson placed 13th in the discus with a throw of 66-2 and 29th in the shot put with a toss of 21-7. Sydney Knick placed 13th in the shot put with a toss of 26 feet and 15th in the discus with a heave of 61-11. Shorter finished 20th in the discus (54-11) and 28th in the shot put (22-8).
For the RC boys, Marshall Earhart tied for eighth place in the high jump, clearing 5-4, placed 11th in the 100-meter dash in 12.06 seconds and 15th in the 200-meter dash in 24.98, both PR times.
Also competing for the RC boys was Jakob Bailey, placing 10th in the long jump with a leap of 16-6.5 and 14th in the high jump, clearing 5 feet. Bailey came in 19th in the 200-meter dash in 25.64 seconds and 21st in the 100-meter dash in 12.59, a PR.
The Wildcats also competed in a throwers relay, with Shorter, Bailey, Earhart and Knick teaming up.
The RC boys didn’t score any points, but the RC girls tallied 35 to place seventh of seven teams. Spotswood won the girls’ meet with 116 points, Harrisonburg (87) placed second, and East Rockingham (77.5) finished third. Rounding out the standings were Broadway (69.5), Turner Ashby (53) and William Monroe (51).
Reviewing the meet, Showalter said it was “a fun night full of energy, laughs and personal bests.”
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will hold their only home meet of the season, starting at 5 p.m., with district rivals Harrisonburg, Spotswood and Turner Ashby also competing.
