Battling cold and rainy weather, the Rockbridge County High School girls and boys outdoor track and field teams started their season with the Coed Relays on Friday at Broadway. The RC girls placed fifth of seven teams, while the RC boys finished sixth.
Harrisonburg was the winning girls’ team, tallying 94 points, while Broadway (68) placed second, and Turner Ashby (54) finished third. Rounding out the standings were Rocktown (49.5), RC (47.5), Eastern Mennonite School (33) and Blue Ridge Christian School (6).
Broadway was the winning boys’ team, scoring 99 points, while Rocktown (90) placed second, and Eastern Mennonite School (77) came in third. Completing the standings were Harrisonburg (75), Turner Ashby (27), RC (11) and Blue Ridge Christian School (7).
Following up on her seventh-place finish at the Class 3 state indoor track and field meet in early March, sophomore Ariana Mitchell won the girls’ high jump, clearing 5 feet, while teammate Celia Jones tied for second place with a hop of 4-4.
Jones led the RC girls in the 100-meter dash, placing third in 13.73 seconds. Also cracking the top 10 were Wildcats Kyra Strowbridge (eighth, 14.58 seconds), Abigail Harding (ninth, 14.74) and Emily Carroll (10th, 14.78).
The RC girls placed fifth in the 4 X 100-meter relay in 57.96 seconds. Team members were Harding, Strowbridge, Carroll and Tasha Shorter. In the girls’ 4 X 200-meter relay, the Wildcats finished fourth in 2:10.13 with team members Shorter, Strowbridge, Carroll and Harper Bruno.
Caroll led the RC girls in the long jump, tying for fourth place with a leap of 13 feet, 7.5 inches. Jones
, page A12 finished seventh, leaping 13-5.5, and Harding came in ninth with a mark of 12-9.25. In the triple jump, Carroll placed seventh with a distance of 27-10.5, and Harding came in eighth with a mark of 27-2.5.
Leading the RC girls’ throwers was Cate Wilson, placing fourth in the discus with a heave of 63-6 and finishing 15th in the shot put with a toss of 21-3. Teammate Sydney Knick placed fifth in the discus (62-5) and tied for 10th place in the shot put (23-0). Also throwing for the Wildcats was Julieanne Woodward, finishing 20th in the shot put (16-9).
For the RC boys, Marshall Earhart placed ninth in the 100-meter dash in 12.53 seconds, and Jakob Bailey finished 11th in 12.79.
Bailey tied for fourth place in the high jump, clearing 5-4, and came in 10th in the long jump with a leap of 17-3. Earhart tied for seventh place in the high jump with a mark of 5-2.
Two RC boys and two RC girls teamed up to place second in the mixed 4 X 100-meter coed relay in 51.4 seconds. Team members were Bailey, Earhart, Mitchell and Jones. In the mixed 4 X 200-meter coed relay, Bailey and Earhart teamed up with Harding and Mitchell to finish fourth in 1:51.63. ‘ Reviewing the meet, first-year RC head coach Julie Tisone said, “The runners did well and got their firstmeet jitters out of the way and are ready for the next week.”
Under the direction of Tisone and assistant coaches Daniel Shelton and Drew Ludtke and throwing coach Zavery Wallace, the Wildcats have a young team, with 10 freshmen. The Wildcats’ next meet will be the Blacksburg Invitational on Saturday.
