RC Boys First In Relays Ludtke, Imler Pace Wildcats In First Two Meets
The Rockbridge County High School boys won the Valley Cup Relays on Tuesday of last week in the season opener at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville, while the RC girls placed 13th of 24 teams.
The Wildcats returned to the WM course on Saturday for the Augusta Invitational, where the RC boys placed seventh of 24 teams, and the girls finished 12th of 14 teams.
The Valley Cup Relays consisted of teams of four, with each individual running 2 miles instead of the usual 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) on a challenging course that includes a big hill.
Noting that the Valley Cup Relays are a fun way to start the season, RC head coach Julie Tisone said, “It’s a low-key race without a lot of pressure, and it’s only 2 miles, so a good opener for every racer.”
The RC boys entered three teams in the race, placing first, sixth and 15th of 38 teams.
The Wildcats’ top boys’ team finished in 43 minutes, 19.35 seconds, about 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Broadway, which crossed the line in 43:31.59.
Team members for the RC boys’ A team were Tyler Ludtke, finishing his 2-mile leg in 10:28.14), Sammy Eastwood (10:37.51), Lincoln Steele (11:02.47) and Leif Guse (11:11.23). Last year, the top RC boys’ team placed fifth. After last Tuesday’s relays, Tisone said, “We were excited to be able to take the trophy home for the year.”
There were 151 total individual 2-mile times, and the runners in the top 25 received t-shirts. Spotswood’s Caden Erickson ran the fastest time of the day, finishing in 10:20.58. RC boys in the top 25 were Ludtke (fourth), Eastwood (sixth), Steele (11th), Guse (15th), Grant Swenty (18th) and Will Ditzel (21st).
Swenty led off the RC boys’ B team, which placed sixth in 46:59.04). Swenty finished in 11:16.58, and he teamed up with Luke Eichholz (11:36.88), Oscar McClung (11:39.73) and Jude Eichholz (12:25.85).
The RC boys’ C team finished 15th in 50:21.98. Ditzel, a speedy freshman, ran the first leg in 11:28.08. His teammates were Bede Eichholz (11:46.99), Hudson Saunders (12:00.77) and Nathan Friend (15:06.14).
In the girls’ race, Spotswood won in 51:25.47. The Wildcats placed 13th of 24 teams in 1:04:44.02.
Harrisonburg’s Brooke Saunders ran the fastest girls’ time of the day, finishing in 11:36.23.
Sophomore Reagan Imler ran the first leg for the RC girls, running the 14th-fastest time of the day by finishing in 14:04.09 to win a t-shirt. Imler’s teammates were Isabel Tubb (15:49.23), Hannah Ivins (17:13.95) and Audra Roney (17:36.74).
There were three RC boys and one RC girl competing in the open 2-mile races.
In the boys’ open race, which had 81 runners, John-Francis Ayoub-Winder placed 34th in 14:29.4. Teammate Asher Lawrie (52nd, 15:17.2) followed, and Henry Cline (78th, 19:18.6) was the Wildcats’ final runner. Freshman Elizabeth Margalus represented the Wildcats in the girls’ open race, placing 38th of 67 harriers in 18:17.4.
RC Returns To WM
Returning to WM on Saturday, the RC boys placed seventh of 24 teams, while the RC girls finished 12th of 14 teams.
“We used this meet as a training meet: working on our pacing, race strategies, and previewing the regional course,” said Tisone. “We were very pleased with the meet and what we learned out on the course.”
In the boys’ race, Broadway was the winning team with 36 points, while Christiansburg (77) placed second, and Harrisonburg (81) finished third. Rounding out the top 10 were Turner Ashby (82), Monticello (177), Rocktown (213), RC (242), Fort Defiance (266), Spotswood (283) and St. Anne’s-Belfield Schools (288).
The top five girls’ teams were Christiansburg (56), TA (60), Spotswood (92), Waynesboro (103) and St. Anne’s-Belfield School (156). The Wildcats tallied 291 points, finishing ahead of Eastern Mennonite School (328) and Shenandoah District rival Riverheads (332).
TA’s Bryce Driver was the individual winner in the boys’ race, finishing the hilly 5K course in 16:31.4.
Ludtke led the RC boys, placing 17th of 176 harriers in 17:44. Eastwood was RC’s second runner, finishing 41st in 18:56. Wildcats following Eastwood were Bede Eichholz (64th, 19:30.8), Luke Eichholz (65th, 19:31.4), Ditzel (67th, 19:34.1), Jude Eichholz (79th, 19:56.6) and Saunders (81st, 20:02.7).
Harrisonburg’s Brooke Saunders won the girls’ race, finishing in 18:29.4.
Imler led the RC girls, placing 39th of 116 runners in 23:36.7. The Wildcats’ second runner was Tubb (56th, 24:55.7). Wildcats after Tubb were Ivins (66th, 26:13.9), Roney (97th, 29:12.8) and Margalus (100th, 30:08.3).
The Wildcats will have this week and next week to prepare for their next meet, the Knights Crossing Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Green Hill Park in Salem, the location of this year’s Class 3 state meet.
