Battling rain and a hilly course, both the Rockbridge County High School boys and girls cross country teams won their lone home meet of the season last Wednesday evening at Natural Bridge State Park.
Facing three Shenandoah District rivals, the RC boys had a perfect score of 15 points, with the Wildcats, last year’s Shenandoah District champions and Region 3C and Class 3 state runners-up, sweeping the top six spots as their home fans cheered them on. The six leading Wildcats ran together for most of the race before senior Tyler Ludtke broke away with about a mile to go and won the 5-kilometer race in 17 minutes, 50 seconds.
Ludtke said there was one runner from another team racing with the Wildcats’ front pack for about half the race, but then he lost contact with them. “I looked for him because I was gonna cheer for him to stay with the pack,” said Ludtke. After pulling away from his teammates, Ludtke said, “I just kept going.”
During the race, Ludtke took a tumble on a slippery part of the course. “I only fell once,” he said. “I took a downhill turn, and I slid, like, 10 feet down the hill.”
Just under six seconds after Ludtke crossed the finish line, senior teammate Lincoln Steele placed second of 42 harriers in 17:55.7, and RC senior Sammy Eastwood finished third in 18:00.4.
, page B6 Rounding out the top six were RC juniors Leif Guse (fourth, 18:05.3), Luke Eichholz (fifth, 18:05.6) and Grant Swenty (sixth, 18:06). Stuarts Draft junior Easton Nice was the only non-Wildcat in the top 10, placing seventh in 19:01.4. The Wildcats’ seventh runner was freshman Bede Eichholz (eighth, 19:08.5).
In the boys’ team standings, Stuarts Draft placed second with 72 points, Staunton (75) finished third, and Buffalo Gap (79) came in fourth.
The boys and girls raced at the same time due to the rain. Runners from Staunton and Buffalo Gap competed, but only RC and Stuarts Draft had the minimum number of runners, five, to record team scores. With three harriers in the top five, the Wildcats won with 19 points, while Draft placed second with 36.
RC head coach Julie Tisone said she was “very pleased” with how her runners raced. “They’re good with bad weather, hard courses.”
Runners enjoyed the cooler weather, with temperatures in the 60s. “I like this course, and it was better than being hot,” said Tisone.
In the girls’ race, RC sophomore Reagan Imler finished ahead of most of the boys, winning the race comfortably in 22:00.5, while Buffalo Gap senior Reagan Gwaltney placed second of 17 runners in 22:47.1, and Staunton junior Holly Kahn finished third in 23:59.1.
Imler said she ran a little faster than usual because she was running with the boys, and she focused on setting a tempo. “It was a really fun race,” she said. “I love running
in the rain.”
The RC girls’ second runner was freshman Isabel Tubb,
placing fourth in 24:08.9, while senior teammate Hannah Ivins finished fifth in 25:36.2. RC’s final two harriers were junior Audra Roney (11th, 28:49.1) and freshman Elizabeth Margalus (12th, 28:50.3).
The Wildcats have five girls running, but Imler said the team is strong because they are “really close.”
Before the race, the Wildcats honored their five seniors: Ivins and boys Eastwood, Ludtke, Steele and Oscar Mc-Clung, who missed the race because he was out sick.
Reflecting on the final home meet of her career, Ivins said, “I think it went really well. Running it, I felt good. It was definitely cold and miserable. Rain was coming into my eyes, and I was just like, ‘Ugh!’ But also as a senior, it was kind of sentimental. Last home meet. I was like, ‘Wow, this sucks, and this is the last time that I’m gonna run it.’” Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will face district rivals at Stuarts Draft. The girls’ race is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by the boys’ race at 5:45. On Saturday, they’ll race in the East Coast Elite Fast Times Invitational, the unofficial Class 3 state meet preview, at Green Hill Park in Salem.
BUFFALO GAP’S Paxton Haynes (411) keeps pace with RC junior Zach Hart, who placed 21st of 42 harriers in the boys’ race in 22:09.4, while RC sophomore Reagan Imler follows them. Imler won the girls’race in 22:00.5. (Lucretia VanBrocklin photo)
RC FRESHMAN Isabel Tubb leads runners up a hill. Tubbs was the Wildcats’ second finisher in the girls’ race, placing fourth of 17 harriers in 24:08.9. (Lucretia VanBrocklin photo)
