Both the Rockbridge County High School boys and girls cross country teams won their tri-meet against Shenandoah District rivals last Wednesday at Stuarts Draft. On Saturday in Salem, the RC boys placed second of 17 teams at the East Coast Elite Fast Times Invitational, the unofficial Class 3 state meet preview, while the RC girls finished 11th of 14 teams.
RC head coach Julie Tisone said the Wildcats used the Stuarts Draft meet as a training race.
Sweeping the top four spots and placing seven runners in the top 10, the RC boys scored 18 points, while Fort Defiance placed second with 49 points, and Stuarts Draft (69) finished third.
In the girls’ race, the Wildcats had four runners in the top 10 and scored 33 points to edge runner-up Fort (34), while Draft (53) came in third.
RC’s Lincoln Steele won the boys race, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 18.4 seconds. Placing second of 37 harriers in the same time was teammate Grant Swenty, while RC’s Leif Guse finished third in 17:18.5. Wildcat Sammy Eastwood came in fourth in 17:23.4, comfortably ahead of the fifthplace finisher, Stuarts Draft’s Easton Nice, who crossed the line in 18:07.
After Fort Defiance runners took the next two spots, Wildcats rounding out the top 10 were Bede Eichholz (eighth, 18:18.4), Oscar McClung (ninth, 18:21.8) and Luke Eichholz (10th, 18:31.3).
Fort’s Henley Ann Coffman won the girls’ race in 21:48.2.
Leading the RC girls and placing second of 16 harriers was Reagan Imler in 23:00.4. Teammate Isabel Tubb followed in third in 23:23.7, and RC’s Hannah Ivins came in seventh in 25:26.5. The Wildcats’ final two runners were Audra Roney (10th, 27:17.7) and Elizabeth Margalus (11th, 27:51.5).
RC Boys Second At ECE
At the ECE Fast Times Invitational on Saturday, the RC boys only trailed Broadway in the boys’ championship race. The teams competed in rainy and cold conditions, “which we like and do well in that kind of weather,” said Tisone.
The Wildcats, who placed second to Western Albemarle in the Region 3C and Class 3 state meets last year, have both Western Albemarle and Broadway as their toughest regional opponents. Western did not compete at Saturday’s meet.
With three runners in the top 10, the Broadway boys won with 44 points, while RC placed second of 17 teams, scoring 71 points. Rounding out the top five were Christiansburg (80), Maggie L. Walker (136) and Floyd County (220).
Tisone said the meet was “very exciting,” and that it was fun for her boys to run against Broadway “and see what work we need to do against one of the strongest regional competitors.”
Christiansburg’s Wyatt Semones won the boys’ race, finishing the flat 5K in 16:04.5.
For the Wildcats, Guse went out strong and was leading the race at one point before placing second of 179 harriers in 16:06.8. Broadway’s Peyton Allen finished third in 16:15.5.
The RC boys’ second runner was Eastwood (10th, 16:26.5), while teammates Swenty (19th, 16:50.1) and Oscar McClung (20th, 16:59.3) also finished in the top 20. Wildcats following McClung were Will Ditzel (21st, 16:59.6), Tyler Ludtke (25th, 17:02.7) and Steele (29th, 17:13.2).
In the girls’ championship race, the Wildcats scored 314 points to place 11th of 14 teams. Christiansburg won the race, Maggie L. Walker (92) placed second, and Waynesboro (111) finished third. Rounding out the top five were New Kent (124) and Auburn (147).
Christiansburg’s Mariah Reed won the girls’ race in 18:40.
Leading the Wildcats and placing 22nd of 138 harriers was Imler in 21:05.6. RC’s second runner was Ivins (69th, 23:27.1), and she was followed by teammates Tubb (101st, 25:03.5), Roney (114th, 26:00.5) and Margalus (115th, 26:00.5).
It was a fast day for the RC boys and girls, who set 11 personal records.
Tisone said the meet “was definitely a good race to see how we stack up to our competitors.”
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will race at Buffalo Gap High School in Swoope. After Gap honors its seniors at 5 p.m., the boys’ race is scheduled for 5:30, with the girls’ race starting two minutes later.
