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Wednesday, April 5 – Winning three events, the Rockbridge County High School outdoor track and field teams had many strong performances in their first meet of the season last Wednesday at Broadway.
Following the cancellation of Gar Bugg Coed Classic in Harrisonburg on March 24 due to rain, the Wildcats got the season started against mostly Valley District competition.
“Broadway was a great first meet to see how the season would be,” said longtime RC head coach Jennifer Showalter.
Junior Nicole Black won the 300-meter hurdles in 57.53 seconds and placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 12 feet, 9.5 inches. She was also on the winning 4 X 800-meter relay team, which finished in 11:11.12 to beat runner-up Turner Ashby by more than a minute. Joining Black in the relay were teammates Dorothy Lewis, Deena Ludtke and Grace Rolon.
Leading the RC girls’ throwers, junior Bri Marando won the discus with a heave of 92-5 and placed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 24-6.5.
Also competing in the throwing events for RC was senior Zhyasia Singleton, placing fifth in the discus with a heave of 65-1 and finishing seventh in the shot put with a throw of 24-7.5
Stepping up individually was Ludtke, a junior. Coming off her all-state performance at the Class state indoor track and field meet in late February, Lutdke placed second in two events last Wednesday, the 800-meter run in 2:39.24 and the 1600-meter run in 5:49.62.
Making a positive impression in her first track meet was freshman Dorothy Lewis, placing fifth in two races, the 800-meter run in 2:50.34 and the 1600-meter run in 6:01.64.
Also stepping up in her first meet was freshman Evelyn McClung, placing fourth in the 100-meter dash in 15.08 seconds and coming in eighth in the 200-meter dash in 32.91.
Melissa Mejia placed seventh in the 100-meter dash in 15.67 seconds, and Madeline Doerfler finished eighth in 15.74. Alice Gresham placed seventh in the 200-meter dash in 32.62 and came in eighth in the 400-meter dash in 1:17.78. Kate Holston placed fifth in the 400-meter dash in 1:14.54.
The RC boys placed second in the 4 X 800-meter run in 9:32.84, only three hundredths of a second behind Broadway’s winning time. The Wildcats’ team members were Andrew Brannon, Jordan Imler, Will Gibbs and Alexander Miller.
Brannon, a senior, placed ninth in two races, the 800-meter run in 2:22.4 and the 1600-meter run in 5:12.77.
Imler finished 10th in the 800-meter run in 2:23.41, and Miller came in 15th in 2:26.48.
Caden Culp tied for 19th in the long jump, leaping 16-3, and came in 25th in the 100-meter dash in 12.05 seconds.
Konner Orebaugh placed 11th in the 400-meter dash in 59 seconds and finished 23rd in the 200-meter dash in 26.02 seconds, both personal records.
Ethan Drake tied for 16th in the high jump, clearing 4-10, while Spencer Pfaff finished 20th in the 400-meter dash in 1:04.59.
Junior Kellan Dorey led the RC boys in throws, placing 11th in the discus with a heave of 91-1 and finishing 22nd in the shot put with a toss of 28-8. Teammate Hunter Howald came in 22nd in the discus with a heave of 71-3 and finished 29th in the shot put with a toss of 26-4.
The RC girls placed fourth of five teams with 64.5 points. Broadway won with 117 points, Turner Ashby (114) placed second, and Spotswood (106) finished third. RC and Harrisonburg (58.5) rounded out the standings).
The RC boys finished sixth of six teams with eight points. Harrisonburg (129) won, Broadway (113.33) placed second, and Blue Ridge School (97.33) placed third. Rounding out the top five were Spotswood (88.33) and TA (87).
With high hopes for the season, Showalter said the Wildcats will be strongest in their distance running and with Marando in the throws. The Wildcats’ hopes are to get as many athletes as possible to the regional and state meets, she said.
Returning to serve as RC’s distance running coach is assistant coach Julie Tisone, the Wildcats’ head cross country coach, while Eric Wilhelm is the new throwing coach.
The Wildcats will compete at Harrisonburg next Wednesday, April 12 before holding their home meet next Wednesday, April 19. Both meets are scheduled for 5 p.m.
