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The Rockbridge County High School cross country teams started the season with Wilson Memorial’s Valley Cup Relays in Fishersville, where the RC girls’ top team placed fourth out of 19 squads and the RC boys’ top team finished ninth of 31 teams on Tuesday of last week. Other Wildcats ran well individually in open races.
The 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 included a big hill to climb.
“The Valley Cup Relays are a great season opener,” said RC head coach Julie Tisone. “It was a fun race to test out our legs and see how we compared to the other teams from last year and the new ones that are in our district.”
The Wildcats entered two relay teams in the girls’ relay and three in the boys’ relay.
RC’s Valley District rival Spotswood won the girls’ relay, with their four runners finishing 8 miles in 49 minutes, 59 seconds. District rival Harrisonburg placed second in 54:16, Fort Defiance finished third in 55:18, and RC came in fourth in 56:23. Rounding out the top five was Grace Christian School, finishing in 57:24.
Team members for RC’s top team were Deena Ludtke, Nicole Black, Dorothy Lewis and Brooke Eichelberger. Ludtke had the fifth-fastest 2-mile split for all girls racing, finishing in 12:28.4, more than a minute faster than her time last year. Black ran the next leg for the Wildcats, clocking 13:56.8. RC’s next runner was Lewis, finishing in 14:36, and Eichelberger ran the anchor leg in 15:20.7.
The RC girls’ B team placed 15th in 1:03:11. Team members were Kate Holston (15:28.8), Anna Nye (15:42.5), Ruby Goodhart (15:45.7) and Cassandra Silver (16:13.3).
In the boys’ relay, RC’s Valley District rival Broadway won in 44:01, Waynesboro placed second in 44:15, and Luray finished third in 44:49. Completing the top five were RC’s new district rival East Rockingham (45:15) and Wilson Memorial (46:23).
The Wildcats’ top team placed ninth in 47:56. Team members were Preston Spangler, Alexander Miller, Fisher Howald and Trent Cash.
Spangler, a freshman, ran the first leg in 10:52.5. Miller completed the second leg in 11:57.1, nearly a minute faster than his time last year. Howald finished the third leg in 12:27.1, and Cash ran the anchor leg in 12:38.6.
The RC boys’ B team finished 15th in 49:40. Team members were Tyler Ludtke (11:49.6), Sammy Eastwood (12:04.6), Oscar McClung (12:52.3) and Jordan Imler (12:53.3).
The Wildcats’ C team placed 24th in the boys’ relay, finishing in 55:32. Team members were Finn Miller (12:42.8), Graham Niebur (13:32.9), Parker Fountain (13:49.7) and Chase Lowney (15:26.3).
In the open 2-mile races, RC had three runners finish in the top 25.
RC’s Evelyn McClung placed 19th of 39 harriers in 17:16.68 in the girls’ open race, won by Macy Rowe in 13:37.58. Wildcat Alice Gresham followed in 20th in 17:36.66.
In the boys’ open race, won by Easton Nice in 11:57.68, freshman Chase Potter led the Wildcats, placing 20th of 55 harriers in 14:13.52.
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will hold their only home meet of the season against Valley District rivals Spotswood and Harrisonburg at Natural Bridge State Park. The meet is scheduled to start with the girls’ race at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys’ race, and the challenging 5K course will start and end by Golf Course Road.
On Saturday, the Wildcats will travel to Salem to race in the competitive Knights Crossing Invitational, with Cave Spring playing host at the flat course at Green Hill Park. The course will be the location of the Class 3 state meet course on Nov. 11, so Saturday’s meet will give the Wildcats a preview.
