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With an impressive turnout of 42 athletes, including 11 returning from last year, the Rockbridge County High School boys and girls indoor track and field teams are optimistic about the season ahead.
Excited about the large teams, with 21 boys and 21 girls, longtime RC head coach Jennifer Showalter said, “It has been years since we have had these numbers. It is a well-rounded group with sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, distance runners and throwers.” Showalter said that, this year, she thinks the Wildcats will have athletes in all events.
Many of the Wildcats started the season well in the Liberty Flames High School Invitational on Saturday at Liberty University. “It was a good start to the season,” said Showalter.
The top performance came from the girls’ 4 X 800-meter relay team, placing eighth of 19 teams in 11:06.36. Team members were freshman Anna Nye, sophomore Dorothy Lewis and seniors Nicole Black and Deena Ludtke.
Ludtke also stepped up in the 1600-meter run, placing 20th in 5:34.56, less than a second shy of qualifying by time for the Class 3 state meet.
Showalter said Black, competing in indoor track for the first time, “had a great race” in the 100-meter run, placing 39th in 3:31.57.
Lewis finished 60th in the 1000-meter run in 3:40.47.
Freshman Celia Jones led the RC girls in the 55-meter dash, placing 106th in 8.19 seconds, and sophomore Evelyn McClung finished 137th in 8.46.
The RC girls had three strong performances in the 300-meter dash: sophomore Lola Mulitalo (91st, 46.72), freshman Anna Nye (106th, 47.29) and senior Libba Erskine (169th, 50.27).
Senior Bri Marando led the RC girls’ throwers, placing 13th in the shot put with a throw of 29 feet, 9.25 inches. Also stepping up was freshman Cate Skaggs, finishing 61st with a toss of 206.5.
For the RC boys, sophomore Fisher Howald placed 91st in the 100-meter run in 3:04.72 and finished 97th in the 1600-meter run in 5:22.76.
Also competing in the 1000meter run were junior Quincy Speers (102nd, 3:09.32) and senior Maddox Jordan (108th, 3:12.1).
Senior Konner Orebaugh led the RC boys’ sprinters, placing 177th in the 300-meter dash in 41.57 and finishing 189th in the 55-meter dash in 7.46.
Junior John Brooke came in 179th in the 55-meter dash in 7.43.
Last winter, the RC boys placed fourth in the Valley District meet. Their lone state qualifier, Evan Roney, placed second in the 1000-meter at the Class 3 state meet. Roney graduated in the spring and is a cross country and track runner for Division III school Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. The boys also graduated two of other top distance runners, Andrew Brannon and Brian Kendall, along with thrower Ben Batis, but they return seven runners.
One of their top runners is Howald, a regional qualifier in the 1600-meter run and a member of the boys’ regional qualifying 4 X 800-meter relay team. Howald will run distance races for the Wildcats. Also returning is senior Jordan Imler, who ran cross country with Howald this fall and will be running distance races. Another distance runner returning is sophomore Dean Fafatas, who played golf this fall but has experience running. Maddox Jordan returns to run distance races, while Orebaugh and sophomores Carlos Reynolds and Thomas Jones return as sprinters.
Sprinters new to the boys’ team are juniors Brooke, Duman Abdurakhamanuly, Noah Carroll, Ayron Wu and Ethan Drake, who will also compete in jumps; and freshmen Harry Laughy, Chase Potter and Alexander Salvador. Distance runners joining the team are senior Jackson Speers, junior Quincy Speers, sophomores Trenten Cash and Ethan Erskine, and freshmen Parker Fountain and Tristan Ripani.
The RC girls placed second at the Valley District meet last winter, trailing only Turner Ashby. Their state qualifier was Ludtke, who placed fifth in the 3200meter run and finished 12th in the 1500-meter run at the state meet. In the spring outdoor track, Ludtke placed eighth in the state in the 3200-meter run and was a member of the girls’ 12th-place 4 X 800-meter relay that set a school record.
Ludtke is coming off an outstanding cross country season, during which she was the Wildcats’ lone state qualifier and placed 26th in the state meet. She’s ready to lead the RC girls in distance running during the indoor track and field season.
From last year’s team, the RC girls graduated just one athlete, Grace Rolon, a member of that 4 X 800-meter and an outstanding distance runner who is doing club running for James Madison University.
In addition to Ludtke, the RC girls’ other returning runners are junior sprinters Lydia Kendall and Melissa Mejia. The Wildcats also return Marando, a regional qualifier in the shot put last winter and a 13th-place finisher in the discus during the outdoor season in the spring. There is no discus in the indoor season, but Marando has the potential to be among the state’s elite shot put throwers this winter.
New to the team but not new to running are eight of Ludtke’s cross country teammates, who will help make the RC girls strong in distance running: Black, Lewis, McClung and sophomore Kate Holston; and freshmen Nye, Gemma Batis, Alice Gresham, Hannah Ivins and. Showalter plans to put Mc-Clung in sprints, while the others will run distance races.
The Wildcats also welcome three athletes who played basketball last winter and are lacrosse players. Erskine will be a sprinter, senior Halina Homiak will be a sprinter and will do field events, while Mulitalo is a sprinter and jumper.
Other new team members are sophomores Sahasra Kandregula (sprints) and Elsa Kerin-Rice (sprints) and freshmen Emily Carroll (sprints and hurdles), Jones (sprints, hurdles and jumps), Skaggs (throws) and Bella Wright (sprints).
Of the new team members, Showalter said, “Look for many of them to do really well this year.”
Returning for her third year as the Wildcats’ assistant coach is Amanda Zickafoose.
Looking ahead, Showalter hopes both teams will finish well at the district meet, which is scheduled to take place at Virginia Military Institute’s Corps Physical Training Facility on Feb. 1. The Wildcats hope to advance several athletes to the regional and state meets.
In the Valley District, Showalter expects Spotswood and Turner Ashby to provide the toughest competition. Broadway won the boys’ meet last winter and should be challenging as well. This year, the district has added two new teams, East Rockingham and William Monroe.
In addition to the district meet, the Wildcats have two Saturday meets scheduled to take place at VMI, on Jan. 6 and Jan. 13.
Before the holiday break, the Wildcats will return to Liberty University on Saturday to compete in the Liberty High School Christmas Invitational. Showalter said the Wildcats are hoping to add more field events. “I’m excited to see the team improve over the season,” she said.
