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Nine individuals and three relay teams from the Rockbridge County High School indoor track and field teams advanced to the Region 3C meet with their performances at the Valley District meet on Thursday night at the Virginia Military Institute Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington.
In the team standings, the RC girls placed fifth of seven teams, while the RC boys finished sixth of six. East Rockingham won the girls’ meet with 107.5 points, Turner Ashby placed second with 76 points, and Spotswood (74.5) finished third. Completing the standings were Broadway (63), RC (52), Harrisonburg (46) and William Monroe (32). Harrisonburg (171) won the boys’ meet, while ER (101) placed second, and Broadway (68) finished third. Rounding out the standings were TA (67), Spotswood (45) and the Wildcats (4).
In addition to those qualified by time or distance, the top six individuals and top three relay teams advanced to the Region 3C meet. For qualifying purposes, because they are in different regions than the rest of the Valley District teams, Harrisonburg and William Monroe individuals and relay teams were removed from the results. Leading the RC girls were two individuals who placed second: senior Halina Homiak in the shot put with a toss of 25 feet, 10.5 inches, and freshman Celia Jones in the 55-meter dash in 7.86 seconds. Jones also advanced in the 55-meter hurdles, placing third in 10.15 seconds.
Freshman Anna Nye advanced in the 300-meter dash, placing third in a personal-record (PR) time of 46.13 seconds, while sophomore Elsa Kerin-Rice qualified in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 4 inches to place fourth. Also advancing were sophomore Lola Mulitalo, placing fifth in the long jump with a PR leap of 14-0.5, senior Libba Erskine (sixth, 300-meter dash, PR 48.88 seconds), and freshman Abby Harding (sixth, 55-meter hurdles, 11.34).
In the triple jump, freshman Emily Carroll qualified by placing eighth with a distance of 26-0.75, moving up two places because two Harrisonburg leapers were ahead of her.
The RC girls’ 4 X 200-meter relay team advanced by placing second in 1:58.43, only trailing TA’s winning time of 1:55.11 and ahead of Harrisonburg’s third-place time of 2:00.36. RC team members were Erksine, Homiak, Nye and Mulitalo.
In the girls’ 4 X 400-meter relay, with Harrisonburg being removed, the Wildcats advanced by placing fourth in 4:42.81. Teaming up for the Wildcats were Erskine, Homiak, Kerin-Rice and Nye. With Harrisonburg removed from the 4 X 800-meter relay, the RC girls also advanced in that race, placing fourth in 13:20.05. Team members were Homiak, junior Lydia Kendall, and freshmen Alice Gresham and Hannah Ivins.
For the RC boys, sophomore Fisher Howald advanced in two races, placing sixth in the 1000-meter run in 2:51.49 and finishing seventh in the 1600-meter run in 4:52.22, a PR.
Several other Wildcats concluded their individual season, but they recorded PRs. For the RC girls, sophomore Evelyn McClung placed eighth in the 55-meter dash in 8.37 seconds, while Carroll finished seventh in the long jump with a leap of 132.75. Gresham finished 10th in the 500-meter dash in 1:45.6, and Ivins didn’t record a PR but came in 11th in 1:48.85.
For the RC boys, freshman Chase Potter had a PR in the long jump, placing 10th with a leap of 17-2.75. Other RC boys recording PRs were senior Konner Orebaugh (13th, 55meter dash, 7.286; 13th, 300-meter dash, 39.97), juniors Quincy Speers (12th, 500-meter dash, 1:16.76) and John Brooke (12th, 55-meter dash, 7.281; 15th, 300-meter dash, 41.16), and sophomores Trent Cash (13th, 1600-meter run, 5:08.2) and Ethan Erskine (17th, 1600-meter run, 5:34.29). Senior Maddox Jordan wrapped up his high school indoor track career by placing 11th in the 500-meter dash in 1:15.54.
RC head coach Jennifer Showalter said, “Congratulations to our incredible athletes for their outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication.”
Showalter, who worked with volunteers to make sure the meet ran smoothly, said she was glad the Wildcats were able to play host for the district meet for the third year in a row. “It is great to work with VMI on hosting the Valley District meet,” she said. The longtime RC coach said she was grateful for all the volunteers, officials, staff, coaches and VMI for a successful meet.
The Region 3C meet is scheduled for this Saturday at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, starting at 10 a.m. In addition to those qualified by time or distance, the top three individuals and top two relay teams will advance to the Class 3 state meet, scheduled for Feb. 26-27 at Liberty University.
