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East Coast Elite Members Excel At Adidas Meet
Completing an impressive indoor season, local runners from the East Coast Elite club team performed well at the Adidas Track Nationals held March 15-17 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
The local runners were coached by Drew Ludtke and Paul Spangler. “I was happy for the team because everyone had at least one personal record,” said Ludtke.
The East Coast Elite club had four Rockbridge County High School students in the finals of the freshman boys’ mile run, and they all finished in under five minutes.
Preston Spangler led the way, placing third in 4:37.4, the second-fastest time among freshmen from Virginia. Teammate Tyler Ludtke finished sixth in 4:39.56, while Blake Mc-Clung came in 10th in 4:45.83, and Sammy Eastwood followed in 13th in 4:52.45.
The four boys teamed up to place 15th in the 4 X 800-meter relay in 8:44.91. Ludtke ran the first leg before handing the baton to Spangler, McClung followed, and Eastwood ran the anchor leg.
RC senior Deena Ludtke, the only local high school girl competing, placed third in the elite girls’ 2-mile run, finishing in 11:18.1. Ludtke placed seventh in the finals of the mile run, clocking 5:16.39. In the en route finals, Ludtke placed third in the 3000-meter run in 10:35.73, third in the 3200-meter run in 11:14.6, and seventh in the 1600-meter run in 5:14.84.
There were also two Maury River Middle School runners competing. Eighth-grader Leif Guse placed 19th in the finals of the boys’ mile run, finishing in 5:11.29, the second- fastest time in Maury River Middle School history. In the finals of the girls’ mile run, seventh-grader Reagan Imler finished 22nd in 5:48.2, setting a new school record.
