.jpg)
RC Girls Place Sixth, Boys 12th At Metro XC Meet
Facing tough competition, the Rockbridge County High School girls cross country team placed sixth of 14 teams at the Metro XC Championships last Wednesday at Blacksburg High School, while the RC boys finished 12th of 18 teams.
“It was a very strong field for both the boys and girls,” said RC head coach Julie Tisone.
Christiansburg won the girls’ race with 39 points, while Blacksburg placed second with 42, and Patrick Henry (119) finished third. Following in the top seven were Cave Spring (129), Salem (155), RC (171) and Franklin County (182).
In the boys’ race, RC tallied 300 points. Blacksburg (39) won, Eastern Montgomery (92) placed second, and Hidden Valley (123) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Christiansburg (142) and Cave Spring (162).
“All of our boys ran a really strong meet, but the competition was very tough,” said Tisone.
North Cross’s Kerrigan Chaney won the girls’ race, completing the hilly 5-kilometer course in 18:36.3.
Senior Brooke Eichelberger led the RC girls and earned a medal as one of the top finishers, placing 14th of 115 harriers in 22:29.5. RC’s second runner was Dorothy Lewis, finishing 19th in 22:56.9, and teammate Evelyn McClung followed in 53rd in 25:21. Wildcats after McClung were Hannah Ivins (62nd, 26:16.5), Kate Holston (64th, 26:28.2), Alice Gresham (108th, 32:18.9) and Cate Skaggs (112th, 36:31.6).
North Cross’s Spencer Britton won the boys’ race in 16:30.9. Sophomore Sammy Eastwood led the RC boys, placing 34th of 170 runners in 18:50.5. The Wildcats’ second runner was Grant Swenty (42nd, 18:59.9), with teammate Fisher Howald (48th, 19:09.2) following closely. Wildcats after Howald were Finn Miller (98th, 20:48), Hudson Saunders (105th, 21:28.5), Ben Gresham (107th, 21:29) and Edison Rahl (119th, 22:10.9). It was a personal record for Rahl, a freshman, on a challenging course. “He gets stronger every meet,” said Tisone.
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will compete in the Valley District meet at Grottoes Town Park, with the girls’ race at 4 p.m. and the boys’ race at 4:45 p.m. Last year, the RC girls placed fourth, and the boys finished fifth. Both RC teams hope to advance to the Region 3C meet, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the Jackson River Sports Complex in Covington.
