The Lord Botetourt boys came in first among 13 teams last week when LB and James River hosted the Blue Ridge Invitational cross country meet at Greenfield Recreation Park in Daleville.
Botetourt finished with 64 points to out-run Auburn, who had 70. North Cross was third with 75 followed by Patrick County with 81 and William Byrd with 114.
LB senior Eric Duncan won the race with a time of 16:46, 48 seconds ahead of second place Blake Brown of Auburn. The Cavaliers put four runners in the top 15 with Preston Vaughn seventh, Archer Lee 14th and John Moughrabi 15th. Also scoring was Lucas Carswell in 28th.
“Despite missing one of our top runners due to illness, the men’s team rallied to take home the win,” said LB coach Noel Preece. “Four athletes took home individual medals. As the most challenging race course on our calendar, the Blue Ridge Invitational offers a unique opportunity to race for position without worrying about the clock.”
The James River boys were seventh, led by Braden Jones in 17th place. Also scoring were Mark Voight in 25th, Charles Stull in 34th, Barrett Pace in 39th and Nolan Linthicum in 53rd place.
Photos by Brian Hoffman
“The kids pushed through Greenfield but it was a tough one,” said River coach Daphne Davidson. “We had a lot of tired runners. These boys are currently sitting fourth in the state and we want to do our best to move up to the top three but it is definitely going to be a battle of wills.”
Patrick Henry won the girls race followed by North Cross and Patrick County. The James River girls took fourth among eight teams and LB only had three runners.
Niav Murphy of PH was the girls’ winner in a time of 20:15. River’s best finish was Maddie Davidson, who earned a medal with an eighth place finish in 24:07. Maren Pauley also medaled in 14th and also scoring were Daniella Murray in 21st, Holly Weddle in 27th and Jacey Walker in 33rd place.
“These girls have come out so strong this year with the majority of our girls’ team brand new to running cross country, and our returners only having one season of cross country under their belts,” said coach Davidson. “We really don’t know what this team is capable of. Our girls’ team is also currently ranked fourth in the state.”
LB’s Jules Banka finished 16th, missing a medal by one spot. Ember Wiley was 43rd and Maddie Moore finished 44th.
“This is the first season that we have had the pleasure to co-host the Blue Ridge Invitational with James River,” said Preece. “We want to extend a big thank you to Chase and Daphne Davidson, the County of Botetourt, and all of the other coaches, volunteers and community members that helped to make this event a success.”
This Saturday both schools will run in the East Coast Elite State Preview meet at Green Hill Park in west Roanoke County. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a race for Elementary, Open and Club runners followed by the high school girls at 10 a.m. and the high school boys at 10:30 a.m. There will be a middle school girls race at 11 a.m. and a middle school boys race at 11:30 a.m.
“It should be a competitive meet in fast conditions, a great opportunity for some PRs,” said Preece.
The Knights will also race in a meet at Camp Alta Mons in Shawsville today with many of the Class 2 schools in the region.
