Green Hill Park in west Roanoke County was buzzing with action last Saturday morning as some of the top runners from a six-state area competed in the annual Knights Crossing cross country races.
Lord Botetourt competed in the varsity “Red” race and both the girls and boys finished ninth overall. Jefferson Forest was the team winner in the girls race, while Daniel Boone High won the boys team title.
The girls individual winner was Carly Wilkes of Glenvar with a time of 18:07. Ella Johnston had the best time for Lord Botetourt at 19:20 for 12th place. Sydney Vokus was 18th in 19:34 and other Cavaliers who scored included Erna Dietrich in 41st, Karley Burks in 108th and Katie Cross in 152nd. There were 249 runners in the race.
For the boys, Nathan Atchue of Franklin County was the individual winner in 15:13. Evan Gates led LB with a 30th place finish in 16:50. Also scoring were Carter Hudson in 54th, Rye Jackson in 62nd, Cole Stelter in 71st and Andres Hernandez in 125th among 315 total runners.
“Both boys and girls teams ran great opening races,” said LB coach Elizabeth Smith. “Many of our runners ran personal best times, which is great looking ahead towards the rest of the season. These runners have put so much time and work into this season, that I know they are going to do great things this year. We are all so excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.”
James River competed in the “Black” race for smaller schools. The Knights finished eighth among 16 teams in the boys race as Union High took the team title.
Gabe Miller of Alleghany was the individual winner in the Black race at 17:12. Nathan Etzler led River with a 28th place finish in 19:19. Also scoring for the Knights were Michael Jorgensen in 33rd, Silas Miller in 36th, Jacob Hill in 45th and Colt Race-Waller in 115th.
This Saturday, Lord Botetourt will be back in action with a race at Hidden Valley. River’s next scheduled race is September 25 at the Jackson River Sports Complex in Covington.
