The Lord Botetourt cross country team will be the host of the annual Blue Ridge Invitational this Saturday at Greenfield Recreation Park. Fifteen teams will be competing in five different races beginning at 9 a.m.
The first race of the day will be the Boys Middle School 3K, followed by the Girls Middle School race at 9:30 a.m. The varsity races begin at 10 a.m. with the Boys 5K, followed by the Girls 5K at 10:45 a.m. The day concludes with a jayvee 5K for both boys and girls at 11:30 a.m.
Schools joining Lord Botetourt for the event include Altavista, Auburn, James Breckinridge Middle, James Madison Middle, North Cross, Northside, Patrick Henry, Roanoke Catholic, Southwest Virginia Academy, Staunton River High and Middle, William Byrd, William Fleming and Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
The Cavaliers went to Blacksburg last week to compete in the East Coast Elite Race at Virginia Tech.
“This was a preview of the state course, so the runners were able to see what they will be on for states,” said LB coach Elizabeth Edmonds. “It is a great course. The runners all enjoyed the opportunity to get their feet on a collegiate cross country course. After the storm last week, the course was muddy and wet, but this added to the cross country feel. It was a great experience for all the racers. We used this as a workout, and the runners still put up some good times.”
The girls team was led by sophomore Ember Wiley, running a time of 26:09. The boys team was led by sophomore John Moughrabi, finishing with a time of 20:45, followed right behind by freshman Nathan Moser with a time of 20:47. Freshman Archer Lee rounded out the top three.
James River did not have a meet last week. The Knights are scheduled to run in the East Mont Invitational at Camp Alta Mons in Shawsville today.
