The Botetourt boys qualified as a team last week at the Region 3D meet in Axton. The regional was held at the Smith River Sports Complex and hosted by Bassett High. The Christiansburg boys and Hidden Valley girls were team winners.
The top two teams from each race qualified for the state, and the LB boys came in second with 58 points to Christiansburg’s 44. Abingdon was third with 70, and the Falcons’ Isaac Thiessen was the individual winner with a time of 16:22.
Senior Bryson Cook had the best time for LB, finishing fourth at 16:47. That was just two seconds ahead of teammate Evan Gates, who took fifth. Also scoring for LB were junior Evan Poff in 13th place, senior Carter Hudson in 14th and sophomore Cole Stelter in 22nd. Competing, but not scoring, were freshman Rye Jackson in 29th and junior Andres Hernandez in 31st among 65 runners. Cook, Gates, Poff and Hudson took All-Region honors.
The Botetourt girls just barely missed advancing to the state meet with a third place finish. Hidden Valley won with 34 points, Christiansburg was second with 61 and LB had 84. In a normal year the Cavs would have advanced but this season only two qualify for the state to keep the numbers low during due the coronavirus pandemic.
Junior Sydney Vokus of LB finished fourth overall with a time of 20:21, qualifying for the state as an individual. The winning time was 19:32 by Reese Bradbury of Hidden Valley.
Also scoring for LB were freshman Ella Johnston in ninth, senior Lauren Duff in 13th, senior Brielle Jackson in 31st and sophomore Karley Burks in 36th. Senior Sofia Hernandez was 42nd and junior Katie Cross was 57th among 62 competitors. Vokus, Johnston and Duff made the All-Region team by finishing in the top 15.