Both Botetourt County high school cross country teams will participate in the 17th Annual Knights Crossing Invitational at Green Hill Park in west Roanoke County this Saturday.
The event, ranked as the third-best in the state by the popular runners’ website “MileStat,” will include runners from around 80 high schools and 60 middle schools. The last Knights Crossing, held in 2019, attracted teams from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. The meet was not held last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The meet is scheduled for Green Hill Park, noted to be one of the faster courses in the state. Once again, Green Hill Park will host the state Class 1, 2, and 3 state championships in November.
The course will open this Saturday at 7 am, with an open 5K team race for men and women at 7:30 am. An elementary school race is scheduled for 8 am for both boys and girls, and it’s a 1K course.
Middle School races are next, with the girls at 8:20 am, and the boys at 8:55 am. Both will be 4K, and the top 25 in each race will receive medals.
“Red” races begin at 9:30 am for the girls and 10:15 am for the boys. Both are 5K, and the “Red” division is for Virginia public schools and all out-of-state teams.
The “Black” races, for Virginia public and private schools, are also 5K. The girls’ Black race is at 10:45 am with the boys at 11:30 am.
“White” races, for Virginia public school runners and all out-of-state teams not entered in the “Red” races, will begin with a girls race at 12:15 pm and a boys’ race at 1 pm. Both are 5K.
Finally, a “Gold” race for all Virginia public and all private school runners not entered in the Black race will be held at 1:30 pm. Boys and girls will run together in a 5K.
Concessions will be available, and t-shirts will be on sale for runners or spectators. Cave Spring High School is hosting the event.