For the first time in recent memory both the Lord Botetourt boys’ and girls’ cross country teams have qualified for the state meet. And, to make things even better, the state meet will be held locally at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County.
Virginia High School League Class 1, 2 and 3 cross country championships will all be held at Green Hill Park Saturday. In recent years the Great Meadow horse farm in Warrenton hosted Classes 1 through 6 but this year Great Meadow has Class 4, 5 and 6 while 1 through 3 will run at Green Hill Park.
Green Hill was the site of the Region 2C meet last week and James River qualified two runners for the state from that event, one girl and one boy. Cole Miller, a junior, led the River boys to a fifth place finish among nine schools with a time of 17:33, finishing fifth overall. Daniel Zearfoss of Glenvar was the individual winner at 16:45 and Alleghany High was the team winner.
Miller advanced to this week’s state meet and teammate Camden Powell also earned All-Region honors with a 14th place finish in a time of 18:15. Camden did not qualify for the state, and other Knights who scored at Green Hill were Isaac Bell in 28th place, Samuel Worsley in 35th and Nathan Etzler in 44th.
In the girls’ race Radford was the team winner and Carly Wilkes of Glenvar was the individual champ at 20:08. River did not have a full team, but senior Abbagail Link was 12th overall for All-Region honors and a spot in the state meet this Saturday. River’s Kaylee Cox, a freshman, was 27th overall among 62 girls.
Lord Botetourt competed in the Region 3D meet in Bristol last week and both teams qualified for the state. The LB boys were second to Christiansburg and the girls were third behind Hidden Valley and Christiansburg.
LB freshman Tyler Meade made All-Region 3D in the boys’ meet with a time of 16:45 for seventh place. The winning time was 15:34 by Ethan Wilson of Christiansburg.
Also scoring for LB were Andres Hernandez in 19th, Alex Hawkins in 20th, Evan Poff in 21st and Evan Gates in 24th. There were 73 boys in the race.
Gracie Barron, also a freshman, led the LB girls with a 13th place in a time of 21:03, garnering All-Region honors. Freshman Makaleigh Jessee of Abingdon was the individual winner in 18:58.
Also scoring for LB were Lauren Duff, who missed All-Region by one spot with a 16th place finish, Sofia Hernandez in 20th, Anna Hoover in 25th and Katie Cross in 34th. There were 72 girls in the regional.
Action at Green Hill this Saturday begins with the Class 2 girls at 10:30 a.m. and the Class 2 boys at 11:15 a.m. The Class 1 girls are at 11:45 a.m., followed by the Class 1 boys at 12:30 p.m. Finally, the Class 3 girls take the gun at 1 p.m. with the Class 3 boys at 1:45 p.m.
