Hayes placed second in the girls 5K race with a time of 20:01. Blackburn took fifth in the boys race with a time of 17:55. The meet featured schools and runners from all four classifications.
East Wilkes finished strong in the team standings as well, with the boys placing second behind 4A Reynolds, and the girls taking third behind 3A Reagan and 2A West Stokes.
Jodie Lemons of South Stokes was the only girl racer to beat Hayes on a sunny, warm Saturday. She finished eight seconds ahead of her East Wilkes rival after a back-and-forth battle. Lemons ran the meet unattached, so the team scoring began with Hayes.
"Anna and Jodie ran together the whole way," East distance coach Dan Merritt said. "Anna would take the lead, then Jodie. They were back and forth the whole race. Jodie would open a stride or two gap, Anna would pull back up. Anna would open a stride or two gap, Jodie would pull back up. Only in the last 250 meters did Lemons put on a finishing burst that resulted in her winning."
Kelsey Redding had the next best run for the Lady Cardinals, taking 10th in 23:32. Dana Prevette (21st place in 25:08), Kayla Jones (26th in 26:18) and Deanna Calloway (35th in 29:12) completed the East Wilkes scoring. The race for the team title proved tight at the top, with Reagan scoring 58, West Stokes 60, East Wilkes 64, Davie County 71 and Surry Central 81.
East might have won the overall title had freshman Carol Blankenship raced. Coaches held her out to rest a sore quad. Blankenship finished ahead of Hayes in meets earlier in the season.
North Surry's David Riska won the boys meet in 17:27. Blackburn was just two seconds away from fourth place and eight away from third.
East Wilkes' teammate Matthew Trivette earned ninth place with a time of 18:29. Jordan Stamper and John Holbrook ran close together for the Cardinals, taking 25th and 27th places, respectively, in 19:24 and 19:29. Pedro Jaimes completed the East boys scoring with a 42nd place showing in 20:49.
Reynolds ran away with the boys meet crown with 44 points. East Wilkes finished with 101 points, edging West Stokes by 1. Wilkes Central was fourth with 117 points.
"The boys ran well after having had a hard race on Tuesday," Merritt said. "To come back so soon with another good effort was a testament to their heart and toughness. With every success they want to build upon it to improve to achieve more."
Surry Central's top boys runner was Carlos Vega, who clocked a time of 18:05 to take sixth. Allee Taylor was 15th for the Surry Central girls with a time of 24:07. Teammate Liset Villicana was 17th in 24:41, while Lacy Schmidt was 20th in 25:07.
Since only seven runners from each school were allowed to run in the championship race, there was also an open race for boys and girls. East Wilkes' Brewer Logan was 11th in the boys open race in 23:43. James Blackburn took 13th in 24:06, while Dylan Jessup placed 16th in 25:20. In the girls open race, Tiffany Smith was second in 30:37, while Esmarla Alfaro placed sixth in 33:12.
The day ended with a middle school 5K. Abram Logan, a seventh grader from East Wilkes Middle, won his race in 22:04.
"Abram was challenged in the early stages of the race, but pulled away toward the end to win by 40 seconds," Merritt said. "In the near future he will be a valuable addition to East's cross country program."
Post a Comment
