The Patrick County High School cross country teams laced up their spikes last Tuesday at the Smith River Sports Complex to kick off their 2016 season. The scrimmage, hosted by Bassett, was a two-mile race that featured the Piedmont District schools.
“We like to start our season off with a shorter and more low key race to get our feet wet,” said Coach Danel Slaydon. “We have found that this benefits both our veterans and newcomers in building confidence before we get into the larger meets.
Macie Rogers ran away with the girls’ race, and the Lady Cougars’ team came out on top in the six-team competition.
“We were especially encouraged by this, since two of our scorers (top five runners) took a wrong turn on the course, and therefore did not count towards the overall team score,” Slaydon said. Autumn Hubbard (4th), Arielle Taylor (6th) and Ashton Collins all finished in the top 10.
Juan Cisneros was the top finisher in the boys’ race, placing second behind Bassett’s Connor Kinkema. Bailey Holt (7th) and Monroe Morse (8th) ran strong to place in the top 10.
The boys’ team finished third overall.
“The oppressive humidity and temperatures in the 90s definitely added an extra layer of toughness to the race, but both of our squads handled the conditions well,” Slaydon said. “We will return to the same course on September 1 to compete in the Bassett XC Invitational. We will look for all of our athletes to improve upon their performances from Tuesday,” he said.
