The Patrick County High School cross country teams ended their regular season with a perfect sweep at the Piedmont District Championships last week.
“We could not have been more proud of our athletes today,” said Coach Danel Slaydon. “The focus of the day was to be the best version of ourselves and to finish with nothing left in the tank. We executed perfectly on both sides, and came away with big wins.”
After losing by nine points to Franklin County at the Cougars’ home meet, the girls were hungry for redemption. They started the race aggressively and positioned themselves well for the final half mile.
Macie Rogers, Armonte Carter and Hannah Roberson had clear margins between themselves and the Franklin County girls that they needed to beat at the end, and Montana Moorefield and Arielle Taylor “absolutely gutted out” the final 100 meters, passing one Franklin County girl each in the final strides.
“We came away with a three-point victory, which is pretty much as close as it gets in a cross country race,” Slaydon said. “Every girl did their part today, and once again, our top six all finished in the top 15, earning All-District honors.”
Macie Rogers won the race by an impressive 28 seconds and was followed by Armonte Carter (third), Montana Moorefield (fourth), Hannah Roberson (eighth), Arielle Taylor (11th), and Ashton Collins (13th).
“The boys’ race was equally as exciting, as our men put the hammer down early,” Slaydon said.
“Juan Cisneros was challenged late by Bassett’s Conor Kinkema, but closed faster and more aggressively than I have ever seen him in the final 50 meters to earn the win. The rest of our top six runners executed extremely well to finish in the top 15,” he said.
Zach Montgomery (third), Monroe Morse (fourth) and Bailey Holt (fifth) finished with a very strong 3-4-5 punch, and Jared Biedrycki finished in ninth to cement the win for the boys. Burke Gonzalez finished in 11th place, becoming the sixth male Cougar to earn All-District honors.
The boys finished 20 points ahead of Bassett.
“Today was all about strength, toughness and execution, and both squads competed with a lot of passion. This type of championship effort is exactly what our program needs to keep improving in the future. We are looking forward to the Conference 32 Championships October 26. The goal will, once again, be to compete with heart and race to the very best of our ability,” Slaydon said. “If we can do that as a whole, we will be pleased with the result.”
