The Patrick County High School track team competed with the best in the state this past weekend at the Cosmopolitan Championships in Roanoke. The three-day meet brought together the best talent from 23 schools in the Roanoke Valley.
“Besides the top notch competition, what we really love about this meet is that it separates athletes into Junior (ninth and 10th grades) and Senior (11th and 12th graders) divisions,” said Coach Danel Slaydon. “As far as strength, speed and endurance goes, there is a huge difference in development between ninth and 12th graders, so it is great for our athletes to see how they compare with their peers.”
From the discus to the 4×400, the junior girls (Lexy Carico, Molly Hernandez, Autumn Hubbard, Hannah Roberson, Armonte Carter, Izzy Beasley, Lindsey Marshall, Arielle Taylor) brought their best this weekend, and were rewarded with a second place overall finish.
“This was a huge accomplishment for our young ladies, and it gives us a very exciting glimpse into the future of track and field at Patrick County,” Slaydon said. “Our small but mighty team of eight ladies turned a lot of heads this weekend and beat all of our Conference 32 schools.”
Lexy Carico and Molly Hernandez set the tone for the meet Friday evening by placing first and second in the discus.
“Lexy has been incredibly strong and consistent all season, and today, Molly threw over 100 feet for the first time, which is a huge accomplishment,” Slaydon said.
Autumn Hubbard followed suit with a first place in the shot put.
On Saturday, Autumn cruised to victory in the 400, while Lindsey Marshall ran strong and gutsy to place third, and Armonte Carter snuck in to place sixth and pick up important points. Izzy Beasley and Hannah Roberson had an impressive day over the hurdles, placing fourth and fifth, respectively, with big personal records in the 300m hurdles.
The girls’ 4×100 team (Armonte Carter, Lindsey Marshall, Hannah Roberson, Autumn Hubbard) placed third in the 4x100m relay and came back later in the day and dominated the 4×400 relay, winning in a time of 4:22.
In the senior girls’ division, Emma Hubbard ran smart and tough to place second in the 800.
“She has been training extremely hard and racing very aggressively, and we are very excited about the rest of her season,” Slaydon said.
Amber Triplett placed fourth in the 100m dash.
In the senior boys’ division, Juan Cisneros placed fifth in the mile and Ethan Gilbert added a sixth place finish in the 800.
Perhaps one of the most impressive and exciting performances of the day came from seventh grader Kristian Reynolds. He ran an incredibly gritty mile race and placed third in a loaded field of middle school runners. “His time of 4:58 shows just how tough and talented he is,” Slaydon said.
“We are taking this week off of competing, but will be back in action May 9 at Bassett, and then again May 14 at the prestigious Cave Springs Invitational in Roanoke,” Slaydon added.
