The Patrick County High School indoor track team had a great day on the track at the Conference 32 Championships last week in Blacksburg.
“We are extremely proud to be sending 11 Cougars on to the 3A West Regionals, which will be held February 16, at Liberty University,” said Coach Danel Slaydon.
The Cougars were led by senior Juan Cisneros. “He ran an incredibly smart race early on and showed his true grit over the final 300 meters, throwing down a kick that nobody else could match,” Slaydon said. Cisneros crossed the line first, earning the title of Conference 32 champion in the 1,000m.
In the shot put competition, Lexy Carico finished second and Molly Hernandez finished fifth. “This is the first time we have had two throwers move on to Regionals, which is really exciting,” said Slaydon.
Savannah Moorefield finished fourth in the 500, taking down several higher seeded runners from the faster heat to qualify.
“We have had many athletes affected by the flu outbreak, and since racing with the flu can result in long-term, season-ending complications, we had to make some tough decisions,” Slaydon said. Macie Rogers selflessly gave up her chance to qualify in the 1,000 to ensure that she would be healthy and sharp to run on the relay teams (who have already scored the automatic state standard) at the state meet.
“It is this type of ‘team-first’ mentality that makes this group of athletes so special and such a joy to work with,” Slaydon added.
With Macie out of commission, Arielle Taylor and Erin Vernon stepped up huge for their team, racing in the 4×800 and 4×400 relays respectively. Taylor, joined by Armonte Carter, Montana Moorefield and Savannah Moorefield, ran a season’s best time in the 4×8, earning a third place finish. In the 4×400, Vernon joined Carter and the Moorefield sisters to take second place.
Inspired by the girls’ performances in the relays, the boys 4×400 team (Gonzalo Vargas, Nick Byers, Burke Gonzalez and Juan Cisneros) ran to a very impressive second place finish, earning themselves a trip to Regionals.
“It was a very exciting night, and we look to build upon the strength of these performances on Friday night in Lynchburg,” Slaydon said.
Other top 10 Conference finishes were as follows: Ashton Collins, 9th (1,000); Armonte Carter, 7th (500); Monroe Morse, 10th (2 mile); and Burke Gonzalez, 9th (500).
