The Patrick County High School track team had a successful day at the Bassett invitational last Wednesday. The meet, which featured all of the Piedmont District teams, was the first district meet of the season.

“We had several athletes place in the top three, and everyone competed much more aggressively than they did at North Stokes, so we were very happy with our athletes’ efforts and results,” said Coach Danel Slaydon

Juan Cisneros won the 800 with a strong kick, and was second in the mile, followed by Jared Biedrycki in third.

In only the second meet of his career, Matt Amos came away with the victory in the discus, throwing 109’-10”. Tyler Lumpkin placed second in the same event.

In the 400, Zach Montgomery ran a very gritty race to win with a time of 54.10 and was followed by Tommy Pauley in third. Monroe Morse was second in the two-mile race.

The boys’ 4×400 relay team (Tommy Pauly, Juan Cisneros, Jared Biedrycki and Zach Montgomery) dominated from the gun and ran to a strong win in 3:43.0.

On the girls’ side, Armonte Carter won the 200 and 400, outmuscling her competitors in the final 10 meters. “Armonte really dug deep today in both of her races, which sets her up well to do some big things this season,” Coach Slaydon said.

Macie Rogers won the mile and 800m, and was followed closely by Arielle Taylor, who was second in both events. “Macie went out much more aggressively today, and Arielle raced with great confidence, which is something they will need to continue to do,” Slaydon explained.

Lexy Carico had an excellent day in the field, winning the discus (120’-0”) and the shot put (34’-4.5”). “Lexy had a huge throw in the shot, setting a new personal best by nearly a foot and inching closer to the school record,” Slaydon said.

Macie Rogers, Arielle Taylor, Armonte Carter, and Autumn Hubbard teamed up to win the 4x400m relay (4.31.0), beating the next team by more than 16 seconds.

The next meet for the Cougars will be on April 12 at PCHS. The meet will start at 4:30 p.m. and will be an exciting, fast-paced exhibition of Piedmont District talent. “We would like to encourage the community to come and support our Cougars,” Slaydon said.