By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Not only did a trio of Watauga seniors finish 1-2-3 in the ‘Pre Conference’ cross country meet on Oct. 5, but the Pioneers captured seven of the top 10 spots and ten of the top 15 finishing positions.
Pioneer head XC coach Randy MacDonough explained during the afternoon races that while some schools were actually racing, others like Watauga were using the event as a “training run.” Then there were schools like Freedom, that had raced just the day before so were basically jogging the course while familiarizing themselves with the course.
MacDonough said that the real purpose of the event was to allow the non-Watauga teams to familiarize themselves with the course, the same one that will be host to the 2022 Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 18.
In the women’s 5,000 meter race, Watauga seniors Gwedolyn Anderson, Brianna Anderson, and Savannah Duvall finished 1-2-3, with times of 20:55, 21:26, and 21:38, respectively. Ashe County senior Sherry Billings finished in the No. 4 position (21:42), followed by Andriana Rink at No. 5 (21:56), Virginia St. Clair at No. 6 (21:57) and Rachel Cathey at No. 7 (22:10).
Abilene Dollar of Ashe County was at No. 8, followed by the Pioneers’ Janie Beach-Verhay at No. 9, then Freedom’s Katie Deacon to round out the Top 10.
A total of 56 athletes from six Northwestern Conference schools took part in the Pre Conference event. Other Pioneers in the Top 20 included No.12 Sullivan McAulay, No. 14 Maddie Bollman, No. 15 Kara Schneider, No. 16 Mia Llibre, No. 17 Ellary Smith, No. 18 Sydney Cate Townsend, and No. 19 Anna Norris.
TEAM SCORES
- Watauga 17
- Ashe County 47
- Alexander Central 77
- Hibriten 116
- South Caldwell 120
Freedom only had four athletes running, short of the required five for team scoring.
