By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Led by sophomore Cali Townsend finishing No. 1, a full minute and 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Annabelle Hanson of Forsyth Home Educators, Watauga High School captured eight of the top 10 spots in the women’s division of the Blue Ridge Mountain Rentals High Country Cross Country Classic on Sept. 27. The course distance was 5,000 meters
In the high school men’s division, Watauga had six runners among the top 10, with senior Elliott Taft crossing the finishing line No. 2, roughly 15 seconds behind Sattler Hancox of Forsyth Home Educators over the 5,000 meters course. The Pioneers ran away with the Men’s team title. Also in the top 10 were No. 4 Grady Gates, No. 5 Levi Anderson, No. 7 Jonah Anderson, No. 8 James Bostrom, and No. 9 Calvin Zwetsloot, Pioneer freshman Sean Rea and junior Brian Newmark were not far behind at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively.
In the women’s race, Townsend was the leader among a pack of Watauga athletes that included freshman Josie Mayo at No. 3, senior Janie Beach-Verhay at No. 4, junior Lainey Johnston at No. 5, sophomore Lily Kimbrough at No. 6, junior Susanna Goff at No. 7, and sophomore Nora Price at No. 8. Rounding out the top 10 was freshman Sophia Stull.
In the Junior Varsity men’s division, Watauga had eight of the top 12 finishers in No. 1 Holden Womak, No. 2 AJ McAuley, No. 4 Cormac Walker, No. 6 Ike Mance, No. 8 Tallon Abrams, No. 10 Cole Gray, No. 11 Caleb Duvall, and No. 12 Andrew Weikert.
Ashe County was well represented among the JV men, including No. 3 Bryson Roten, No. 5 Jamie Barker, and No. 7 Sam Pyles, all sophomores. The Huskies’ Brody Denny, a freshman, finished No. 9.
Reflecting the depth of the Watauga cross country roster, the Pioneers swept the first seven spots in the Junior Varsity women’s division: No. 1 Zoey Stille, No. 2 Riley Benson, No. 3 Claire Nance, No. 4 Grace Scantlin, No. 5 Julia Benson, No. 6 Noelle Bollman, and No. 7 Carrie Bradbury. Ashe County senior Emily Lewis was No. 8, just ahead of Watauga’s Anna Norris (No. 9) and Julian Martin (No. 10).
Liberty Prep eighth grader Noah Weber prevailed as No. 1 in the Middle School Boys Division, ahead of a trio of Grace Academy of Boone runners (Evan Gordon, Micah Arnold, and Brandon Gordon). Watauga Middle School’s top performers in the boys division were seventh grader John Braxton at No. 14 and eighth graders Yates Hodges and Kailu Rodli-Bost, No. 16 and No. 18, respectively.
Watauga fared better in the Middle School Girls Division, where eighth grade Kate James Moore dominated as the No. 1, finishing the 2-mile course 39 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Legacy Athletics’ Ainsley Landry. Watauga’s Eden was No. 6, while Lilliana Resendiz was No. 8.
Varsity Men, Top 30 (55 total runners)
Varsity Women, Top 36 (36 total runners)
Junior Varsity Men, Top 24 (24 total runners)
Junior Varsity Women, Top 30 (30 total runners)
Middle School Boys, Top 30 (85 total runners)
Middle School Girls, Top 30 (56 total runners)
