By David Rogers. BRISTOL, Va. — With five athletes in the top 10, including first place winner Cali Townsend, Watauga’s girls middle school cross country team took top honors in the Middle School Girls 3k race at the Randy Smith Classic on Sept. 29.
Townsend, still only a 7th grader at Parkway School, was the only middle school girl to complete the course under 12 minutes, posting a time of 11:51.48. Maggie Visser came in 4th (13:00.50), followed by Lainey Johnston (6th, 13:16.30), Noelle Bollman (7th, 13:17.50), and Lily Kimbrough (8th, 13:25.10).
Watauga also had five additional athletes in the the Top 20 of the 176 girls competing in the race, including Sophia Stull (14th), Carrie Bradbury 15th), Julian Martin (16th) Sadie Long (17th), and Katherine Rex (18).
Other Pioneers competing in the middle school girls race included Gianna Casco, Sophia McEvoy, Savannah Moretz, Francis Davis, Claire Nance, Eva Hannon, Margot Smith, Leila McTier, Brynn Eckman, Jenna Sigmon, Naomi Smith, Lillian Olson, Ella Powell, Madalyn Taylor, Lucy Nash, Riley Morgan, Reese Windmueller, Eliza Hickman, Sila Gersonde, and Claire Powell.
Middle School Boys 3K
Watauga’s Andres Roman (8th grade, Hardin Park) and Grady Gates (8th, Valle Crucis) finished in the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, respectively in the Middle School Boys 3k. Roman (11:22.63) and Gates (11:28.72) led the Pioneer boys to a second place team finish, behind only a strong Providence Academy squad that featured all five of its scorers in the top 20. Watauga’s team scoring was completed by Brian Newmark (No. 17, scored as No. 10), Remy Steinheber (64/41), and Waylon Hutelmyer (82/48). A total of 133 harrier athletes competed in the boys division race.
Other Watauga boys running included Kent Windmueller and Tallon Abrams.
The next scheduled meet for the Pioneer middle school harriers is Oct. 5, a tri-meet with Grace Academy and Tailwinds Track Club. That will be followed by a trip to Gray, Tenn., on Oct. 8 to compete in the Daniel Boone Trailblazer Invitational at Daniel Boone High School.
