The Glenvar boys outran second place Clarke County last Saturday to earn the first ever state cross country championship for the school. The Highlanders won the team title just up the road from the high school at Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park.
“This is a special group of young men,” said Glenvar coach James Osborne. “They proved that with dedication and by running for each other, any- thing is possible. I’m just the lucky guy who gets to be their coach. It’s their moment, and it’s a great day to be a Highlander.”
In a stunning display of team depth, the Highlanders scored 80 points to edge out runner-up Clarke County, who finished second with 91 points. While Nottoway’s Bradley Hamilton won the individual race, Glenvar’s victory was a masterclass in pack running, with all five of its scorers finishing in the top 40.
Senior Tyler Davis led the charge for Glenvar, fin- ishing sixth overall with a time of 16:40.60. Fellow senior Aldin Smith was close behind, securing 11th place in 17:03.00.
The Highlanders’ depth proved decisive. Junior Evan Harris (22nd, 17:22.80), freshman Zachary Elijah Davis (28th, 17:33.70) and junior Asher Faught (39th, 18:02.10) rounded out the champion- ship-winning score. The team’s top five runners fin- ished with a tight 1-minute, 21-second split, sealing the historic win and cementing their place in Glenvar athletic history.
“We told them all week, ‘Don’t worry about the rankings, don’t worry about the other teams, don’t worry about the noise’,” said Osborne. “Our job was simple: take care of business. That means running our race, sticking to our pack and executing our strat- egy. They didn’t get distracted. They just lined up and took care of business, and the result speaks for itself.”
The Highlanders finished the season strong, win- ning the Blue Ridge District and Region 2C champi- onships prior to racing to the state title last Saturday.
“This is a long season, and the trick is to be at your best on the last day, not the first,” said Osborne. “To win five straight to close out the season, with the last one being the state championship, that’s a testament to these kids’ discipline. They followed the plan, and it paid off perfectly.”
The Highlanders will now get their name up on the new championship board on the drive leading up to the high school. It’s a first for cross country.
“It’s a little surreal,” said Osborne. “To be the first team in Glenvar history to bring home a cross country state title… it’s just… wow!!! It’s not just for us, it’s for all the teams that came before, for the school, for the whole community. These boys are now part of school history, and no one can ever take that away from them.”
