Green Hill Park in west Roanoke County was buzzing with action Saturday for the 22nd annual Knights Crossing Cross Country Invitational. Over 100 schools converged on the local park, including Salem and Glenvar teams, along with runners young and old on a beautiful Virginia day.
“Finally, we had a good day to race,” said Salem coach Tom Roth.
Salem and Glenvar both ran in the 5,000-meter “Red” race, for Virginia and out of state schools. Cardinal Gibbons finished first among 49 schools in the boys’ race with Glenvar finishing 17th and Salem coming in 18th.
Glenvar’s top varsity squad posted a 17:14 team average with a tight 1:11 pack spread between their first and fifth runners. The scoring core was powered by Jaxson Kuzmich, Evan Harris, Zachary Elijah Davis, Jackson Wimmer and Colin Graffeo.
The Salem boys were led by Austin Prosser and John Stovall, who both ran under 17:00 minutes. Rounding out the team scoring were Thomas Scharp, Isaac Snow and Camden Burns.
Blacksburg won the girls “Red” race with Salem finishing 32nd. The Spartans were led by Olivia Huff and followed closely by Keeley Prosser. Finishing the scoring were Audrey Harmon, Caroline Huff and Amelia O’Brien.
Glenvar’s girls ran in the “Black” race, for smaller schools. Junior Genna Shanks paced the Highlanders, finishing in 26:09.40. Juniors Naomi Kidd (29:02.20), Kamryn Hill (29:28.40), and Annaleigh Hall (31:27.30) completed the team effort on the 5K course.
In the 4,000-meter boys’ Middle School race Andrew Lewis was 10th and Glenvar was 15th. Felix Ruch finished 31st to lead Lewis while Cade Compton was 29th for Glenvar among 463 runners. Blacksburg was the team winner.
Stewart Middle School was the girls’ team winner with Andrew Lewis finishing sixth and Glenvar 18th. Madelyn Eversole of Lewis was fourth among 369 runners and Maya Poindexter medaled for Glenvar with a seventh place finish.
Salem and Glenvar High School also ran in the rescheduled Bengal Clash in Axton last Tuesday, Sept. 8. In the varsity boys’ race Glenvar and Salem finished one-two. Glenvar’s Kuzmich was third overall and Salem’s Prosser was fourth and Stovall was fifth. Glenvar also won the jayvee race.
In the girls’ race Salem was sixth among eight teams with Franklin County finishing first. Earning medals for the Spartans were Olivia Huff with a seventh-place overall finish and Keeley Prosser in eighth.
Without the five-runner minimum required for a team score, three Glenvar girls competed as individuals in a deep 97-runner varsity race. Junior Genna Shanks led the group, crossing as Glenvar’s top finisher in 45th place.
