The Pulaski County High School and Pulaski County Middle School cross country teams took a road trip to Covington Saturday to compete in the Alleghany Cross Country Invitational. The event features runners from over 20 teams from around the Commonwealth, including some of the top runners in the state.
For the high school runners, it was a good day in several ways. Sophomore Cole Boone finished the varsity 5K race in third place overall with a time of 16:14.74. His time didn’t beat the first-place time of 15:50.47 set by Parry McCluer senior Kovyk Chandler, but it was good enough to break the school record, previously broken last season by then junior Garrett Kinder with a time of 16:16.20.
Kinder, now a senior, finished in 12th place with a time of 16:54.27. Sophomore Tanner Linkous took 28th place with a time of 17:43.92. Senior Carter Simmers finished 65th at 19:14.62. Freshman Landon Clark finished 69th with a time of 19:25.04. Junior Zaiden Morris was 80th at 19:39.46. Freshman Jonah Morgan was 81st at 19:41.58. Sophomore Josh Sechrist was 107th at 20:37.65.
The race featured 155 total runners. Christiansburg finished in first place overall with a score of 79. Floyd County was second at 103. Parry McCluer was third at 120, followed by Salem in fourth at 142. Wilson Memorial was fifth at 148. Pulaski County was sixth at 165. There were 20 total teams in competition in this race.
Only one Pulaski County runner was entered in the Varsity Girls 5,000-meter race. Freshman Chloe Duncan finished 122nd with a time of 27.54.28. Her time was a personal best by an impressive four minutes. First place was taken by Kiera Lowman of Alleghany with her time of 18:06.17. There were 131 total runners in this race.
In the Middle School Boys 3,000-meter race, four Pulaski County runners found the finish line out of 120 total runners. Eighth-grader Daniel Eubanks finished 14th with a time of 11:21.90. Seventh-grader Mason Hayes finished 54th with a time of 13:00.25. Sixth-grader Jayce Moye was 72nd with a time of 13:52.16. Seventh-grader Ethan Kinder finished 105th with a 15:47.97. First place was taken by eighth-grader Caleb Cooper on Parry McCluer with his time of 10:01.93.
Two Pulaski County Middle School girls finished the Middle School Girls 3,000-meter race. Seventh-grader Nina Busey-Card finished in fourth place overall with a time of 12:05.95. Sixth-grader Victoria Gonzalez finished 12th overall with a time of 12:25.43. Both runners earned medals for their top 15 performances. Seventh-grader Lilah Harding of Hidden Valley took first place in the race with her time of 10:57.35. There were 95 total runners in the event.
There was also a junior varsity race held, which was made up of younger or less experienced runners. Junior Conner Sellers of Wilson Memorial took first with a time of 19:11.74. For the Cougars, freshman Gaige Barton took 30th place with a time of 21:37.14. Freshman Milan Patel took 33rd with a time of 21:40.55. Freshman Andrew Allen finished 42nd with a time of 22:11.81. Freshman Jeffrey Eubanks took 77th with a time of 34:02.91.
“We saw all of our runners make the most of their chance to compete,” Coach Hannah Alexander said. “Both of our middle school girls finished in the top 15. Cole Boone broke the school record. Most of our other runners finished with personal best times of a minute or a minute and a half better than their previous PRs. Andrew Allen improved his PR by two minutes. With the number of young runners we have, we just need to keep our nose to the grindstone and do the work. We have a very bright future.”
The Cougars will host the 2023 Cougar Clash at Randolph Park in Dublin Saturday, September 30. The event is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. with races for all of the divisions set to take place. Several vendors will also be present for food and drinks. Over 300 athletes from over 20 schools are already registered to compete in the event.