Pulaski County athletes continue to reach new levels, and this time it has happened at the middle school level as the Pulaski County Middle School cross country squad took their first trip ever to the Middle School State Championships at Pole Barn Park in Mechanicsville.
While the program only took a handful of runners to the event, which they hope to change next season, they each made a mark by establishing new personal records.
For the boys, the 4K race was a fast one overall with the top five finishers all breaking the previous meet record. The race featured 413 runners from 90 different middle schools or running clubs.
Jonathan Grimm of the Greater Williamsburg Distance Running Club took first place overall with a time of 12:45.40, establishing the new meet record in that event.
Eighth-grader Daniel Eubanks was the top Cougar finisher, coming in at 15:37.00 to take 114th place out of 413 runners. Fellow eighth-grader Aiden Barrett finished just behind him at 15:37.30 to take 115th. Seventh-grader Mason Hayes finished in 17:11.80. Sixth-grader Jayce Moye turned in a time of 17:15.10. Seventh-grader John Osborne finished at 18:55.10. Seventh-grader Ethan Kinder was the final Cougar runner, finishing in 23:11.70.
The Cougar middle school boys finished 23rd out of 37 teams scoring points as a team.
For the girls middle school 4K, the top finisher was Juliana Pierce of Buford Middle School with her time of 14:35.70.
Only three Cougar women took the challenge, with seventh-grader Nina Budey-Card recording the best time for Pulaski County at 16:55.80, good enough for 55th place overall out of 341 runners. Sixth-graders Victoria Gonzalez and Briana Farmer proved that the future is bright for Pulaski County runners. Gonzalez was 56th with a time of 16:58.10. Farmer was 160th with a time of 18:42.90.
“I’m super proud of this group of young athletes,” Head Coach Nancy Barrett said. “They have worked hard. I want to thank their parents for all of their support. I look forward to watching these athletes grow. We will move forward with a middle school indoor program with the high school. The sky is the limit for these athletes.”