By Jessica Hoerter
Lynchburg, Va. – The Class 1/2 Indoor Track State Championships, held on Feb. 28 and 29 at Liberty University’s Indoor Track Complex, featured high school teams that had successfully qualified to compete for both team and individual state titles.
Among the participants were standout athletes from Chilhowie and Marion Senior High schools, all eager to demonstrate their abilities on the track.
Chilhowie’s girls indoor track team delivered an outstanding performance at the state championships, with senior Tess Somervell leading the charge. Somervell showcased her athletic prowess with a notable second-place finish in the 500-meter run, clocking an impressive time of 1:19.67.
In addition to her individual success, Somervell, alongside teammates Kayman Atwell, Audrey Gilley, and Bella Payan, played pivotal roles in the team’s commendable fifth-place finishes in both the 4×200 meter (1:52) and 4×400 meter (4:27.38) relays.
Somervell also demonstrated her versatility by placing seventh in the pole vault, clearing a height of 7’6”.
Chilhowie’s Maggie Montgomery also competed for the Warriors in the high jump (NH). The cohesive efforts of the entire Chilhowie girls team contributed significantly to their 12th-place finish overall.
For the Chilhowie boys indoor team, senior Mason Lee, along with teammates Jake Russell, JT Moore, and Lucas Hubble, represented the Warriors track team in the 4×800 meter relay, finishing 13th with a time of 9:19.87.
Chilhowie’s head coach, Daniel Womack, had this to say about his team’s performance, “I’m extremely proud of how my team performed at state this year. We ran our best times of the season across the board. Coaching athletes that are this driven and passionate about getting better everyday is every coach’s dream. I’m very excited to get this outdoor season started with this group.”
Marion girls and boys indoor teams had a handful of competing athletes and one athlete who medaled for the Hurricanes. Marion’s Raegan Cox, a standout jumper, secured fifth place in the high jump with a height of 4’10” and placed 17th in the triple jump with a leap of 31’03.50. Cox was joined by two . Brooke Langston and Ruby Hoerter, competing at the state championships. Langston showed her versatility by competing in the high jump (NH) and long jump with a jump of 15’09” and placing 14th.
Hoerter was the lone runner for the Marion girls team and competed in the 3200-meter run with a time of 13:25.65 and a 17th-place finish.
The Marion Scarlet Hurricane boys team had only one competitor: sprinter Brody Whitt (6.93), who participated in the 55-meter dash preliminaries.
