The Rural Retreat boys had the highest finish of any local teams in the regional indoor track meets held in Salem over the weekend.
The Indians secured second place in the Region D tournament, led in part by a strong finish by a pair of sophomores in the 55-meter dash.
Rural Retreat sophomore Hunter Vaught claimed silver in the Region D 55-meter dash, posting a 6.79 time. His teammate, Trey Ward, nabbed third with a 6.92 finish.
In the Region C boys 55-meter dash, Brock Smelser, a senior at George Wythe, finished in sixth, clocking in at 7.00. His senior teammate Blake McBride finished in 7.16, earning 13th place. The 16th spot was claimed by Caleb Campbell, another GW senior, who stopped the clock at 7.21. in 17th place, Fort Chiswell sophomore Damion Blackwelder finished in 7.23. His junior teammate Landon Ferrence finished in 7.63, earning 24th place. Jackson Waller of Fort Chiswell claimed 28th with a time of 7.99.
George Wythe’s boys finished eighth in the Region C meet while the Fort Chiswell boys took 14th.
The Indian girls secured 15th in the Region D event. George Wythe’s girls pulled out a seventh-place finish in the Region C tournament. Fort Chilswell’s girls came in 13th.
The Maroon girls hauled home one gold medal as senior Haley Faulkner dashed to a first-place finish in the 300-meter dash, clocking in at 41.82. Alyssa Spangler, a junior at George Wythe was 11th, finishing in 49.38. Freshman Emma Stiltner took 17th for the Maroons, turning in a time of 51.26. In the Region D event, Rural Retreat sophomore Tiffany Anderson finished in 23rd place with a time of 1:00.99.
Faulkner finished fifth in the high jump, clearing a 4-foot, 8—inch bar. Fort Chiswell freshman Abigail Hillenberg nabbed eighth-place, clearing 4 feet, 2 inches.
Faulkner’s 15-foot, 7-inch leap in the long jump guaranteed her seventh place. Fort Chiswell senior Aurora Haywood claimed ninth with a 14-foot, 10.75-inch jump. In 12th place, Ava Ferguson of George Wythe jumped for 13 feet, 6.75 inches. Alyssa Spangler cleared 13 feet, 1 inch, earning 15th place. In the Region D event, Rural Retreat freshman Scarlett Hale took 18th, clearing 12 feet, 3.75 inches.
Faulkner raced to fourth in the 55-meter dash in the Region C Girls event, posting a time of 7.82. Aurora Haywood of Fort Chiswell followed in 13th place, clocking in at 8.23. Ava Ferguson, a GW junior, finished in 14th place with a time of 8.25. Senior Maroon Ava Fowler took 15th, clocking in at 8.27. Emma Siltner, a freshman at George Wythe, stopped the watches at 8.79, good for 23rd place. In the Region D evenr, Rural Retreat sophomore Tiffany Anderson took 26th place, stopping the clock at 9.81.
Aurora Haywood, a senior Pioneer, led the locals in the triple jump, finishing seventh with a 31-foot, 4.5-inch leap. Faulkner was a spot back, clearing 31 feet, 3.5 inches.
In the 500 meter dash, Hannah Repass, a sophomore at George Wythe, led local runners with a 15th place finish, clocking in at 1:47.58. Destiny Davis followed a spot back, clocking in at 1:49.19.
Repass was 19th in the 1000-meter run, crossing the line at 4:05.55. Abigail Hillenberg, a Fort Chiswell freshman, clocked in at 5:17.38, good for 21st.
Repass secured the 11th spot in the shot put, tossing for 27 feet, 5.5 inches. Jadelyn Faulkner, a fellow sophomore at George Wythe, claimed 15th with a 26-foot effort. In the Region D event, Rural Retreat sophomore Grace Houseman came in eighth, tossing for 25 feet, 8 inches. Mikayla Wells, also of Rural Retreat, took 12th with a 24-foot, 8-inch put.
GW sophomore Jadelyn Faulkner claimed 10th in the 55-meter hurdles. The sophomore posted a time of 13.45.
The Rural Retreat girls finished ninth in the 4×200 relay, clocking in at 2:11.51. In the 4×400, GW took fifth, finishing in 5:01.53.
Hunter Vaught brought home a second silver for the boys in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 6 inches. Christopher Sapp cleared the same bar, earning fourth place.
Micah Hamman, a senior at Rural Retreat, finished sixth in the triple jump, clearing a 34-foot, 10-inch distance.
Jackson Waller, a junior at Fort Chiswell, took 22nd in the Region C boys 500-meter dash, finishing in 1:26.36. Rural Retreat’s Scott Meredith finished 10th the Region D race, clocking in at 1:25.41. His teammate Nicolai Brinegar was 15th, finishing in 1:30.74.
George Wythe senior Oscar Montgomery claimed 14th in the boys 1000 meter run, posting a 3:09.80 time.
In the boys 1600 meter run, George Wythe freshman Brandon Pannell notched an eighth-place finish among the Region C competitors, clocking in at 5:14.01.
Luke Clarke, a junior at George Wythe, finished eighth in the 300-meter dash, clocking in at 39.35. Blake McBride notched a 12th place finish with a time of 40.84, and Luca Charles took 24th, finishing in 44.09. Gunner Hagerman, a senior at Rural Retreat, finished 10th in the Region D race, crossing the line at 41.10.
In the 3200-meter run, George Wythe sophomore Conor Martin earned ninth place with an 11.45 race.
Caleb Campbell, a GW senior, earned sixth place in the long jump for Region C, leaping 18 feet, 7 inches. Damion Blackwelder took seventh for Fort Chiswell, clearing 18 feet, 3.75 inches. Landon Ferrence of Fort Chiswell was 13th with a distance of 16 feet, 10 inches, and Jackson Waller’s 15-foot, 0.5 inch jump was worth 16th.
Rural Retreat’s Austin Umberger jumped for 18 feet, 10 inches, giving him a fifth-place finish in the Region D meet. Hunter Vaught cleared 17 feet, 7 inches, good for 10th place. Rural Retreat sophomore Trey Ward earned 11th with a 17-foot, 6.75-inch effort.
GW freshman Charles Luca finished in eighth place in the boys 55-meter hurdles, clocking in at 10.12. In the Region C event, Christopher Sapp of Rural Retreat took seventh place, clocking in at 10.63. Jacob Howard, also of RR, finished in eighth with a time of 11.48.
In the boys shot put, Brock Ayers of George Wythe finished in seventh, clearing 41 feet, 5.5 inches. Kyle Stephens, also of GW, finished in eighths with a 41-foot 0.5 inche toss. Caleb Jones of Fort Chiswell placed 19th with a 31-foot, 4.5-inch effort. Alex Murrell of George Wythe tossed for 31 feet, earning 21st.
In the Region D event, Brandon Smith tossed for 35 feet, 9 inches, good for 12th. Scott Meredith finished in 16th with a 31-foot, 8-inch effort.
