Jessica Hoerter
BRISTOL, Va. — The Rural Retreat Indians boys and girls cross country teams faced off at the 17th Annual Randy Smith Classic in Sugar Hollow last Thursday.
Lady Indians Demonstrate Consistency
In the girls’ varsity race, the Lady Indians, led by seniors Olivia Bailey and Annabelle Fiscus, secured a 13th place team finish. Bailey (25:26) claimed the 72nd spot, with Fiscus (25:59) closely behind at 85th. Senior Olivia Crigger (26:20) contributed with a solid run, landing 88th. The team effort was rounded out by junior Elaina Terry (30:28) at 141st and junior Lydia Brewer (30:49) at 145th.
Rural Retreat Boys Display Potential
Despite not having a complete team at the Randy Smith Classic, the RR boys team showed promise in individual runs. Seniors Jacob Howard and Micah Hamman led the Indians, with Howard finishing 180th (21:47) and Hamman (21:51) securing 182nd.
Freshman Jayden Winbourne also represented RR, placing 243rd with a time of 24:39.
Wythe County Middle Schools Excel in Division
In the middle school races at the Randy Smith Classic, Scott Memorial Middle School had four runners finish in the top 20. Eighth-grader Courtland Jones continued to impress in the challenging 1.5-mile middle school race, securing seventh place overall in the boys race with a time of 11:35. In the girls’ middle school race, three sixth-graders from Scott achieved top-20 placements. Mia Williams placed seventh, clocking a solid 13:55. Christa Burkett (14:02) and Rylee Caudill (14:03) followed closely, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively.
Rural Retreat Middle School’s sixth-grader Sienna Wren Patrick claimed 19th place with a time of 14:34.
Upcoming for the Maroons
The George Wythe high school cross country teams head to Charlotte on Saturday to compete in the Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Park. Meanwhile, the Scott middle school teams will travel to Roanoke on Oct. 11 to participate in the Southwest Region Middle School Championship.
Upcoming for the RR Indians
The Rural Retreat Indians high school cross country teams will travel to Grundy on Oct. 11 to compete in the Grundy Meet #2.
