Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Sunny weather allowed area high schoolers to finally hit the track on Saturday at the Blacksburg Invitational. Blacksburg won the boys competition, while Christiansburg finished first for the girls.
Blacksburg tallied 121 points to second place Patrick Henry-Glade Spring’s 79. Auburn finished in fifth, Christiansburg sixth and Radford 13th. Over on the girls’ side of the track, the event came down to Christiansburg and Blacksburg with the Blue Demons putting together a total of 92 points to Blacksburg’s 71.5. Radford was third with 47 points, while Auburn finished in 10th.
Blacksburg’s Cole Beck set two personal records in the 100 and 200 as he raced for the final time at his home track. Beck’s 100 meters was 10.37 and his 200 meters 21.28.
In the 100, Beck finished ahead of teammate Noah Ramsey who will also continue his track career beside Beck at Virginia Tech. Auburn’s Brandon Justice was seventh just ahead of Blacksburg’s Cole Dunlap.
While Beck was first in the 200 meters, Ramsey was third just behind Connor Buchanan of PH. Blacksburg’s Nick Czar was fifth.
Auburn’s Eddie Tickle was the only Montgomery County finisher in the top 10 with a third place.
Blacksburg’s Siddharth Nathella crossed the line of the 800 meters in second. Christiansburg’s David Spence finished seventh.
Nathella then followed up the 800 with a fifth in the 1,600. Christiansburg’s Cooper Neeble was sixth.
The 3,200 belonged to Blacksburg as Henry Coddington and Alistair Busher were 1-2.
Blacksburg’s Nick Harrison then pulled a third place in the 110 and 300-meter hurdle events.
The Auburn boys would win the 4X400 relay event, while Christiansburg would do the same n the 4X800. Auburn would then respond by winning the boys distance medley relay.
Blacksburg would claim third (Addison Flack) and fourth (Nick Czar) in the long jump with Radford’s P.J. Prioleau fifth and the Christiansburg tandem of Abdul Delaney and Caleb Henley in sixth and seventh.
Solomon Ghosh continued his dominance in the discus as the Blacksburg senior picked up a 164-07 heave, enough for first place. Radford’s Dillon Whitt was third and Auburn’s Adam Fithian fourth.
Ghost would finish second in the shot put to Josh Fischer of Parry McCluer. Auburn’s Alfred Shean was fourth and Radford’s Whitt sixth.
On the girls’ side of the track, Christiansburg’s Maddie Wright started the meet off with a fourth in the 10 meters. Her teammates, Makenna Horne and Zolee Kimbrough, then took first and fourth in the 200 meters. Horne then turned around and picked up third in the 400 just ahead of Blacksburg’s Abigail Wontrop.
Auburn’s Caitlin Dominy would finish second in the girls 800 meters to Tunstall’s Emily Wallace.
The Blacksburg distance duo of Ailene Edwards and Sophia Link would then cross the line of 1,600 n second and third.
Edwards would win the 3,200 with Link in third, Smonne Guenette in fourth and Eliza Stowe in fifth.
Christiansburg Kendall Lewis would then lead the pack to the line in the 100-meter hurdles. Radford’s Tyashia Gellner was second and Christiansburg’s Maddie Wright third.
Zolee Kimbrough gave the Blue Demons additional points with a third place finish in the girls’ 300 meter hurdles with Blacksburg’s Agustina Cordova and Rachel Morrow in fourth and fifth.
Blacksburg’s 4X400 relay team brought home a first place while Radford finished first in both the girls distance medley and 4X800 relay. Christiansburg was second in the girls’ 4X100 relay with Blacksburg fourth.
Ellie S. Martin gave the host team a third place finish in the high jump with Christiansburg’s Kendall Lewis and Hannah Allen fourth and fifth.
In the long jump, Christiansburg Kaylyn Cromer would be second with Lewis in third Blacksburg’s Caroline Jones finished fourth with Christiansburg’s Julia Moschella in sixth. Radford’s Gellner was sixth.
Cromer would then take second in the triple jump with Blacksburg’s Caroline Jones in fifth.
Radford’s Mary Brown outdueled Auburn’s Madelyn Sale in the girls’ discuse with a heave of 122-05. Sale finished with a mark of 121-02.
In the shot put, the two would switch places. Sale would be fifth and Brown sixth. Radford’s Tehya Friend was third as Floyd’s Sara Akers took first with a throw of 37-11.
