Running through the Gorge… Cyclone boys’, Happy Valley girls’ claim second in Three Rivers Conference meet
Published 11:54 pm Thursday, October 1, 2020
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Runners from Elizabethton, Happy Valley, Sullivan East, South and Unicoi County begin their five-kilometer journey around the Doe River Gorge at the start of the Three Rivers Conference’s Doe River Cross Country meet.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Elizabethton’s Craig Newman (934) leads Sullivan East’s Drew Ledford (952) up the hill at the two-mile or 3.2-kilometer point of the race.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Members of Elizabethton and Happy Valley’s Cross-Country teams begin their five-kilometer journey around the Doe River Gorge at the start of the Three Rivers Conference’s Doe River Cross Country meet.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Warriors Gavin Call (943) finishes as the highest placed runner for Happy Valley in a time of 22:51.8 and in 20th place.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Elizabethton’s Brenann Vance (942) sprints to the finish line with a time of 24:54.6 and a solid fourth-place finish.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Warriors Gavin Call (943) begins the uphill climb portion of the race near a two-mile or 3.2-kilometer point and finishes in 20th place.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Elizabethton’s Gracie Fields (939) gives chase to Sullivan South’s Mary Grace Danc (980) at the two-mile or 3.2-kilometer point of the race.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Elizabethton’s Brenann Vance (942) was running comfortably in fourth place at the two-mile or 3.2-kilometer point of the race.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Somewhere over the last two kilometers of the race Elizabethton’s Craig Newman (934) would lose his lead over Sullivan East’s Drew Ledford (952) and ended up finishing second with a time of 18:26.5 a full 16 seconds behind Ledford.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Lady Cyclones Brenann Vance (942) breaks out to lead the pack at the start of the Three Rivers Conference’s Doe River Cross Country meet.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Cyclones freshman runner Riley Vernon (937) has a good lead over teammate Hunter Horan (933) and runner from Sullivan East at the two-mile or 3.2-kilometer point of the race. Vernon would finish the race in sixth place with a time of 19:32.1.
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
It was too beautiful of a day not to take advantage of a great run over the cross country course at Doe River Gorge and that is exactly what teams from the Three Rivers Conference did on Thursday afternoon on a perfect fall day.
With boys taking to the course first and the girls following on a splendid day, the times were fast as runners laid it all out on the line over the 3.11-mile course.
In the boys’ competition, senior Drew Ledford of Sullivan East barely crossed the tape ahead of Elizabethton senior runner Craig Newman as Ledford completed the 3.11-mile course in 18:10.5 while Newman was :16 off the first-place finish crossing at 18:26.5.
Three Patriot runners finished close behind Newman as Jacob Witcher, Lance Littlejohn, and James Shirk finished third through fifth respectively.
Elizabethton freshman Riley Vernon had a great finish with a sixth-place finish covering the course in 19:32.1.
Other Cyclone boys’ finishers included sophomore Hunter Horan in eight place, freshman Max Garner (11th), freshman Brian Presley (13th), junior Randall Chinault (25th), sophomore Collin Nidiffer (26th), and sophomore Jonah Hall (28th).
The Happy Valley Warriors also participated in the event as junior Gavin Call had the highest finish coming in 20th with a time of 22:51.8.
Junior Skyler McCurry was the other Warrior runner who finished in 29th place.
In team standings, the Sullivan East Patriots finished in first with a team score of 20 while the Cyclones came in second with 40 total points and Sullivan South rounded out the top three with 66 points.
On the girls’ side, Sullivan East Lady Patriot junior Mandy Lowery finished first in a time of 20:36.7.
The win pushed the Lady Patriots to the top of the heap with a team score of 15 while the Happy Valley Lady Warriors finished in second place with 46 points.
Sophomore Gracyn Carder along with senior Blakelee Ollis and freshman Marcida Moore finished 12th through 14th to help the Lady Warriors secure the finish.
Happy Valley freshman Juley Nieminski (17th) and freshman Aleesha McCurry (19th) also had strong finishes.
Elizabethton’s top finisher was sophomore Brenann Vance who crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 24:54.6.
Other Lady Cyclones completing the course were junior Caitlin Darling (9th), sophomore Maggie Howland (11th), and sophomore Gracie Fields (16th).
