Cross country teams open with wins

By Laura Clark

Published: September 10, 2008

The boys and girls cross country teams came away from their first meet with wins over Rustburg and Liberty at home on Sept. 3.

The girls beat Rustburg 31-35 by packing in at the finish. Liberty was a distant third with 58 points.

Rustburg’s Candace Bradley led the entire race and finished almost one minute before Liberty’s Teresa Padgett with a time of 23:38. Jacqui Wendland was third overall and first for Amherst. Laura Phelps came in fourth. Two Rustburg runners broke up the Amherst pack, but Amherst’s top five finished in the top 10.

Amherst’s Caroline Hall was seventh, followed by Tori Kendrick and Mandy Tomlin.

“(Kendrick and Tomlin) I knew would be very close to me,” Hall said. “We knew they would pick it up a lot this year, and they proved us right. I wanted to stay close to Jacqui and Laura, but it’s hot today, so I just did my best.”

The meet was run in 90-degree heat, so times were not what the Amherst girls had hoped for. Wendland, a senior captain, emphasized three goals before the 5K race began: Beat one another. Don’t walk. Have fun.

The first meet was going to set a foundation for the season, she said, as far as each girl trying to be a top five runner for the Lancers. Wendland came out of the meet with an eye toward her district competitors, too.

“(Bradley) blew everybody away. I’m looking forward to seeing her in races, and she’ll probably be one of my role models to keep in sight. (Padgett) came up after the one-mile mark. I tried to keep her in sight, too,” Wendland said.

She added that the Amherst pack of runners dispersed early in the race, but that will be something to work on as the season continues.

The boys’ results were not as close as the girls. Amherst topped Rustburg by 18 points and Liberty by 29.

Jacob Pritchett won the race in a time of 19:34. On his heels was Jonathan Fitzgerald, who ran a 19:40. Carson Reynolds was third, Josh Wise was seventh and Steven Cooke was eighth. Amherst had a sixth runner, Ben Payne, in as the tenth finisher, but only five runners from each team score.

Fitzgerald, a junior, said his plan was to keep up with the best runner on the team, Pritchett. He said the heat gave him calf and stomach cramps, but he was able to push through.

“I worked from sixth to second. The finish was the hardest because I had nothing left,” Fitzgerald said.

Boys coach Bill Chavis said he was proud of his team, and that the times were relevant to the heat and the fact that the Amherst course is one of the hilliest in the district.

“They were chomping at the bit. They were ready to go, and they showed it,” Chavis said. “It seems we have a good pack. You’re as good as your fifth runner.”

The next Amherst meet is at Heritage against the Pioneers and Staunton River on Sept. 10 at 4:30.

Josh Wise maintains his stride running uphill during the Sept. 3 tri-meet against Rustburg and Liberty. Amherst won the home meet, and Wise finished seventh overall.