Both varsity cross country teams finished fifth place at last weekend’s Bob Blastow Early Bird race in Whitesburg.
“We have a lot of training to do,” head coach Kelly Rock said. “I have no doubt that we should be able to be on the podium at the end of the season.”
Last season, the boys placed second at the state meet. Coming off of that performance, four of the team’s top runners graduated.
“We certainly have a younger team this year than we have had before, but junior Bankson Roach finished very well this weekend,” Rock said.
Roach finished 12th out of 210 runners with a time of 15 minutes, 58.16 seconds.
Last year, five freshmen composed the girls varsity team.
“That has been great in the sense that they are younger,” Rock said. “They have that training under their belt and they’re continuing to advance.”
Sophomore Kendra Ivaska continues to lead the team. She finished 18th out of 181 runners with a time of 19 minutes, 37.71 seconds.
Both teams compete in the Panther Invitational this Saturday at ONE Church. Races begin at 7 a.m.