Class 1-3 state cross-country recap: Floyd County girls win team title in dramatic finish
BLACKSBURG — As runners crossed the finish line on the campus of Virginia Tech and results were tabulated, murmurs began circling among spectators that Floyd County had won the state championship.
The margins at the top of the standings were razor-thin, however, and final scores had yet to become official.
"A lot of the parents were coming up and they were like, we did it, and all of us we're like, we don't know yet, it's too close," Buffaloes head coach Hannah Altizer said. "It was terrifying, but I knew no matter if we ended up first or second, I was going to be so proud. They had one of the, probably the best race of their lives today."
When results were finalized, Altizer could breathe easy. Floyd County nipped Clarke County by a single point, 44-45, to capture the Class 2 girls state cross-country title Saturday, earning its second state title in program history and first in 20 years.
"The past couple of the years we've told each other we've had it in the bag at the state meet, and then we don't do so well," junior Reagan Lynch said. "But this year we came in with a humble mindset and we just told each other to fight for each other and race with a sense of urgency, and I think that's what helped us a lot."
Lynch led the Buffaloes with a runner-up finish in a time of 20 minutes, 3.1 seconds. Freshman Annika Beegle followed only 5.1 seconds behind her to place third, while junior Abigail Allen came in eighth (21:09.7), sophomore Miley Hopper finished 22nd (22:18.0) and senior Emma Willie placed 24th (22:23.7) to round out the scoring for Floyd County.
"I think we worked really hard to get here," Beagle said. "Everyone was confident during the race, everyone was excited to race. Nobody was upset before the race. Everything went well."
Tazewell senior Abigail Rhudy won the individual championship with a time of 18:58.3.
The Buffaloes hit the 1-mile mark with a strong 14-point lead on Clarke County, but the Eagles closed the gap after the second mile, getting within two points. After the strenuous, rolling hill third mile and final stretch, Floyd County had just enough to snag its first state title since 2004.
"Going into the year knowing it was going to be here, we were pretty excited," Altizer said. "The area that we are from is very hilly. We run on hills every day, and so I felt like it gave us a leg up on other teams, to be able to compete somewhere where the course is going to be tough."
Floyd's Erchull pushed to Class 2 crown
As Floyd County senior Mason Erchull made his way down the final stretch of the Virginia Tech cross-country course, nobody in front of him, teammate Quinlan Beegle turned on the jets and found himself hot on the heels of his fellow runner.
Erchull felt him coming, and threw himself into a higher gear as well, holding off Beegle and crossing the finish line first to capture the Class 2 boys state championship, a year after finishing third.
"It's been like that all season," Erchull said of Beegle. "Last time we raced here at this course he actually got me right at the end, but this year I knew he was going to be coming, so I started my kick a little bit earlier and gave it everything I had, and I was barely able to hold him off."
Erchull, who finished third last year, completed the race with a time of 16:15.7, topping Beegle by just half a second. James Casey followed about 25 seconds later in third place.
"I knew I should've run a lot better last year," Erchull said. "I felt like I let myself and my teammates down, and this year I just wanted to come out and execute, and win the race, and I went out there and did that."
Erchull and Beegle were dead even after the first mile, then after two, Erchull had gained a small 1.5-second lead ahead of the final push. Despite the one-two finish, the Buffaloes finished runner-up in the team standings, 33 points shy of Clarke County, which put four runners in the top 15. Floyd County's next best placement was 28th.
"I knew the course pretty well, and I was hitting the hills a lot this season to just prepare for these hills," Erchull said. "Because it was like the polar opposite of our last state meet at the Green Hill Park (in Salem); a super flat course, super fast."
Youngsters help Auburn girls reclaim title
With Auburn having struggled to even field a varsity team for the state cross-country meet in recent years, this year's squad not only brought a team to the state meet but finished atop the standings.
Fueled by freshmen and sophomores, the Eagles edged out Matthew and George Wythe by five points to win their first Class 1 girls state championship since 2018.
"This team is a very young team, and this is the first time I've seen a group of girls, or any teammates for that matter, that did it for each other," Auburn head coach Josh Nester said. "There was no 'me' racing at any point this year. That's what we brought to the whole season. That was our motto."
The Eagles recorded a pair of top-six finishes in sophomores Alyson Funk and Beverly Warner, who finished third (20:30.2) and sixth (21:09.1), respectively. Freshman Charlee Songer placed 21st (22:57.90), sophomore Hayley Light came in 38th (24:07.6) and freshman Malia Buckwalter finished 61st (25:21.9).
"It's really special," Funk said. "We've really worked hard all year long for this, we've been wanting this for months, so it's really big for us to come out and do it today."
Auburn totaled 89 points to come away with the title. Matthews was runner-up with 94 points, winning a tiebreaker over George Wythe, which was led by sophomore Emma Faulkner and her second-place finish (20:05.3). Eastside junior Shelby Stanley claimed the state championship (19:58.9).
"We've been doing this on the track and field side, we've had successful years and championships there, but we've not had that success in cross-country like we wanted to," Nester said. "We've actually not even been able to get teams into state events, been hard to get people to come out and run, so to get back into what we think Auburn should be in cross-country has been amazing."
Fighting Blues repeat in Class 1 boys
Parry McCluer's performance at the Virginia Tech cross-country course Saturday was simply unmatched.
The Fighting Blues placed all five scorers in the top 11, running away with their second straight Class 1 state championship, beating runner-up Eastern Montgomery by 32 points.
"This is the best team I've ever coached," Parry McCluer head coach Chris Poluikis said. "We had some good freshmen (last year), and then the freshmen were really hungry this year because they weren't on last year's team. The other guys have so much experience, they do track and indoor track, so they know how to handle this, season after season, and they typically step up at the big meets."
Kovyk Chandler was the leading force behind Parry McCluer's title-winning performance last year, but after graduating, his younger brother Kebryl Chandler took over that role this fall. The sophomore finished runner-up with a time of 15:49.3, 9.2 seconds shy of state champion Keyston Hartford of Grundy.
"I think we're just keeping the momentum going, and working together as a team is always fun," Kebryl Chandler said. "I think all of us being together just helps keep us going, and even if winning the state championship isn't the goal, we'll all still be here just because we're all friends."
Junior Logan Wheelock finished fifth for the Fighting Blues (16:43.1), while junior Josh Cooper came in eighth (17:03.1), freshman Hinckley Lovelace placed 10th (17:11.4) and freshman Caleb Cooper followed in 11th (17:13.0).
"I think we're a little bit more on the higher mileage than the other teams, so that was going to bode well on the hills," Poluikis said. "They're just better at managing that stuff than I was when I was a kid."
Spencer Sisson led Eastern Montgomery with a fourth-place finish (16:39.2), while Calvin Wilbon placed sixth (16:56.5).
Lowman dethroned in Class 3
After winning the Class 3 championship last year and the Class 2 title the year before, Kiera Lowman could not quite make it three in a row.
The Alleghany junior finished runner-up at the Virginia Tech cross-country course with a time of 18:21.0, 17.8 seconds shy of champion Samantha Nitzsche of William Monroe.
Christiansburg placed third in the team standings, led by freshman Mariah Reed, who placed 14th (19:38.4). Spotswood won the team title by 19 points over Abingdon.
On the boys side, Pulaski County junior Cole Boone led all Timesland competitors by finishing third with a time of 15:44.0. Lord Botetourt junior Eric Duncan followed in fourth place (15:46.5).
Broadway's Tristan Yoder won the state title with a time of 15:34.0.
Hidden Valley finished fourth in the team standings, led by Spencer Thacker, who placed 10th (16:38.1). Broadway won the team title by 10 points over Maggie Walker.
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