Wednesday's high school sports: Defending state champ Lowman wins 3C cross country title
Alleghany junior Kiera Lowman, who won the Class 3 state championship last year, captured the Region 3C cross country title Wednesday at Jackson River Sports Complex in Covington.
Lowman finished with a time of 18 minutes, 3.5 seconds, beating runner-up Marika Dickel of Spotswood by nearly 18 seconds.
Alleghany placed sixth in the team standings, ending 87 points shy of champion Spotswood. Rockbridge County came in ninth with 231 points.
Blue Demons finish runner-up in 3D
Christiansburg finished the Region 3D meet at Smith River Sports Complex in Martinsville with 30 points, finishing runner-up and qualifying for the state meet.
The Blue Demons ended five points shy of champion Abingdon. They were led by freshman Mariah Reed, who placed third with a time of 19:46.49, just over 54 seconds behind individual winner Josie Jackson of Abingdon. Teammate Kaylin Larimer placed fourth (20:11.20).
Cave Spring placed third with 88 points to advance to the state meet. The Knights were led by Aliza Schopf, who came in 11th (22:18.55).
Hidden Valley's Charlotte Hieber (13th, 22:29.48) and Leila Ramey (17th, 22:47.77), Staunton River's Riley Waldron (14th, 22:30.77), William Byrd's Lucy Whitenack (16th, 22:47.54) and Lord Botetourt's Madeleine Gantzhorn (20th, 23:27.11) all qualified for the state meet.
PH's Murphy, Franklin Co.'s Roach reach state meet
Patrick Henry junior Niav Murphy qualified for the state meet with a fourth-place finish at the Region 5C meet at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, as did Franklin County sophomore Caitlyn Roach, who placed sixth.
Murphy finished with a time of 20:11.30, while Roach recorded a time 20:25.40.
Midlothian's Kate Jaeger won the individual championship (19:07.70), and Albemarle claimed the team title with 45 points.
Marion's Hoerter qualifies for state
Marion senior Ruby Hoerter advanced to the Class 2 state meet with a fourth-place finish in the Region 2D meet at UVA Wise.
Hoerter finished with a time of 23:32.7, ending just under 35 seconds behind champion Abigail Rhudy of Tazewell.
Marion did not have enough runners to record a team score. Union won the team title with 44 points.
Titans qualify for state
Hidden Valley placed three runners in the top 10 to earn a runner-up finish in the Region 3D meet at Smith River Sports Complex in Martinsville, qualifying for the Class 3 state meet.
Spencer Thacker led the Titans with a sixth-place finish and a time of 16:38.24. Christiansburg also qualified for the state meet with a third-place finish, led by Max Craig, who finished third with a time of 16:22.43.
Abingdon won the team title and Falcons senior Gregory Poisson claimed the individual championship (15:55.96).
Pulaski County's Cole Boone also qualified for the state meet with a runner-up finish (16:12.28), while Bassett's Thomas Fulcher (4th, 16:26.92), Lord Botetourt's Eric Duncan (5th, 16:28.27) and Cave Spring's Chase Whited (11th, 17:36.15) and Mateo Hanson (12th, 17:38.12) also advanced to the state meet.
Eagles' Bowman advances to state
Franklin County junior Jonah Brown qualified for the state meet with a sixth-place finish in the Region 5C meet at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
Brown finished with a time of 16:52.70. Clover Hill's Joshua Taylor won the individual title with a time of 15:50.60.
Albemarle won the team championship with 31 points. Franklin County placed seventh (192), Patrick Henry finished 10th (258) and William Fleming came in 13th (426).
Marion's Bruzzo-Morello wins 2D title
Marion senior Domenic Bruzzo-Morello captured the Region 2D meet at UVA Wise with a time of 17:03.2.
Bruzzo-Morello won the event by 1.7 seconds seconds over runner-up Nathan Wallin of Wise Central.
Marion finished fourth in the team standings with 114 points. Wise Central won the championship with 36 points.
Jefferson Forest 3, Blacksburg 0
The Cavaliers advanced to the Region 3C semifinals with a straight-sets win over the Bruins in Forest.
Jefferson Forest (17-4) will play E.C. Glass (21-4) on Monday for a spot in the Class 4 state tournament.
Blacksburg finished the season 10-15.
E.C. Glass 3, Salem 1
The Spartans' season ended at the hands of the Hilltoppers, 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 25-13, in Lynchburg.
Salem finished the season 14-10.
Alleghany 3, Brookville 0
The No. 2 Cougars swept the No. 10 Bees, 25-23, 25-12, 25-22, in the Region 3C quarterfinals.
Alleghany (23-3) will face No. 11 Rockbridge County (10-11) in the region semifinals Monday.
Rockbridge County 3, East Rockingham 2
The No. 11 Wildcats survived the No. 3 Eagles' comeback bid for a 25-18, 25-19, 16-25, 17-25, 15-12 upset win in the Region 3C quarterfinals in Elkton.
Rockbridge County (10-11) will play No. 2 Alleghany (23-3) on Monday for a spot in Class 3 state tournament.
Rural Retreat 3, J.I. Burton 0
Talyn Moore distributed 28 assists as the Indians rolled to a 25-21, 25-14, 25-19 over the Black Raiders in the Region 1D quarterfinals in Norton.
Lily Irvin led Rural Retreat (17-10) with 11 kills and Kailey Davidson added 22 digs. The Indians will play Chilhowie (12-12) in the region semifinals Thursday.
