Southern Gap’s boys cross country team finished ninth against a large regional field Wednesday, Aug. 26, at the 17th annual Travis Hooker Through the Pines Invitational.
The Eagles scored 187 points in their first appearance at the longstanding meet, which featured 86 runners in the boys 5,000-meter race at Lebanon Primary School.
Sophomores Wyatt Street and Ethan Deel led Southern Gap and finished among the top 20.
Street crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, 16.26 seconds to place 19th. Deel followed in 20th place with a time of 20:23.45, finishing less than eight seconds behind his teammate.
Freshman Bentley Jackson was the third Eagle across the finish line, placing 43rd in 22:21.84. Freshman Oliver Breeding finished 54th in 24:08.81, and sophomore Jaccob Smeltzer completed Southern Gap’s scoring lineup by placing 58th in 24:33.43.
The Eagles’ five scoring runners combined for an average time of 22:20. Southern Gap finished ahead of Rye Cove, Gate City and John I. Burton in the 12-team standings.
Abingdon captured the team championship with 40 points after placing four runners among the top 14 and all five scoring runners in the top 18. Lebanon finished second with 76 points, followed by Lee with 107, the Virginia Bearcats with 132 and Honaker with 167.
Twin Springs and Tazewell each scored 173 points. Twin Springs earned sixth place through the tiebreaker, while Tazewell finished seventh. Castlewood placed eighth with 181 points.
Abingdon senior Charlie Brown won the individual championship in 17:45.42. Rye Cove sophomore Ty Hood placed second in 17:48.27, finishing less than three seconds behind Brown.
Abingdon sophomore Max Bodenhorst took third in 18:11.52. Teammate Luke Dorn, also a sophomore, placed fourth in 18:24.52. Lee senior Elijah Stafford finished fifth in 18:34.05.
THROUGH THE PINES INVITATIONAL
Boys 5,000-meter results
Team scores
Abingdon — 40
Lebanon — 76
Lee — 107
Virginia Bearcats — 132
Honaker — 167
Twin Springs — 173
Tazewell — 173
Castlewood — 181
Southern Gap — 187
Rye Cove — 203
Gate City — 265
John I. Burton — 286
Top 58 individuals
Charlie Brown, Abingdon, Sr. — 17:45.42
Ty Hood, Rye Cove, So. — 17:48.27
Max Bodenhorst, Abingdon, So. — 18:11.52
Luke Dorn, Abingdon, So. — 18:24.52
Elijah Stafford, Lee, Sr. — 18:34.05
Liam Pratt, Virginia Bearcats, Jr. — 18:38.85
Aybrum Hammond, Lebanon, Fr. — 18:56.68
Logan Pennington, Lee, So. — 19:03.25
Isac Cooper, Castlewood, So. — 19:07.45
Jonesy Roe, Virginia Bearcats, sixth grade — 19:11.43
Ethan Baker, Tazewell, Jr. — 19:18.22
Michael Hines, Lee, Jr. — 19:31.49
Hunter Dye, Honaker, Sr. — 19:36.84
Aulden Rainey, Abingdon, Jr. — 19:39.59
Jack Garland, Lebanon, Jr. — 20:02.51
Elliott Breeding, Lebanon, Jr. — 20:05.42
Asher Taylor, Lebanon, So. — 20:08.69
Alistair Chisholm, Abingdon, So. — 20:13.23
Wyatt Street, Southern Gap, So. — 20:16.26
Ethan Deel, Southern Gap, So. — 20:23.45
Clayton Brown, Lebanon, Fr. — 20:23.47
Lincoln Combs, Honaker, Sr. — 20:23.99
Dalten Keith, Castlewood, Jr. — 20:28.28
Seth Nunley, Tazewell, Fr. — 20:28.41
Landin Littrell, Lebanon, Fr. — 20:33.80
Colten Johnson, Twin Springs, Sr. — 20:34.87
Connor Branham, John S. Battle, Sr. — 20:53.70
Aayden Mullins, Twin Springs, So. — 20:57.92
Eli Davidson, Twin Springs, So. — 21:00.66
Brighton Stork, Lebanon, Fr. — 21:01.07
Daniel Corell, Tazewell, Fr. — 21:17.42
Luke Robinson, Abingdon, Fr. — 21:31.51
Jake Osborne, Rye Cove, Jr. — 21:39.70
Alex Kariuki, Virginia Bearcats, Jr. — 21:41.67
Lyfe McNew, Gate City, Jr. — 21:42.10
Josh DeBusk, Virginia Bearcats, Fr. — 21:54.01
Collyn Chasteen, Lee, So. — 21:54.70
Loften Fansler, Gate City, Fr. — 22:02.55
Tyler Boyd, Honaker, Sr. — 22:07.87
Thomas Hutchison, Abingdon, So. — 22:14.41
Salem Hall, Castlewood, Fr. — 22:19.29
Joseph Musick, Honaker, So. — 22:21.62
Bentley Jackson, Southern Gap, Fr. — 22:21.84
Koletyn Keith, Twin Springs, So. — 22:26.23
Drayden Upchurch, Rye Cove, Jr. — 23:22.47
Wesley Jones, Graham, Sr. — 23:22.85
Gavin McCann, Tazewell, Fr. — 23:29.88
Carter Cox, Lee, Jr. — 23:32.84
Chasten Richardson, John I. Burton, Jr. — 23:33.64
Dylan Kellogg, Virginia Bearcats, Sr. — 23:37.70
Bryce Swisher, Twin Springs, Sr. — 23:44.26
Gideon Mizelle, John S. Battle, Fr. — 23:49.47
Joseph Skeen, Castlewood, Jr. — 23:54.87
Oliver Breeding, Southern Gap, Fr. — 24:08.81
Thomas Caldwell, Virginia Bearcats, Fr. — 24:15.87
Keaton Cook, Honaker, Fr. — 24:32.64
Landon Adams, John I. Burton, Fr. — 24:32.67
Jaccob Smeltzer, Southern Gap, So. — 24:33.43
