Students from area schools like Hidden Valley High School, Salem High School and Cave Spring High school often meet around athletic fields draped in school colors, battling for bragging rights. Saturday, students from 10 local schools met on the track at Cave Spring Middle School, dressed for the occasion.

But it wasn’t school spirit on their shirts. One common shirt had a girl’s picture on the front. The shirts were white, with purple lettering that read “Kendall’s Krusaders.” They were wearing it to support Kendall Bayne, a junior at Cave Spring High School who has been battling cancer for two years.

Many others wore the event T-shirts, having organized a Relay for Life to confront cancer.

Bayne, who spoke at the event as part of the survivor’s ceremony, is one of many students who has faced the disease, and one of many who has felt a groundswell of support from peers from across the area.

“It just shows you can put rivalries aside,” she said. “Today we’re all working together for one cause we all believe in.”

Emily Fulton, who is friends with Bayne, organized the survivor’s ceremony at the event.

“I just wanted something that would make the survivors feel special,” Fulton said.

The Cave Spring junior said she was propelled to help guide the event by what she has seen out of her friend — a relentless desire to be a teen and enjoy the typical teen activities with her friends.

“She’s an inspiration to everyone with how positive she is,” Fulton said. “She always keeps her head up.”

Tracey Lange, an assistant principal at Cave Spring High School, said more and more teens are feeling the effects of the disease.

“Everybody is touched by cancer,” Lange said. “So to be able to watch students grow with their leadership skills, their communication skills, it’s been uplifting.”

The event, organizers said, was by the students, for the students.

Alexandra Rouse, a Salem High School senior, was one of the chairs of the planning committee, which included students from all of the participating schools. She had participated in other Relay for Life events, but set out to target Saturday’s event at teens.

“A lot of students had been doing adult relays,” she said. “But it wasn’t anything really focused for students.”

She said Saturday’s event, which featured live music, games and local teenagers touched by cancer, inspired widespread participation. As of Saturday afternoon, the run-up to the event had already raised $13,000 for cancer research that will stay in the Roanoke area.

Lange said students across the valley have been driven to combat cancer. She pointed to Glenvar High School, where students organized multiple times to support and honor Michael Sandridge, a 16-year-old student who died in January after a battle with the disease.

“The kids at Glenvar,” Lange said, “They’re ready to fight.”

In addition to Cave Spring, Glenvar and Salem, Hidden Valley High School, Northside High School, North Cross School and four affiliated middle schools participated in planning the event.

Fulton said the attendance was a sign of awareness.

“A lot of people don’t think of teenagers and childhood cancer,” she said. “We had four or five survivors under the age of 18 and it was just kind of crazy.”

Bayne, standing near the stage in the middle of a ring where students were making laps, saw each one as a step toward a brighter future.

“It means so much more,” she said. “This is the money going toward what I have, to put it to an end.”

Weather Journal

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