Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blue Demons' Eddleton runs away with victory
MARK TAYLOR The Roanoke Times
Christiansburg senior Andy Eddleton races to the finish at the River Ridge District cross country championship on Wednesday.
Christiansburg's Andy Eddleton experienced a strange feeling during the first mile of the River Ridge District cross country championship Wednesday afternoon.
"My legs felt really good," said Eddleton, who was hoping to improve on his runner-up finish in last year's meet.
They felt good because Eddleton was taking it relatively easy.
"I didn't want to kill the first mile," said Eddleton, a senior. "I want to let some of the other guys set the pace and feed off of that.
"It worked out well."
In fact it worked out into a district championship.
Eddleton's 16:41.45 over the soggy 5-kilometer course at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County got him to the line about eight seconds ahead of George Carter of Blacksburg, who led the Bruins to an easy team title.
Led, as usual, by twins Joanna and Kathleen Stevens, the Blacksburg girls also won in emphatic fashion.
The Bruins swept the top five spots to score a perfect 15 points, easily topping runner-up Hidden Valley, which held its top three girls out of the race.
"I'd like to bottle up today and take it to the state meet," said Blacksburg head coach James DeMarco, whose girls team is shooting for its fourth straight state title, and whose boys are favored to win after finishing second last year. "The boys were rusty today. They scored 24 points, which is good. But I think we can do better."
The Bruins, who took five of the top seven spots in the boys race, will get their next chance at the Region IV championships on Nov. 6 in Bristol.
Also advancing on the boys side were Cave Spring, Christiansburg and Hidden Valley.
On the girls side, Christiansburg and Cave Spring finished third and fourth, respectively, to also earn spots in the regional meet.
At the gun in the girls race, the Stevens sisters immediately moved to their familiar position out front. Running side-by-side, often with their strides in perfect unison, they steadily built their lead.
The last time Blacksburg raced on the Green Hill Course, at the Metro Championships, DeMarco forced the twins to flip a coin to determine who would cross the line first. The team was preparing for an important upcoming invitational in a few days and DeMarco didn't want the competitive girls sprinting against each other.
"There was no coin flip today," said Joanna, who edged her sister by just over a second in a legitimate dash for the line.
Her time of 18:03.54 set a new district meet record for the course, breaking a record set in 2003 by former Hidden Valley star Jennifer Beury.
Leah Fitchett and Sarah Dorrell were third and fourth, respectively, for the Bruins.
Mary Catherine Sowder led Hidden Valley, finishing sixth.
Titans Coach Dan King said holding his three top runners out of the race opened up spots for seniors who wouldn't have otherwise been able to run.
"The biggest thing for us was to be able to give those girls a chance to run one more time," said King, who said he plans to field his top girls at the regional meet.
Eddleton said recently winning his final race on his home course was sweet, but said Wednesday's win was the most meaningful.
"It's nice to go out your senior year this way," said Eddleton, who was 19th at the state meet last year.
In addition to the team competition, the top 15 individuals advanced to the Region IV meet.
At Green Hill Park
Boys team scores
1. x-Blacksburg (B) 24, 2. x-Cave Spring (CS) 56, 3. x-Christiansburg (C) 68, 4. x-Hidden Valley (HV) 106, 5. Salem (S) 119.
Boys results
1. Andy Eddleton (C) 16:41.45, 2. George Carter (B) 16:49.38, 3. Cody Seymour (CS) 16:52.94, 4. Anthony Noegel (B) 16:58.24, 5. Caman Skelton (B) 17:04.44, 6. Matthew Howard (B) 17:07.53, 7. Frank Locascio (B) 17:10.20 8. Andrew Smith (CS) 17:13.48, 9. y-Brett Driver (S) 17:36.73, 10. Taylor Ford (C) 17:40.92, 11. Zach Link (B) 17:41.92, 12. Tom Hudson (CS) 17:44.16, 13. Nick Link (B) 17:57.82, 14. Matthew Sutton (HV) 18:40.92, 15. Chris Luci (HV) 18:41.48
Girls team scores
1. x-Blacksburg (B) 15, 2. x-Hidden Valley (HV) 48, 3. x-Christiansburg (C) 80, 4. x-Cave Spring (CS) 107, 5. Salem (S) 110, 6. Pulaski County (PC) 169.
Girls results
1. Joanna Stevens (B) 18:03.54, 2. Kathleen Stevens (B) 18:04.84, 3. Leah Fitchett (B) 19:31.65, 4. Sarah Dorrell (B) 19:46.01, 5. Hannah Brown (B) 20:02.61, 6. Mary Catherine Sowder (HV) 20:05.75, 7. Carolyn Bethel (HV) 20:10.26, 8. Lindsay Skolrood (HV) 20:26.15, 9. Eliza Eaton (C) 20:34.04, 10. Jennifer Brugh (C) 20:44.41, 11. Kate Buss (B) 20:49.82, 12. y-Lindsey Siska (S) 21:01.87, 13. Drew Dillon (HV) 21:06.10, 14. Greta Weidner (HV) 21:14.54, 15. Molly Western (CS) 21:25.78.
x-team qualifier for Region IV meet
