PEARISBURG, VA -- The Pulaski County girls and Christiansburg boys track teams literally ran away with the team titles in the first annual New River Invitational. The Invitational was brought about by the vision of Coach Kelly of Giles County. The thought that it would be great to get together the eleven teams that at some point were members of the now defunct New River District ignited his desire to organize the meet. The result was a great reunion of old friends and rivals and a great Friday night with a track and field meet under the lights.
Pulaski County girls tabulated 130 ½ points and dominated the field events and sprints to run away from 2nd place finisher Christiansburg (92 ½ points). Giles County the host school placed 3rd with 66 points. Pulaski County has a great team, but an abundance of superstars on one team makes them a threat to advance to states.
Leslie Anderson the freshman sensation and former 2 time Hershey National Champion won three events, placed 2nd in one, and had a 3rd place for the winning Pulaski County Cougars. Anderson won the long jump with a leap of 16' 10", took the 100m in 12.9, and capped it off by winning the 200m in 26.8. Anderson was 2nd in the high jump with a height of 5' 0", and placed 3rd in the triple jump with 32' 8".
Brenna Blevins the junior super woman also won three events for
Pulaski County, and may have taken a fourth but she had to leave to play in a volleyball tournament the next morning. Blevins placed 1st in the triple jump with 34'5 ¾", 1st in the high jump with a height of 5' 2", and 1st in the 400m with a blazing 59.8. Blevins also had a 2nd place finish behind her teammate Anderson in the long jump with a leap of 16' 1".
Liz Hager of Pulaski County the most dominant discus and shot put thrower of the New River and Roanoke Valleys was a double winner. Hager won the discus with a throw of 120' 3", and took the shot with a heave of 32' 11 ¾'.
Laura Gill of Pulaski County won the 100m hurdles in 17.3 and placed 3rd in the 300 hurdles in 51.4.
Pulaski County was not finished as they took the 400m relay in 52.2 with the team of Blevins, Lewis, Gill, and Anderson.
The Christianburg boys were just as dominant as they took first place with 134 points and were followed by Floyd County with 83 points and Pulaski County with 80 ½. With this meet, the Christiansburg boys team put an exclamation point on who has the best boys track team in the New River Valley.
Irvin White of Christiansburg put on a show as he took 4 events and placed 2nd in another. The versatile White won the long jump with a leap of 22' 10", and then pulled off the very difficult sprinter's triple as he won the 100m in 11.1, 200m in 22.9, and the 400m in 51.6. White placed 2nd in the triple jump with a distance of 41' 10 ¾".
Troy Meyer, the Blue Ridge District and Region III Cross Country champion, was a double winner taking the 800m in 2:03.1 and the 1600m in 4:37.0. Meyer has elected to skip the 3200m this year to concentrate more on the 800m.
The ever reliable and versatile Justin Vaught placed in three events for Christiansburg. Vaught won the high jump as expected with a height of 5' 10", took 2nd in the 300m hurdles in 42.4, and placed 3rd in the 110m hurdles in 16.4.
The Christiansburg's 3200m relay team of Matt Morris, Andrew Dickerson, Ryan Poovey, and Corey Edmonds won in 8:54.4 holding off a gallant effort by the Blacksburg team that finished in 8:57.8.
As the lights dimmed at the Giles County track, one's thoughts turned to next year and the past that was brought to life. We are grateful for the vision of Coach Kelly and his assistant track coach to pull this together, and all the teams are anticipating continuing these rivalries.
PEARISBURG, VA -- The Pulaski County girls and Christiansburg boys track teams literally ran away with the team titles in the first annual New River Invitational. The Invitational was brought about by the vision of Coach Kelly of Giles County. The thought that it would be great to get together the eleven teams that at some point were members of the now defunct New River District ignited his desire to organize the meet. The result was a great reunion of old friends and rivals and a great Friday night with a track and field meet under the lights.
Pulaski County girls tabulated 130 ½ points and dominated the field events and sprints to run away from 2nd place finisher Christiansburg (92 ½ points). Giles County the host school placed 3rd with 66 points. Pulaski County has a great team, but an abundance of superstars on one team makes them a threat to advance to states.
Leslie Anderson the freshman sensation and former 2 time Hershey National Champion won three events, placed 2nd in one, and had a 3rd place for the winning Pulaski County Cougars. Anderson won the long jump with a leap of 16' 10", took the 100m in 12.9, and capped it off by winning the 200m in 26.8. Anderson was 2nd in the high jump with a height of 5' 0", and placed 3rd in the triple jump with 32' 8".
Brenna Blevins the junior super woman also won three events for
Pulaski County, and may have taken a fourth but she had to leave to play in a volleyball tournament the next morning. Blevins placed 1st in the triple jump with 34'5 ¾", 1st in the high jump with a height of 5' 2", and 1st in the 400m with a blazing 59.8. Blevins also had a 2nd place finish behind her teammate Anderson in the long jump with a leap of 16' 1".