FINCASTLE – The Lord Botetourt girls were 22nd among 41 teams that scored and the boys had some strong performances as Liberty University hosted the Group AA state track meet last weekend. The Blacksburg girls and E.C. Glass boys won state team championships.
Botetourt’s best effort was a third place finish in the 55 meter hurdles by Nialah Wilson. Javanique Burress of Louisa County won the race in 8.25 to set a new meet record and Wilson, who won the event last year, had a time of 8.68.
The girls 4×800 relay team of Eryn Turney, Brianna Swartwout, Kaley Roshitsh and Taylor Cline took seventh with a time of 10:12.68.
“This is a huge honor for the girls,” said coach Peter Walton. “By finishing in the top eight these girls earned All-State honors.”
Michael McBane finished 12th in the state AA indoor 1600 m with time of 4:37.69 while high jumper Olivia Karkenny finshed 12th in the state AA meet with a best jump of 4-10. Conor Hogan participated in the 3,200.
“We had a terrific indoor track season,” said Walton. “Our girls team tied for the Blue Ridge District Championship and finished 10th in the Region. Our boys finished 12th in the Region. We had eight athletes qualify for the state meet and five of them were All-State.”
The Botetourt athletes are taking a break this week, but next week they’re right back on the track to begin practice for the outdoor season.
“We’re also working on getting a record board at the school for both indoor and outdoor track,” said Walton. “Lots of school records were broken this season for indoor track. This has been a great group of athletes and they all contributed to our success. Hopefully we can keep it up for the outdoor season.”
