Plum also earns All-State, LHS girls finish 4th at state; PCHS boys 6th
~ PVN staff report
SALEM, Nov. 8 — Local runners performed well at the VHSL Class 1 and Class 2 state cross country meets held at Green Hill Park in Salem on Saturday. The Luray High School girls team finished fourth and produced one all-state runner, while the Page County High School boys team finished sixth and also produced an all-state runner.
PCHS senior Aaron Henlsey posted the best individual performance, finishing the 5000-meter run in 16:35.1 to claim fifth place and all-state honors among 101 runners at the VHSL Class 2 state cross country meet. Hensley was only about 50 seconds behind state champion Bradley Hamilton of Nottoway, who took the state title in 15:45.9. The Page County senior also improved his all-region time by more than a minute at state. On Oct. 29, Hensley finished third at the Region 2B meet in 17:47.6 — just 39 seconds behind the region champion, Madison County senior Evan Roberts. During his junior year, Hensely finished fifth at region and 11th at state in cross country.
Senior Asher Kite was the only other Panther inside the Top 40 at the state cross country meet, with a time of 17:24.1 in Salem, finishing 24th among 101 competitors. Kite also improved from his all-region time of 18:42.7, which earned him eighth place in New Market on Oct. 29. During his junior campaign, Kite earned ninth at region and 22nd at state.
The Page County boys cross country team entered five other runners in the state meet on Nov. 8 and earned enough points to finish in sixth place as a team — just six points behind fifth-place Floyd County — through the individual performances of:
- 42nd — Jaxon Staples, junior (18:09.0)
- 71st — Gavin Barlow, senior (18:54.8)
- 81st — Hudson Cave, freshman (19:34.1)
- 93rd — Brayden Welch, senior (20:57.5)
- 98th — Bentley McKay, freshman (21:23.5)
Page County boys finished in third place as a team on Oct. 29 at the Region 2B championship in New Market, thus qualifying all team members for the state meet on Nov. 8 in Salem. The top female finisher for Page County at region was Brenna McKay (25:48.4) in 31st position among 47 runners.
Luray High School senior Briana Plum finished in 12th place at the VHSL Class 1 state cross country meet among 96 finalists in Salem to lead the LHS girls team. The Bulldogs won the Region 1B championship at Frazier Farms in Altavista on Oct. 29 and had five runners earn all-region honors. Plum recorded a time of 21:22.7 at the state meet, just four seconds off her region time of 22:18.2 which earned fourth place in Altavista. In fact, Luray took five of the top 12 positions at the region meet:
- 4th — Briana Plum, senior (22:18.2)
- 5th — Isabela Rizek, junior (23:12.2)
- 8th — Maya Jenkins, junior (23:54.3)
- 11th — Carolina Wood, senior (24:04.5)
- 12th — Natalie Ridgeway, freshman (24:24.1)
In Salem, the Bulldogs’ consistency among the pack of 96 runners earned the team a fourth-place finish at the Class 1 state meet. Among those contributing to that honor were:
- 26th — Natalie Ridgeway, freshman (22:24.4)
- 30th — Maya Jenkins, junior (22:49.1)
- 32nd — Carolina Wood, senior (23:01.3)
- 41st — Isabela Rizek, junior (23:22.2)
- 62nd — Chloe Catron, freshman (25:08.3)
- 68th — Amaya Sours, freshman (25:35)
The Luray boys cross country team had one competitor at state — sophomore Max Banks, who finished in 72nd position among 103 finalists with a time of 19:51.6. Banks came in 13th at region among 51 runners to qualify for state. The sophomore improved on his region time of 20:07.9.
For schedules and rosters, check the Bull Run District website.
For cross country event results, check “Results” at https://va.milesplit.com/
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