MHS runners adapt to season with March start

by Don Richeson – 

Late winter competition is taking a little getting used to, but things are coming along for the Middlesex High School boys and girls cross country teams. Each had multiple strong individual showings in the season-opening meet this past Friday, March 5.

The first cross country meet of the season is usually in late summer and features tank tops, sizzling temperatures and significant sweating. Not so this season — the COVID-19 pandemic moved Virginia high school cross country from August through November to March through April. The Chargers faced a wind-whipped day in the 40s for their opening meet on Friday of last week.

March 5 meet results

The March 5 meet was on the grounds of the former King Carter Golf Course in Irvington, which is off Irvington Road and adjacent to the Hills Quarter subdivision. The course there is considered Lancaster’s “home course.” Middlesex is scheduled to participate in another meet there at 4 p.m. this coming Wednesday, March 17.

The four-way meet last Friday featured Middlesex, host Lancaster, and Rappahannock and West Point.

Wyatt Evans was the top finisher for Middlesex. He completed the 5K (3.1-mile) in 20 minutes, 50 seconds, earning a third place individual win for the Chargers. The meet’s top individual finisher was Lancaster’s Michael Foulkes (20:02). Kayleigh St. John was the top female finisher for Middlesex and ran 29:29 for a sixth place girls finish. The meet’s top female individual finisher was Lancaster’s Hailey Smith (22:14). The meet’s final total boys scores were Lancaster, 54; Middlesex, 47; and West Point, 30. The meet’s final total girls scores were Lancaster, 35; and West Point, 21. Some teams are not listed in the final totals because their teams didn’t have enough runners.

Middlesex’s home course is on the Glenns campus of Rappahannock Community College. Results from the meet there Wednesday, March 10, were unavailable at press time…