The Warren County High School cross country teams began their seasons last Thursday in the Voyles’ Classic held at Sharp Springs Park in Smyrna.
The event featured 45 schools competing in four different classifications. The Lady Pioneers placed seventh in their classification and 15th overall while the Pioneers were 15th in their classification and 33rd overall.
In the fourth season under coach Amy Baird, lots of young runners made their contributions.
The Lady Pioneers were led by three freshmen, including Alex Hobbs leading the way in the 5K race with a time of 25 minutes, 24 seconds to finish 60th among female runners. Fellow freshman Lillian Rocha was next with a time of 25:48 while upperclassman Ella Hale was right behind at 25:57. Kara Caten was the third freshman to contribute to the Lady Pioneers’ overall score - which is made up of the top five finishers from each school - as she finished in 25:59.
Junior Maddy Prater was the fifth Lady Pioneer finisher as she came in at 26:53. All five Lady Pioneers were in the top 100 in the female pool consisting of over 300 runners.
Four sophomores were out front for the Pioneers, including Dillon Bennett setting the pace by finishing 70th with a time of 20:04. It was 10 seconds faster than fellow sophomore Joey Hitchcock as he placed 77th. Sophomore Evan Reynolds was next at 21:31 while senior Blade Campbell came in at 22:09. Brady Cantrell was the final Pioneer finisher with a time of 22:46.
The cross country team was back in action Tuesday in the MSCCA All-Comers meet held in Bell Buckle. Results were unavailable at press time.
The WCHS cross country teams will play host to the school’s first home meet next Thursday, Sept. 12.