NORTON — Wednesday was huge for Russell County in the “Run the Squatch” cross-country tournament. The Lebanon boys finished with a 22 to win the team championship, easily outdistancing host Wise Central (56), who finished in second place. Castlewood (97) garnered third place, followed by Union, Letcher County, J.I. Burton, Honaker, and Ridgeview.
“We had a wonderful day, with really good times,” Lebanon coach Travis Hooker said. “The course is very similar to the State course, so it was a good course to win on.”
The Pioneers had the top three finishers, with Derek Mitchell (15.59.75) winning the individual title, followed by Eli Taylor (16:32.17) and Alec Deckard (17:00.48). Carter Dillon had a sixth-place finish, and Blake Chafin in tenth as Lebanon placed five in the top 10.
“Derek led us upfront and went sub 16 for the first time in his XC career,” commented Hooker. “Going 1,2,3 against the teams at the meet was very impressive with defending 2A State Champion Wise Central at the meet.
“Eli had a huge PR and great race, with Alec rounding out in 3rd place with an impressive run. Carter Dillon and Blake Chafin each got about 45 seconds better than they did on Saturday, so that’s a huge drop-in time and very important in the Team Score and success.”
On the girl’s side, Lebanon’s Katie Jones led the Russell County contingent with a sixth-place finish.
“Katie stepped up and had almost a three-minute better time than when we ran on Saturday,” Hooker said. “The whole team had a great week at practice, and it’s nice to see the runners move that success over to Race day.