Pictured above from Left to Right (Madyson Williams, James Jones, Coach Will Elliott, Xander Newton, Vann Williams, Ziniya Floyd, Simone Floyd, Noah Honea, and David Paschal)
The VHS cross country team ran their first 5K of the 2022 season last Saturday, September 10th, at the Montgomery Trailblazer in Montgomery.
There are a couple of returning runners this season in addition to some new faces. James Jones, Kirin Williams, and Ziniya Floyd all returned for another year. Simone Floyd, David Paschal, Ethan Brooks, Noah Honea, Xander Newton, Autumn Templeton, Lynlee Pinkard, and Madisyn Williams are all new faces for this season. The day started with the women’s 5K. Autumn Templeton led the Lady Rams with a time of 23:40.79 and a 7th overall finish. Lynlee Pinkard had a time of 28:15.92 at 57th. Simone Floyd posted a time of 28:57.94 finishing at 63rd. Lastly, Ziniya Floyd finished with a time of 30:32.78. Up next was the boy’s 5K. Noah Honea led the Rams in his first race of the year. Honea finished 48th overall with a time of 20:08.85. Very close behind him was James Jones. JJ finished at 50th with a time of 20:11.18. David Paschal finished 107th with a time of 23:08.53. Lastly, Xander Newton finished with a time of 30:21.73. The last event on the day was the 2.1 mile. Kirin Williams posted a time of 22:50.22. Madyson Williams finished with a time of 35:13.69.
The best part of the day happened during this point. With Madyson struggling with this race, the whole Rams team decided to come out and cheer her on. All runners and coaches ran the race with her to the finish line! Second-year head coach Will Elliott is extremely excited for this group,
“We have a very young team this year. Over half of our team is either freshman or eighth graders. They will definitely be thrown into the fire but I am confident that they will adjust and do just fine. I am really glad to be getting JJ, Vann, and Ziniya back for another season. Their experience from last year is definitely a plus. Also, I am really thankful to have Coach Piper and (Former XC Ram) Micheal Jones helping me out this year! I am really proud of the sportsmanship that was put on display here today. That is something I will never forget! I am confident that this is going to be a very eventful season.”
Pictured below is Madyson Williams (1171) - running at the 2022 Montgomery Trailblazer accompanied by David Paschal (1176), (Captain) Simone Floyd (1167), and (Captain) James Jones (1174) (Photo by Fern Piper)
The Rams remaining schedule is below: September 22 - Noccalula Falls Inv. - Gadsden, AL October 1 - Skyhawk Valley Inv. - Valley, AL October 8 - Smiths Station Panther XC Inv. - Smiths Station, AL October 20 - Oakville XC Inv. - Oakville, AL October 24 - Alabama JV XC Championships - Alabaster, AL October 27 - AHSAA Class 5A Sectionals - TBD
