HARRISONBURG — Ethan Moore broke his own school record — again.
And Natalie White capped off her first-ever track season with an all-state run in the 1,600-meters.
The pair led the area contingent at the Class 1 state track championships at James Madison University last weekend.
Moore, a Highland senior, closed his athletic career as a Ram with a sixth-place, 46 foot, 8¾ shot put effort on Friday, two feet better than his old record, while White, a Bath County junior, ran a 6:02.35 time in the 1,600-meters, good enough for a seventh-place finish.
The two were joined at the state meet by Highland senior Colton Williams and a pair of Covington Cougars, junior Purcel Turner and freshman Desmond Jordan.
Williams competed in a pair of events, placing 12th in the shot put (42-2¾) and 13th in the 200-meter dash (24.46).
“A great end to a big year for those guys,” said HHS coach Colby Jackson of the state meet performances of Moore and Williams. “I’ve spent five years with them now in some form of strength training or track and it’s been an absolute pleasure to see them develop and walk away as very accomplished athletes.
“Colton walks away with the long jump school record and as the anchor of the 4x100 school record,” he added. “Ethan walks away as the shot put leader after beating his own record by two feet today. He was also the second leg on that same 4x100 team.”
Friday was a tough day for the pair of Cougars.
Turner failed to clear the opening height of 5-10 in the high jump, which would have matched his personal record, and Jordan fell early in the 110-meter high hurdles preliminaries, but still managed to get to the finish line.
“I’m very proud of the guys for making it this far to states and having an overall great season,” Covington coach Ly’chelle Hall said. “Even though today didn’t go as expected, they worked hard this season and I wish them the best next year.”
Auburn won the girls’ team state championship and Lancaster was the boys’ state champion.
Girls’ team scores
1. Auburn, 70; 2. Northampton, 66.5; 3. Cumberland, 59; 4. Patrick Henry-Glade Spring, 39; 5. Chilhowie, 35; T33. Bath County, 2
Girls’ individual summary (events with area participants)
• 1,600-meter run: 1. Carol-Anne Garrett (Galileo), 5:32.45; 2. Kasey Rosenbaum (Auburn), 5:39.91; 3. Jessie Looney (Grundy), 5:52.86; 4. Lena Saunders (West Point), 5:56.48; 5. Destyne Rutherford (George Wythe), 5:57.03; 6. Alexsis Porter (Grundy), 6:01.01; 7. Natalie White (Bath County), 6:02.35; 8. Valeria Castillo (Eastern Montgomery), 6:02.78
Boys’ team scores
1. Lancaster, 80.5; 2. Middlesex, 61; 3. Patrick Henry-Glade Spring, 49; 4. Grundy, 44; 5. Central-Lunenburg, 37; T29. Highland, 3
Boys’ individual summary (events with area participants)
• 200-meter dash: 1. Kaiden Bailey (Franklin), 22.53; 2. Markiel Cockrell (Northumberland), 23.09; 3. Bryce DeHart (Auburn), 23.11; 4. Jayden Kidd (Middlesex), 23.18; 5. Kyle Dobyns (Northumberland), 23.22; 6. Jeremia Laws (Lancaster), 23.31; 7. Shaiem Gordon (Grundy), 23.37; 8. Brayden Dutton (J.I. Burton), 23.55; 13. Colton Williams (Highland), 24.46
• 110-meter hurdles: 1. Ben Belcher (Patrick Henry-Glade Spring), 15.14; 2. Donovan Forrest (Mathews), 15.29; 3. Jamel Alexander (Central-Lunenburg), 15.35; 4. Holden Hutchinson (J.I. Burton), 15.66; 5. Colten Kilgore (Twin Springs), 16.08; 6. Michael Little (Giles), 16.28; 7. James Applegate (Northampton), 16.56; 8. Clifton Goode (Rye Cove), 17.04; 17. Desmond Jordan (Covington), 29.42
• High jump: 1. Geion Reed (Middlesex), 6-2; 2. Jayden Kidd (Middlesex), 6-2; 3. Drew Royal (Auburn), 6-0; T4. Austin Roberts (Riverheads), Carter Mooneyham (Riverheads) and Kyle Dobyns (Northumberland), 6-0; 7. Aiden Bartuski (Chilhowie), 6-0; T8. Deon Ainsley (Sussex Central) and Brandonn Wade (Lancaster), 5-10; Purcel Turner (Covington), no height
• Shot put: 1. Reece Rhodes (Lancaster), 60-11; 2. Tyler Barrett (Patrick Henry-Glade Spring), 52-1; 3. Tazewell Rae (West Point), 49-8; 4. Reece Kirkland (West Point), 48-1; 5. Landon Steele (Patrick Henry-Glade Spring), 47-5; 6. Ethan Moore (Highland), 46-8¾; 7. Bobby Cline (Patrick Henry-Glade Spring), 46-8½; 8. Michael Jenkins (Patrick Henry-Glade Spring), 45-6; 12. Colton Williams (Highland), 42-2¾