Taylor, Crytser claim wins at Poor Farm Park By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor ASHLAND – Patrick Henry’s Luke Taylor may have smoked the field, but Mechanicsville High School’s teamwork helped the Mustangs prevail in the boys race in a Hanover County cross country quad Wednesday afternoon at Poor Farm Park. The soggy conditions of earlier in the day did not seem to slow any of the athletes. Taylor sprinted to the finish, clocking in at 15:38, 25 seconds ahead of Mechanicsville’s Grayson Clark. Clark led a tight grouping with No. 3 Ethan Coleman of Hanover and No. 4 Travis Albon of Atlee. The trio finished the 5-kilometer course in 16:03, 16:04 and 16:07, respectively. The Mustang boys finished with 34 points, followed by Atlee (52), Patrick Henry (61) and Hanover (78). “I was very pleased with how we ran today,” said Mechanicsville head coach Joey Wingo. “We had a nice little
group of runners. We packed it in. … We ran well as a team and it showed in the results.” Patrick Henry head coach Jeremy Dobrinski wasn’t expecting Taylor to come in so hard and fast. “He was not necessarily supposed to be going hard because we just came off a bunch of different races,” Dobrinski said. “But he felt comfortable and you can’t take anything away from the weather.” While the day began damp, and some of the course was a bit soggy, the cool temperatures made for good running weather. Hanover’s Alli Crytser won the girls race by 48 seconds, coming in at 18:26 while runner up Rachel Mudd of Atlee finished in 19:14. Mechanicsville’s Sierra Puleo was third in 19:17. “We were a little bit legweary because we worked hard on Monday,” said Hanover head coach Rich Firth. “Alli Crytser ran really, really well and ran away from the field and ran a nice time for a Wednesday meet.”
Winding down
While Kali Denney was Patrick Henry’s highest finisher in the girls race in fifth place, she led the Patriots to victory in team scores with 26 points to Hanover’s 32. Neither the Atlee nor the Mechanicsville girls had enough varsity girls to score as a team.
But after both teams reached 20 points, the Raiders took conContinued from pg. 22 trol and closed out the game and match with a win. “That was a battle,” said Henry caught its breath and closed the gap, and neither team Patriot head coach Jessica Jones. was shy about sharing its emo- “It was probably the best battle we’ve seen in a couple of years tions.
with our girls. It was awesome. Dave Lawrence can be reached at dlawrence@mechlocal.com.
was held prior to the match. A moment of celebration capped it off. “He went through something that nobody would ever want to go through,” Sheridan explained. “We are really fortunate that he is close to our team and the other seniors and everyone else were there to help support him and Trina. He knows the scout of the oppo-
nents and does a good job of organizing the guys.” In the end, Saturday’s victory was a great reminder that, for all the importance placed on team chemistry on the field, the more important quality is when that chemistry is called upon off of it. The Yellow Jackets host Bridgewater Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
CLOSE
YOUTH Continued from pg. 22
Joel Klein for The Local
Randolph-Macon starting pitcher Madie Rhoads faces her final batter in a five-inning no hitter, walking two while striking out 10 as the Yellow Jackets won the opener of a doubleheader sweep 8-0 over Southern Virginia University Saturday aftern0on in Ashland.
Dave Lawrence/The Local
Left, Patrick Henry’s Luke Taylor sprints to the finish well ahead of the competition in a Hanover County cross country quad at Poor Farm Park on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Taylor finished in 15:38, 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Grayson Clark of Mechanicsville High School. Above, Clark (right), Hanover’s Ethan Coleman and Atlee’s Travis Albon come in second, third and fourth, respectively. Clark finished in 16:03, Coleman in 16:04 and Albon in 16:07.
mates into a frenzied celebration, and for good reason. Peters’ parents, Bill and Trina, were tireless supporters of the Yellow Jacket lacrosse program. On August 30th, Bill died unexpectedly at the age of 63. A moment of silence
6 kills, 2 blocks; Jada Foreman 18 kills, 7 blocks, 1 dig; Rylie Harris 35 digs, 4 assists Patrick Henry — Claire Williamson 2 aces, 6 kills, 35 assists, 1 block, 20 digs; Corinne Delgado 9 kills, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 dig; Wren McLaughlin 13 kills, 2 Girls assists, 1 block, 20 digs Atlee 3, Patrick Henry 1 Records: Atlee 7-0, Patrick Top performers: Atlee — Brianna Brown 52 Assists, 15 digs, Henry 4-3
Meanwhile, the women’s lacrosse team, who have not played since opening the season with a win over Methodist College Feb. 28, hope to resume play when they are set to welcome the Eagles to Day Field as the second half of a lacrosse doubleheader on Saturday at 4:30. Rob Witham can be reached at sports@mechlocal.com.
The Mechanicsville Local
March 24, 2021
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