Roach wins Bull Run Invitational

On Saturday, September 29, Berkeley Springs High School traveled to Hereford, Maryland for the Bull Run Invitational Cross Country Meet. This is the largest meet the Indians have competed in this year and provided a stern test for all involved. The meet featured four divisions: small school, medium school, large school and elite.

Junior Lenny Roach continued his impressive season, winning the small school division comprised of 26 teams and 197 runners. Roach's winning time of 16:46 was 15 seconds better than that of Kyle Andrews of Oakland Mills. Roach's time was only bettered by one runner in all four divisions combined.

"Lenny ran a good race," said Berkeley Springs coach John Rowland. "I think he could have run faster but he backed off midway through the race because he tweaked his knee a little. His performance was impressive."

The boys team finished 12th in the 26 team field, despite missing their number three and four runners.

"Jake (Wise) was playing soccer and Cory (Yarrington) was held out due to an injury," Rowland said. "We still managed to beat over half of the field, which was a pretty good accomplishment. I think we could have placed in the top five if our team was at full strength. I am really pleased with the effort."

John Mundey placed 16th, Denny Golden 69th, Stephen Smith 125th, James Dimitroff 132nd and Caleb Smalley 135th, for the Indians.

The girls competed in the elite division, with Rachel Buser placing seventh, in the talent-rich field.

"Rachel ran well," Rowland said. "She finished strong in a very good field. At one point in the race she was in 13th or 14th place. She showed a lot of heart to pass that many runners and place in the top10."



Kari Mundey (33), Katie Close (58) Chelsea Hessler (73) and Sandy Crum (76) rounded out the scoring. The Indians finished 10th in the 12-team field.

"This was a very good learning experience for all our kids," said Rowland. "There were more runners here than at any meet they will compete in this year. I thought our girls team ran their best race of the year."

Berkeley Springs has one meet remaining in the regular season, the AVL Championships on October 10. The regional meet will be held in Berkeley Springs on October 18, with the state meet taking place on October 27 at Cabell-Midland High School in Barboursville.

"I really like the way our schedule ends," Rowland said. "That gives us time to taper and be at our best for the regional and state meets."