Waynesboro girls pick up win

STAUNTON – The Harrisonburg boys’ team and Waynesboro girls’ team dominated in cross country action on Wednesday.
The Blue Streaks’ boys squad won with 28 points over Robert E. Lee (32) and Waynesboro (67).
Harrisonburg’s Keith Thomas led the pack, coming in first with a time of 17-minutes, 26-seconds, while senior teammate Andy Goodstan came in third at 18:29.
“Keith’s a sophomore and has been running real strong,” said Harrisonburg coach Ross Bair. “It’s fun for them to come out and have a decent race, but I have to give credit to the Lee runners, their whole pack looked good all along.”
“Our plan was to work in a pack,” Goodstan said. “Around the one mile Keith took off and I went with him.”
The Leemen’s Andrew Lightner took second place with a time of 18:02.
“Andrew really broke out last track season as a miler,” said Robert E. Lee coach Andrew Frye. “He’s continued to run strong during the summer. He has the ambition to be all-state.”
On the heels of Harrisonburg’s Goodstan was Lee sophomore Dillion Sowers, who took fourth place with a time of 18:33.
“Dillion was able to peak last season and be a top runner for us at districts, so I expect him to be one of our top runners this season,” Frye said.
Waynesboro’s Edward Ennis led his team and placed sixth overall at 18:51.
The Little Giants conquered the girls’ side of the meet with 26 points, while Lee had 43 points for second and Harrisonburg had 56 points for third.
Waynesboro had girls place in the one, two, and four positions.
“We had four runners in the top ten,” said Waynesboro coach Julie Stevens. “They are very strong girls. Our five, six and seven need to pick up the pace so we can knock off a few places.”
Freshman Meredith Figgatt piloted the rest of the bunch with a first place time of 23 minutes and behind her was senior Vicki Andersen with 23:43.
“In the beginning it was all together and then I got better after the first mile or so,” Figgatt said.
“Meredith’s been doing exceptionally well, her ability is pushing the seniors,” Stevens said. “She’s a great motivator.”
Andersen overcame illness to participate in the meet.
“I wasn’t feeling well yesterday so I took the first couple of miles easy,” said Andersen. “When I got to the Lee girl, who was ahead of me, I passed her downhill and just took off from there.”
“Vicki’s been right behind Meredith in every race and in her last race she was only one second behind,” Stevens said.
The Lee Ladies were led by freshman Felicia Shifflett, taking third overall with a time of 24:05.
“It was really easy when I came to the hill. I started to push myself the hardest at the end, thanks to my coach,” Shifflett said.
This race was the season opener for Lee.
“Felicia came out today with a look of ‘I’m going to do it.’ She’s been working really hard all season,” said Robert E. Lee coach Stephanie Bivona. “This is a great starting place for her.”
The Streaks’ Allison Domonoske came in seventh overall at 25:12.
“I think that we are going to surprise ourselves and other teams,” Bivona said. “We’re making big strides.”