Robbinsville cross country season ends at regionals
Bryson City – Amid heavy snowfall and a sub-freezing windchill, the Robbinsville Knights traversed through the 1A Western Regional Meet on Saturday.
The event marked both Robbinsville’s third straight trip to Kituwah Mound and the conclusion of its season, despite strong performances to cap off the 2020-21 campaign.
“Regionals went better than expected and we were all pleased,” Robbinsville head coach Kaitlyn Carringer-Adams said. “Our goal for the whole season was improvement, and almost everybody on the team PR’d (personal record) multiple times this season; not by just a few seconds, but by minutes.”
Senior Ava Barlow’s 17th-place time of 22:30.44 just missed the cut for a state bid, but brought to end a successful high school career for the only Robbinsville girls’ runner this season.
“Ava ran her best time of the season – despite the weather – and gave it all in her last race,” Carringer-Adams said.
With the meet split into two separate flights – a change forced by COVID-19 precautions – the Black Knights still managed to finish sixth as a team, with sophomores Hayden Stewart (21st place, 18:52.80) and William Cable (25th, 19:19.63) leading the charge.
Robbinsville’s boys have improved tremendously since the beginning of the year. With no seniors departing, the Knights look to return stronger than ever in the fall.
“Last year, the boys came in 13th at regionals and this year, (they placed) sixth,” Carringer-Adams pointed out. “Everybody on the team placed better than they did last year.
“Hayden was only two spots away from qualifying (for state), which shows great improvements for him and our team. With this same team – plus some incoming freshmen – I think we will continue to see improvement and a better-scoring team next year.”
Middle school
The final conference-exclusive meet of the season was a championship event dedicated to middle school athletes, held at Kituwah Mound on Jan. 13.
Robbinsville’s Ethan Webster (18th place, 13:36) was the top boys runner for the program, while Abby Wehr’s 24th-place time of 15:02.10 led the Lady Knights’ charge.
“The middle school gave it their very all and we couldn’t be prouder of them,” Carringer-Adams said. “They were a great group of kids, who worked hard this season to improve.”