The cross country team has been hitting its stride lately, finishing second at the most recent meet, Bristol Cross, in Bristol, Tenn. behind Daniel Boone High School of Gray, Tenn. by only ten points in the overall standings and seven points in the large school division. The boys team beat the likes of Dobyns-Bennett High School, Greeneville High School, and Region IV rival Christiansburg High School. The Falcons were led by junior Tanner Cook finishing fifth overall with a time of 16:53, followed by senior Colby Hinchey finishing ninth overall with a time of 17:09. The other members of the team finishing in the top 25 were seniors Hayes Armstrong (19^th) and Chase Atkinson (22^nd). The remaining scorers for the team were seniors Michael Gifford at 33^rd  and Philip Studholme at 45^th and junior Gus Tolton at 66^th.

On the girls’ side, senior leader Maggie Knox finished in ninth overall with a time of 20:25. Other notable girl finishers were freshmen Audra Yarber in 41^st and Aleia Warren in 97^th and junior Kyra Duncan in 181^st. There was no score for the girls team in this meet.

After a short day at Abingdon High School, the cross country team headed to Bristol, Va., to run in the fifth annual Randy Smith Classic at Sugar Hollow Park. It was a perfect day for running, weather-wise, and thus there were generally fast times. Knox finished third overall, summiting the rigorous hills of Sugar Hollow in a blazing time of 19:18. Other notables for the Falcons were Yarber in ninth and Warren in 32^nd.

On the boys side, Hinchey was the highest finisher for the Falcons, finishing second overall followed by fellow Atkinson in fourth. The two seniors finished in 16:36 and 16:44 respectively. The other scoring seniors for the Falcons were Studholme in 22^nd and senior Bruce Stiltner in 78^th. Other scorers for the Falcons were freshmen Tristan Duncan, Nathan Hawsey, and Thomas Wolfe. The remaining members of the varsity team went to the Wendy’s Invitational in Charlotte, NC.

The Falcons ran on a very fast course at McAlpine Greenway Park, resulting in very fast times from the varsity team. The Falcons ran in the 3A division at Wendy’s and were led by Cook, Gifford, and Armstrong. The three boys finished fourth, tenth, and sixteenth respectively. The times for the three boys were 16:16, 16:29, and 16:45 respectively. Other scorers for the Falcons were Tolton at 105^th, and sophomore Matthew McMurray at 160^th. Some other fast times from Wendy’s were freshman Isaiah Akers at 19:00 and senior Ben Black at 19:49.

The cross country team next traveled back to Roanoke, Va., to run in the North County Classic at Northside High School.

“The season has been going really well so far,” said Atkinson. “I think we can finish higher at state than we ever have before,” he added.