Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Valley High School cross country team competed in the Skyhawk Valley Invitational Saturday with Point University serving as hosts for this event.

College races were held earlier in the morning. Following the college races, the high schools were given their chances to compete. This was a historic day for the Rams as a high school race has never been held in Valley. Despite a smaller roster than normal, the Rams performed well.

The high school boys 5k was the first high school event of the day. The boys were led by freshman Noah Honea in his second meet of the year. Honea finished 16th overall with a time of 20:38. Up next was returning runner, James Jones. JJ finished 18th overall with a time of 21:05. David Paschal finished 28th overall with a time of 22:10. Ethan Brooks was 49th with a time of 25:40. Vann Williams was 62nd with a time of 32:45. The girl’s race was the final event of the day. The Lady Rams were led by freshman Autumn Templeton, who finished 9th overall with a time of 24:09. Lynlee Pinkard was 19th with a time of 28:19. Ziniya Floyd was 30th with a time at 33:23.

Coach Will Elliott was very pleased with the performance of his team.

“Saturday was a great day just for the fact that we were getting run on our turf,” Elliott said. “I can’t be more thankful to Point University’s coaches for allowing the high schools to compete today with them. Our sport is on the rise in Chambers county, and this was an important first step. The Valley airport was packed today for a cross country meet. As for my team, I am proud of how they competed. The boys all did really well. Noah, JJ, and David all finished within the top 30. Ethan and Vann competed really hard as well. Every meet has seen improvement from each of them. That’s all I can ask for. As for the girls, Autumn finished ninth overall. She’s been one of our best runners this year. Today was just a testament to her hard work and dedication. Lynlee and Ziniya also had great finishes. Proud of them for today as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how this year finishes out.”

The Rams will continue their season next Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Smiths Station Panther Invitational.