Several groups were in action this weekend as the post season rolls on. Pulaski County athletes from wrestling, track and field, and basketball were all busy.
Cougar Wrestling
Three members of the Cougar wrestling team punched their ticket to the State Meet last week. Friday and Saturday, the Class 3 State Championships were held at Salem Civic Center.
Xavier Ramsey opened the day in the 120-pound division with a pinfall win over Hayden Wills (26-13) of Alleghany County. His second match ended with a pinfall defeat to Nathaniel Hardesty (29-10) of Kettle Run. Ramsey rebounded in the consolation round, pinning Trenton Coleman (30-8) of Tunstall to advance. Ramsey earned a 6-1 decision over Ibrahim Dasher (29-8) of Culpeper County. He fell to Kyle Gibson (39-6) of New Kent in the consolation semifinals by pinfall. In the fifth-place match, Ramsey won a 4-0 decision over Cody Wimer (29-11) of Broadway High School.
Ramsey ends his senior season with a record of 36-5.
Braydon Fowlkes wrestled in the 132-pound division for the Cougars. In his opening match, he fell to Adam Ayala (24-16) of New Kent by pinfall. In the consolation bracket, he fell to Sam Mundt (15-5) of Goochland by pinfall.
Fowlkes ends his season with a record of 19-14.
Parker Midkiff wrestled in the 175-pound division for Pulaski County. He started the day with a pinfall loss to Ethan Winters (27-8) of Goochland. In the consolation bracket, he was pinned by Sawyer Hattersley (29-15) of Rockbridge County.
Midkiff ends his season with a record of 13-8.
Indoor Track and Field
Members of the Pulaski County indoor track and field teams were in action Saturday at Roanoke College in the Class 3, Region D Championship meet. By the end of the day, several Pulaski County athletes had earned recognition.
For the Cougars, nine athletes earned All-Region recognition and one athlete brought home three individual region titles and another special award.
Sophomore Cole Boone was the key standout for the Cougars. Boone took first place in the 500-meter race with a time of 1:05.68. He also took first place in the 1,000-meter race, finishing at 2:36.20. He capped the day off by taking the triple crown, winning the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:24.38. Each of those times qualified Boone for the State meet.
At the end of the meet, Boone was also announced as the Class 3, Region D Runner of the Year for the men.
Tanner Linkous set a new personal record, earning third place in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:09.71. This time qualified him for the State meet. He also finished 12th in the 1,000-meter race at 2:59.30.
Bryant Nottingham placed fifth in the high jump (5’6”), seventh in the triple jump (37’ 6”), ninth in the long jump (18’ 6.25”), and 11th in the 300-meter race (38.79).
Aiden Moore took fifth place in the shot put with his throw of 45’ 7.5”, which also qualified him for state and is a new PR. Anius Slaughter finished 10th in the shot put with a throw of 39’ 9.25”. Blake Ratcliffe was 19th with his throw of 35’ 4”.
Silas Sweet finished eighth in the 500-meter race with his time of 1:13.74. Joel Burchett III took ninth in the 55-meter race with a time of 6.86. Burchett also finished 10th in the long jump with a leap of 17’ 7”. Kaleb Sartin also recorded a jump of 17’7” in the long jump to finish 11th. He added a 17th place finish in the 55-meter race (7.03). Brock Schneider finished 24th in the 300-meter race at 42.54. Maddox Thompson finished 25th in that same race at 44.64. Andrew Allen set a new PR in the high jump with a leap of 5’6”, finishing in sixth place.
The 4x200-meter relay team of Burchett, Nottingham, Sartin, and Schneider finished in fifth place with a time of 1:39.12. The 4x400-meter team of Nottingham, Sweet, Linkous, and Boone finished fifth and are qualified for states with a time of 3:46.88. The 4x800-relay team of Mlian Patel, Gaige Barton, Landon Clark, and Josh Secrist finished seventh with a time of 10:03.97.
The Cougars finished in a tie with Christiansburg for fourth place out of 11 teams. William Byrd finished as the Region Champions. Abingdon was second and Lord Boterout was third. Bassett, Cave Spring, Staunton River, Northside, Magna Vista, and Hidden Valley rounded out the list.
For the Lady Cougars, there were nine athletes who qualified as All-Region as well.
Nadia Jackson will be heading to the State meet after taking second in the high jump (4’10”) and third in the 55-meter dash (7.68). Both are also new PRs for Jackson. She also finished fifth in the long jump with a 15’ .5” jump.
Victoria Hale finished fourth in the long jump with her 15’ 4.75” effort. She also took fourth in the triple jump with a 32’ 6” leap and ninth in the 55-meter dash at 7.93. Kahlan Dishon finished fifth in the shot put with a throw of 29’ 1.25”.
Dani Carroll finished sixth in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 3:38.43. Chloe Duncan finished the same race in 18th place with her time of 3:54.70. Sara Ritter took 16th in the 55-meter race (8.18) and 21st in the 300-meter (50.72). Cheyenne McDougal was 25th in the 300-meter race at 52.65. Olivia King finished sixth in the 55-meter hurdles.
In the relays, the 4x400-meter relay team of Jackson, Carroll, Hale, and King finished in fifth place with a new PR of 4:50.50. The 200-meter relay team of Ritter, McDougal, Baleigh Hatmaker, and Jayce Henrix finished in ninth place with a time of 2:11.59.
Overall, the Lady Cougars finished sixth out of 11 teams. Abingdon took home the title with William Byrd taking second place. Christiansburg was third and Cave Spring was fourth. Bassett finished fifth. Northside, Lord Botetourt, Hidden Valley, Magna Vista, and Staunton River all fell below the Lady Cougars.
Those who have qualified will now set their sights on the Class 3 State Championship meet. That will take place over two days at Liberty University Monday, February 26th, and Tuesday, February 27th.
Lady Cougar Basketball
The Lady Cougar basketball team saw a surprise return Friday, as Kenzlee Jones returned from an injury that has kept her sidelined for several weeks. In return, the Lady Cougars opened the Class 3, Region D tournament with an impressive 74-31 win over the Cave Spring Knights.
For the Lady Cougars, the issue was never in doubt after the first few minutes. Cave Spring took a quick 8-0 lead, but the Lady Cougars went on a run to retake the lead and never look back. Pulaski County led 19-8 at the end of the first quarter and 33-16 at the half. The Lady Cougars improved their lead to 56-31 at the end of the third before putting the game away.
It was the type of game where everybody that played scored. Hannah Keefer led the way with 19 points. Morgan Vest continues to shine, chipping in 15 points. Reece Nolan scored eight. Jaden Lawson added seven. Sydney Phibbs hit two big three pointers in the fourth to finish the game with six points. Kenzlee Jones returned to action with five points. Taylor Goble was good for four points. Sophia Hanson and Morgan Price added three points each. Andi Ratcliffe and Destiny Duncan scored two points each.
Olivia Jones led the Knights with 13 points in the loss.
Season records don’t matter at this point. If Pulaski County wants to continue their season, they’ll have to find a way to defeat a team they haven’t beaten in three tries this season … Carroll County. The Lady Cougars are set to travel to Hillsville for a 5:30 p.m. matchup Tuesday.
Cougar Basketball
With several players out due to injuries, the Cougar basketball team saw their season come to an end Friday in Roanoke as they fell to the Hidden Valley Titans by a final score of 72-51.
The Cougars and Titans split their regular season games this year. Hidden Valley won the first matchup 64-55. The Cougars won the rematch at home 62-52.
The Cougars end their season with a record of 6-17. The JV squad finished the season with a record of 13-9.