East Hardy Middle School The East Hardy Middle School Cross Country team loved to snack on chips and chocolate bars during the inaugural season and that extra boost of energy created positive outcomes this year with huge improvements.
The Cougars picnic at the Potomac Valley League Championship in Short Gap yielded a Top-10 medal for dessert.
East Hardy Middle School Boys Cross Country’s Hunter Garrett finished in eighth place to earn All-PVL honors and the first league medal in program history with a time of 13:48.9.
Garrett and the rest of the Top-10 finishers were under the 14-minute mark for the PVL cross country championship.
This was East Hardy’s third visit to the Frankfort course, so the times kept improving and the picnic spots got bigger.
Garrett shaved one minute and a half from his first visit to the course and 40 seconds from the previous time there during the championship run.
East Hardy Middle School Boys Cross Country’s Jake Bragg had improved his time from the first to second visit by over a minute, but the PVL championship was harder with the temperatures unfinished in 34th place in a time of 22:07.6.
East Hardy Middle School Girls Cross Country’s Aspen Maphis sliced off two minutes and 18 seconds away from her first run at Short Gap.
Maphis earned 37th place in a time of 20:39.8 with over a minute cut from the second run, so third time was a charm.
There was a big field to start the race with a slight incline, then the runners cut back down a narrow trail on the edge of the woods.
They wrapped down below the athletic fields and through the woods and came back up the same path to the finish line at the school.
The Cougars boys duo noted they love eating chips on meet day, while Maphis chose a chocolate bar.
“I love having a chocolate bar. I was happy with my time. I was glad this course didn’t have any hills,” East Hardy Middle School Girls Cross Country Aspen Maphis noted.
“I usually prefer some kind of chips on race day. I am very honored to be part of this. It might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was very happy with my time, absolutely. I really liked the downhill part of this course,” East Hardy Middle School Boys Cross Country Jake Bragg said.
“Probably chips. I am really happy to be here. I am really honored to be the first medalist. I was really happy with my time. My favorite part was the straight line to the finish,” East Hardy Middle School Boys Cross Country Hunter Garrett commented.
East Hardy Middle School Cross Country knows exactly what to pack for future picnics and races next year.
“Those boys love their chips. It’s a daily snack,” East Hardy Middle School Cross Country coach Julia Garrett remarked.
“I’m very pleased with how everyone did. They put in many days in the weight room and lots of trail running when it was hot out. They all did great. I’m hoping more kids come out next year and we can compete for team scores. We had a lot of laughs and made some great memories.”
