LUMBERTON — Scotland’s boys cross country team had five runners log top-10 finishes in a Sandhills Athletic Conference meet at Luther Britt Park on Tuesday evening.
That was more than enough to give Scotland’s boys a team victory in a field of opponents that consisted of host Purnell Swett, Richmond and one runner from Seventy-First.
The boys and girls all ran in the same 5K race. Jackson Sellers was the first Fighting Scot to cross the finish line, taking second place with a time of 18:54. He finished behind individual winner Kenny Locklear of Purnell Swett. Scotland’s Aaron Aycock (19:17) finished in third place, Cooper Sutherland (19:41) took fourth place, Keldon Clark (21:17) finished seventh and Grayson Smith (22:07) finished tenth.
Scotland’s Madison and Tabitha Williams registered third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the girls race. Confusion about the course’s layout caused many runners behind that group to take incorrect routes, and their times consequently suffered.
Purnell Swett’s Kylie Chavis won the girls race. Richmond took first place in the girls team standings.
Scotland coach Greg Wrape said the Scots used the race as a tempo run workout.
“The race kind of turned into a workout for us, so they were trying to hit a certain pace through the first two miles and then race hard the last one,” Wrape said. “I thought, by and large, our team did pretty well.”
Strength in numbers
Wrape said his team’s tendency to run in groups has helped the Scots improve.
“It’s easier to run with a partner, especially in a workout or tempo workout, than it is when you get out there by yourself,” Wrape said. “You see that partner, someone setting the pace, and you’re trying to stay with them. You’re sticking to them. I think it motivates them more to have someone to run with.”
Friday night lights
The Scots were coming off another race last Friday night at the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival. The Lady Scots finished in ninth place out of 24 teams in the invitational race in Kernersville, and the boys finished 13th out of 33 teams. Wrape said the race was a unique experience for his team, but he was happy with how the Scots handled it.
“When you go out (to Kernersville), there’s a lot of outside stuff going on,” Wrape said. “A ton of teams, a lot of distractions. I thought both the boys and girls did a good job of handling Kernersville on a short week.”
