Raiders are ready to go. Photo by Zelia Frick.

 

Staff report

KERNERSVILLE — South Rowan’s girls were supposed to finish 12th —that’s last—  in the 2A cross country team state championships, but the Raiders came home ninth.

In a crazy season they started preparing for in June, the Raiders finally wrapped things up on a cold, windy day at Ivey Redmon Park.

Bethany Rymer led the Raiders as she did all season. She was 35th in 21:58.

Madison Beaver was one of the Raiders who posted a PR. She was 46th in 22:27.

Other scorers were Lindsey Beaver (71st, 24:36), Macy Miller (72nd, 24:45) and Audrey Weaver (73rd, 24:56).

That was a PR for Weaver.

Miller returned after a COVID situation forced her to miss the 2A Midwest Regional.

Blythe Elliot (77th, 25:16) and Mackenzie Chabala (85th, 26:04) also competed for South. They still had a basketball game to play when they finished.

It was a pretty amazing season for South, coached by Rebekah Frick Julian.

South finished a distant second to Carson in December’s Rowan County Championships, but the Raiders won the Central Carolina Conference and turned in a third-place regional finish to qualify for the state meet.

Rymer is a junior. The rest of South’s top seven are freshmen and sophomores.

South will be moving up to 3A next season.