CEDAR BLUFF – Sand Rock junior Ben Dale and seventh grader Katelin Stiefel were the top runners Tuesday at the Cherokee County Cross Country Meet, hosted by Cedar Bluff.
Dale topped the boys’ results with a time of 19:27.15. Stiefel finished first on the girls’ side with a time of 23:27.33.
“Katelin is a hardworking and very determined runner. She has her eyes set on big accomplishments and her competitive spirit will help get her there,” Sand Rock cross country coach Mark Yoder said.
“Ben is actually one we stole from basketball. We talked him into running cross country to get in shape for basketball. This is his first year running and he comes out and he was able to win the county championship today with a pretty good time on a tough course.”
Yoder believes in strength in numbers. Eight out of the 13 boys and seven of the 21 girls who ran Tuesday were from Sand Rock.
“We’ve got quite a few (runners) and that always helps,” he said. “Anytime you have numbers you can bring competition. They battle each other quite a bit, and I think we’re peaking at the right time. We’ve been healthy all summer. These kids started running on their own when track season ended. They’ve put a lot of hours in it and have worked hard and now they’re starting to see some positive results out of it.”
Yoder is hoping this year’s county cross country run will grow in the future.
“There’s only three schools in the county who do it, and for the first time, all three schools have been able to get together and start a new tradition,” he said. “We’re excited about maybe being able to continue this type of thing. We hope the sport grows in the county.
“We’re fortunate Cedar Bluff has got some good people who own some land and they work with them well. It gives us a spot to build a run. There’s not a whole lot of courses you can get a true 3.1 mile distance out of it. We appreciate Cedar Bluff hosting it. They do a great job.”
Tuesday’s complete boys and girls results are listed below.
2021 Cherokee County Cross Country Meet
Boys Results
1. Ben Dale 19:27.15
2. Caleb Yoder 20:13.48
3. Austin Richardson 20:29.39
4. Ben Bruce 20:50.17
5. Jack Watson 21:05.60
6. Austin Yoder 21:36.90
7. Wesley Childers 21:50.38
8. Bryant Yoder 23:00.01
9. Austin Daniell 23:49.20
10. Cody Bias 24:30.57
11. Artie Duvall 25:06.83
12. Tracy Dark 26:10.03
13. James Vaughn 29:17.12
Girls Results
1. Katelin Stiefel 23:27.33
2. Abby King 24:42.49
3. Christy Alred 26:14.50
4. Ensley Callantine 26:14.97
5. Hayes Johnson 26:48.91
6. Samantha Carr 26:52.46
7. Raven Cail 26:58.84
8. Lacie Crane 27:26.97
9. Kiara Graham 27:46.35
10. Audrey Green 28:31.24
11. CeCe Davis 28:50.86
12. Hayden Cannon 30:00.81
13. Isabella Segura 30:04.48
14. Harlie Williams 31:20.79
15. Kelly Bre Clanton 32:15.09
16. DeAnna Pace 32:46.44
17. Caitlyn Sherrod 33:21.90
18, Skye Jordan 35:07.34
19. Addison Samples 35:51.50
20. Donice Dupree 36:49.49
DNF – Ryleigh Pearson
