Arwood leads Lebanon to victory

 Tabatha Arwood was worried about the weather Wednesday.

The Lebanon junior wanted the conditions to be equal for the Region D cross country meet at treacherous Sugar Hollow Park.

"When I woke up, I thought it was going to rain," Arwood said. "The hills here are tough enough, even when they aren’t slippery. So I didn’t want any rain."

After spending much of the school day checking the skies, Arwood took advantage of the postcard-perfect conditions to win the regional title in a time of 18:42.96. It was her personal best time by seven seconds.

"I’ll take that," Arwood said.

As expected, the girls race featured a battle between Arwood and Mariah Arnold of John Battle. Arnold captured the regional championship last year, while Arwood rained revenge last week in the Clinch Mountain District meet at Sugar Hollow.

Arwood started fast and finished with a flourish Wednesday

"I wanted to take the lead and hold it," Arwood said. "I was able to push it in the flat parts of the course. Arnold is a good runner. I’m used to her being close."

Arnold finished second in a time of 19:14.96. The two rivals actually took a training run together before the awards ceremony.

After finishing 12th in the Group A meet last season, Arwood said she has improved under the patient guidance of Lebanon mentors Travis Hooker and Bob Weatherly.

"We’ll all been working hard for this," Arwood said.

The Lebanon athletes often practice on the cozy streets of downtown Lebanon.

It was a breakthrough day for the Virginia High girls. The Clinch Mountain District champion Bearcats posted a team score of 64, winning the regional title by a margin of 19 points over Gate City.

VHS last won the region when current senior Megan Hilliard was a freshman. Hilliard recorded a sixth place finish Wednesday. Five-foot freshman Meta Grayson lifted the Bearcats with her third place performance despite battling a cold.

"I was freaking out because I was running a fever the day before," Grayson said. "There were some nerves before the race, but I feel pretty good about it now. Tabby is amazing. I just tried to keep her in my sight."

The unique cast for VHS coach Janet Quesenberry also includes sophomore Jessica Ritter and three freshman sprinters from the Bearcat track and field team.

"When we realized Meta’s potential we knew that we had a shot in the district and region," Quesenberry said.

Former VHS all-state distance runner Jack Quesenberry helped to inspire the ailing Grayson.

"Meta has been sick as a dog, but Jack told her that she could still run her best time," Coach Quesenberry said. "And that’s what she did.

Grayson’s time of 19:52.60 was her personal best by 45 seconds.

Lebanon junior Bradley Rasnake also recorded his best time of 16:17.32 en route to winning the boys race.

Rasnake said his teammate, sophomore Jon Ulrich, provided a major source of motivation. Ulrich won the CMD meet.

"I’ve had a lot of good competition, especially from Jon," Rasnake said. "I’ve been wanting to beat Jon all season. It felt pretty good to finally do it."

The strategy was basic for Rasnake.

"I didn’t have any plan. I just ran," he said.

Ulrich (16:33.92) and senior Jordan Smith led a top three sweep for the Pioneers. Lebanon earned a team score of 25, with John Battle (45) next in line.

Rasnake relied on his powerful upper body to pull away from Ulrich on the back part of the grinding course.

"We work the hills pretty hard in practice, so it pays off," said Rasnake, who did not compete on the team last year.

It was the first regional title for Lebanon since the Pioneers won the Region D crown in 2007 behind individual champion Jakob Maidens.

The Lebanon boys are currently ranked No. 1 among all Group A teams by milestat.com.

"Our top four boys all finished under 17 seconds – that’s huge," Hooker said.

The state cross county meet in all divisions will be held Nov. 13 in Warrenton, Va.

"I’ve been checking the times around the state, and we stack up pretty well," Hooker said.

Like Arwood, Hooker spent much of Wednesday monitoring the weather and worrying.

"I checked weather.com and accuweather all day," Hooker said. "It looked like the rain was coming in, but we couldn’t have asked for better weather."

Moments after the meet, a light rain began to fall. But Hooker and Arwood were already celebrating at that point.

agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544