Orange’s first cross country meet of the season took place in Kernersville at the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival, featuring 26 teams and 225 runners in the girls’ event. It was a promising meet for the Panther underclassmen as freshman Sasha Godfrey had the best time among Orange runners at 21:31, finishing 28th overall. Sophomore Ava Heffernan came in 42nd with a time of 22:15. Senior Isabelle Hartmond crossed the finish line at 23:48, while freshman Abby Dease completed the course at 24:03. Junior Savannah Lester registered a time of 24:26.72. Sophomores Brenna Mehl and Katie Clark also completed the race, as did junior Grace Dively and freshman Ava Zinn and junior Kate Burgess.
The Orange girls finished 13th as a team with 347 points. Marvin Ridge captured the team championship with 47 points.
In the boys event, Orange’s Sam Rasinske finished 54th with a time of 18:25. Junior Kyle Van Tubbergh crossed the finish line at 18:31. Sophomore Wesley Morris came in 131st with a time of 19:34, while seniors Andrew Sollars completed the course in 19:38. Sophomore Bennett Fleming had a time of 19:48. Mitchell Askew, a wrestler during the winter, came in 167th at 19:55. Freshman Issac Wilson finished his first high school race with a time of 21:08.
The Orange boys finished 19th in the team standings.