TABOR CITY – East Bladen senior A. J. Smith who won all 5 of his Three Rivers Conference races this season has been named the league’s Boys Runner of the Year. Brian McCleney was named Three Rivers Girls Coach of the Year after his girls won the team title in all 4 of their league meets.
Smith who set a school record on November 20th with a time of 18:04, finished 9th in the MidEast Regionals and qualified for the Class 2A State Championships.
Coach McCleney’s Lady Knights had 6 different girls record Top Ten finishes in meets. West Bladen also qualified for the MidEast Regionals.
Other Bladen runners receiving All-Conference honors included East Bladen’s Cate DeVane and West Bladen’s Keegan Haraldson, Lainey Autry, Kaden Thurman and Tinyauh Rhoda.
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DeVane won 3 of her 5 Three Rivers races and posted a personal best of 25:24 on December 2nd. She finished 2nd and 4th in her other 2 league meets and placed 10th at the MidEast Regionals to advance to the Class 2A State Championships.
Haraldson won his first 2 races for West Bladen then posted a 4th place finish. He qualified for the MidEast Regionals but missed them due to an injury.
Autry, a sophomore, led the Lady Knights to their 4 team victories by finishing 4th, 3rd, 3rd and 2nd in her 4 Three Rivers races. Her best time was 25:45.
Thurman, another sophomore, finished in the Top Ten in all of her races with a pair of 5th place finishes and a 6th place. Her best time was 27:42. Rhoda’s top finish was a 4th place, and she also recorded a pair of 7th place finishes. Her best time was 28:44.
West Bladen’s Azillyah McDonald, Violet Allen, Olivia Allen and Bradley Taylor all received All-Conference Honorable Mention. McDonald had two 7th place finishes and a 10th place finish. Violet Allen placed 8th twice and finished 3rd in her final TRC race. Olivia Allen had a pair of 9th place finishes and a 4th place.
Taylor had a 4th place finish on December 4th and placed 10th on December 9th.
St. Pauls’ Jakieya Thompson was the Girls Runner of the Year, and Red Springs’ Glenn Patterson was the Boys Coach of the Year.
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