Northside, Riverside, Southside and North Pitt competed in a friendly cross country meet hosted by Washington on Wednesday. All coaches were able to take away a bright spot from the meet.

Riverside placed four boy runners in the first 10 finishers. Certainly not to be outdone by the boys, the girls team placed six runners within the top-10 finishers. Both boys and girls finished 1st.

A bright spot for the Northside boys was Holden Newman finishing first overall in 19:42. He beat out over 40 male runners. Holden is coming back from a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire past track season. Brock Marsh and Austin Newman finished back-to-back within the top 10, placing eighth and ninth, respectively. According to their coaches, it was “right on schedule.” Henry Nimons, a second-year runner, registered a personal best and is looking ahead for better.

The Northside girls were led by Ashley Cullom running a reserved and steady pace. She was followed by teammates Sierra Johnson, Sarabeth Boyd and Emily Smith. All three girls also recorded personal bests.

Washington’s bright spots were girls runner Kennedy Landen, who finished first overall, running modestly in 24:34. In third place among all girls was teammate Micaela Anderson, making up a nice combo to be starting the season with. Chris Sulc, who ran a 20:47 time, finished sixth and was only a minute behind the overall winner.

Southside’s bright spot was Tyreece Johnson, a newcomer to cross country, coming into form. Johnston finished 11th in a strong 21:48 and his coaches are elated about his performance.