A torrential downpour and a tough course didn’t faze the Mathews High School cross country teams, as both the boys’ and girls’ squads cruised to victory last Thursday in the Region A championships at Williamsburg’s Eastern State Hospital.

Jamie van Emmerik led the Blue Devil boys, placing third overall in 17:29. Russell Reed came in fourth with a time of 17:43 to lead a pack of Blue Devils who all delivered career performances.

Chris Barnhardt (fifth, 17:47), Kyle Slaughter (sixth, 17:50) and John Miles (seventh, 17:53) all ran personal bests to wrap up the scoring early for Mathews, which took five of the top seven places.

Seth Diggs ran a personal best 18:44 to place 12th and Paul Crook placed 13th in 18:51 to join the rest of his teammates on the All-Region team. The win may have looked easy to spectators, but coach Drew Greve knows firsthand the effort his team made both in competition and in practice.

"These runners have tremendous character,...