Regional Cross Country: Brody Lester from Westside wins AA Region 3 title

James Monroe wins the team titles, followed by Westside and Summers County

Clear Fork - The crowd at the Class AA Region 3 boys cross country meet definitely had a Renegade flavor Saturday morning.

It was for a good reason.

The majority of the crowd was there to cheer on local favorite Brody Lester.

The Westside sophomore did not disappoint.

Turning in a personal best effort, Lester out-dueled Summers County all-stater Dakota Pettry, who has been hampered by an injury, for the individual title.

Independence freshman standout Jeffrey Watson finished third, followed by Liberty senior Tristan Toler who will making his second straight state meet appearance.

Westside teammates Nicholas Shumate and Jaxson Walker were fifth and seventh respectively to help lead the Renegades to a runner-up finish in the team event.

James Monroe won the regional title with a strong team run by Hayden Broyles (6th), Dapry Broyles (8th), Sam St. Clair (10th), Skylar Broyles (11th) and Eli Broyles (12th).

The Bobcats also qualified as a team in third place.

Joining Pettry in the scoring runners were Gabriel Franklin (9), Canyon Persinger (19), Jace Richmond (21) and Noah Bragg (29).

Eli Newman from Liberty qualified, along with the Independence duo of Blaise Lambert and Jaxson Walls.

Kaleb Steele (Wyoming East) and Aidan Goforth (Bluefield) also secured individual berths.

While Lester was thrilled to win the individual title, his excitement was even higher when his team was announced as a state meet qualifier.

Lester credited head coach Kelly Laxton and his teammates as a big key to his success. He also talked about his regional win.