“[Earlier in the season] I was throwing discus close to 170 [feet], and then my biceps tore, and I just couldn’t get my numbers back up,” Foerster said. “I was trying to throw through it, but honestly I struggled in that.”

Foerster threw shot put Friday. Although that event put less strain on his biceps, he still went in with a mix of confidence and nerves.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “But I took an energy drink and got mentally prepared. I’ll be back next year, and there won’t be no runner-ups.”

The Tuscarora boys finished with 37 points, trailing Atlee (62) and Phoebus (44). After hovering near the top of the standings, Woodgrove finished fourth with 34 points.

Wolverines sophomore Connor Salmin came in first and tied the meet record of 10.44 seconds in the 100 meters but hurt his hamstring at the end of the race. That prevented him from competing in the 4×100 relay, but he stepped back onto the track to jog through the 200 meters and end the day on a note of perseverance.

“He just wanted to prove to himself that he could actually finish the meet,” Woodgrove Coach Kent Staneart said. “The guys really rallied around each other. … I went to [senior distance runner Prescott Noll], and I said, ‘Do what you can.’ And he said: ‘You know what? I think I can do this today.’ ”

Noll went on to win the 800 (1:55) to get the Wolverines back on the scoreboard.

In the Class 4 girls’ competition, Tuscarora relied on senior Alysa Carrigan’s master class in the jumping events to earn a fourth-place finish with 48 points, trailing Blacksburg (74), Atlee (73.5) and Manor (52).

Carrigan won the triple jump by two full inches, finishing at 38-9¼ before putting up an even more dominant performance in the high jump, winning with a height of 5-8½ — more than four inches higher than the runner-up.

That set a meet record, breaking Carrigan’s mark from last spring by a quarter of an inch. She finishes her Tuscarora career with four straight first-place finishes in the high jump.

Carrigan also came in second in the long jump at 18-8½.

In the Class 3 meet, the Meridian boys and the Brentsville District girls showed flashes of brilliance. Mustangs senior Joseph Ziayee finished second in the 800 in 1:54.86, while sophomore Kayla Smith won the 100 (11.91) and the 200 (24.58) for the Tigers.