LEXINGTON –Admittedly, Braidyn Reffitt wasn’t in the best of health when he ran for Richmond Oct. 10 at the Battle of Lexington XC Invitational.

“I got sick on Thursday, Wednesday-ish – and it’s just been pretty consistent,” Reffitt said.

The sophomore fought through his illness to pace the Richmond varsity boys at the annual cross country competition. By finishing the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) varsity boys race in 21 minutes, 8.88 seconds, he placed 71st among 159 total finishers.

“I think I did pretty well for having a sore throat and having some breathing issues,” Reffitt said.

First-year Richmond coach August Hoeper, who praised Reffitt for his toughness, pointed out that it wasn’t the first time for Reffitt to run this season while fighting illness. Reffitt was ailing when the Spartans ran a few weeks earlier at a competition in Odessa, Hoeper recalled.

“He pushed through that pretty well,” Hoeper said. Reffitt was among three Richmond varsity boys to place in the top 100. Weston Allen an…