Top-ranked Cabell Midland goes for its sixth state cross country boys team championship Saturday on its home course.

Cabell Midland's boys won the Class AAA title in 2004, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1996.
The Knights are the Region IV champion and are No. 1 in the RunWV.com power rankings.
State qualifiers for the Knights include seniors Trey Beckett, Corey Miller and Dustin Stewart;juniors Collin Meadows, Michael Niemann and Nolan Queen; and sophomore Ryan Smith.

Beckett, who placed eighth last year, is ranked 11th. Cory Hampshire from Region II winner Jefferson is the top-ranked boys runner. Winfield's boys are No. 4 in the AAA power rankings. The Generals placed fourth last year in Class AA-A.

Matt Burton, a Winfield senior, is ranked 18th in the state. Other Generals running are senior Caleb Childers; juniors Alexander Hill and Elliot Wolfe; sophomores Cam Jividen and Patrick Jividen; and freshman Joseph Kirtner. Hurricane is No. 1 and Cabell Midland No. 6 in the Class AAA girls team rankings. The Hurricane Redskins won the Region IV crown.

Cabell Midland boys and Hurricane girls high school cross country teams continue to be in a league of their own, capturing Class AAA, Region IV Championships at Teays Valley Park Thursday to lock a spot in the the state tournament. The Knights scored 29 first place points in the boys division, followed by Winfield at 54 and Parkersburg South at 119.

Hurricane's girls sped past the field with a winning total of 30 points. Cabell Midland girls had another solid performance with a second place total of 56 and Parkersburg South finished third with 84. The top three teams and the top 10 individuals in the girls and boys divisions qualify for the Nov. 1 cross country state championship at Cabell Midland.

Matt Burton led Winfield boys to the second place finish by capturing the individual regional title with a time of 17:35.68. Coming to the finish he was bunched up with a pair of Cabell Midland runners, but he out-sprinted them to the finish line.

"It was a tough race all the way through and the front group of runners stuck together through the entire race," Burton said. "I wasn't wasn't expecting to win and this is really a big surprise."

The 2008 Mountain State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship meet went according to form Wednesday afternoon at Cabell Midland High School.
 
Hurricane's girls, ranked No. 1 in the RunWV power rankings, had the top two finishers in Alex Dent and Josie Crouch and won the championship with 26 points. The Redskins had five runners place ninth or better, and Dent's time (19:30) was an MSAC record. Runner-up was 2007 champion Cabell Midland with 64.
 
"You hear the time, but don't pay attention to it," Dent said. "You want to go across first. I'm proud of my time. I always try my hardest. I'm real proud of what everybody did."
 
Cabell Midland's boys added another title to their collection. Trey Beckett took second overall (17:19) as the Knights wound up with 28 points. They also had their top five finish ninth or better. St. Albans was second with 72.
 
"The big thing is how closely they came across," Cabell Midland coach Chris Parsons said of his top runners. "Power of the pack. That's our strength."

Rachel Williams placed third and led the Cabell Midland girls to victory Saturday in the Piketon Invitational cross country meet.
 
Williams ran the 5K course in a time of 19 minutes, 51 seconds. Brittany Taft for the Knights was fourth with a time of 19:59.
 
Peyton Adkins from Gallipolis was the winner with a meet record time of 18:20.
 
Cabell Midland led the 16-school field with 40 points. Runner-up Gallipolis had 86 followed by Zane Trace 112, Unioto 139 and Logan Elm 147. Fairland was sixth with 183.
 
Fairland's lead runner was Kira Dillon in 12th place with a time of 20:45.
 
Unioto won the boys meet with 42 points. Cabell Midland was second with 53 followed by Wheelersburg 136 and Fairland 151. Ironton was eighth with 267.
 
Adrian Ross for Unioto won with a time of 16:10. Runner-up Trey Beckett from Cabell Midland had a time of 16:39.
 
Fairland runners Tanner Mattie was fifth in 16:50 and Michael Niemann for Cabell Midland took sixth place in 16:52.
 
Cabell Midland coach Chris Parsons was missing one of its top runners, Dustin Stewart, who had a conflict with soccer.

Source: The Herald Dispatch

A combination of a fast course and pristine weather conditions resulted in some impressive performances at the Piketon Invitational Saturday. Over 38 schools total attended the invite, which boasts a course with a reputation of being one of the fastest in Southern Ohio.
 
In the boys varsity race Unioto had four runners in the top ten out of a 163-field helping them claim a first place finish of 42 points. The Shermans defeated W. Va. powerhouse Cabell Midland, defending state champions, who finished second with 53 points.
 
"We did awesome. Our boys did great today," said Unioto coach Matt Paxton.
 
Unioto freshman Adrian Ross won the meet with a time of 16:10 - 26 seconds faster than his previous personal best. Midland's Trey Beckett finished second in 16:39, followed by Unioto's Ryan Valentine in 16:41. Rounding out the Shermans top five were Mark Flury, finishing seventh with a time of 16:54, Corey Martin, 10th with a 17:12, and Sammy Holbert finished 26th in 17:43.
 
Wheelersburg finished third with 136 points, Zane Trace placed fifth with 156 points, and Piketon finished sixth with 203 points, followed by Paint Valley with 231 points out of the 22-team field.
 
The Pioneers were led by Matt Boedeker, finishing ninth with a time of 16:54. Matt and his teammates Marc Boedeker, Josh Joosse (17:36), and Eric Shiflett (19:18) all finished with personal bests.