Local prep teams gear up for regional cross country championships

The road to the state championship presents plenty of challenges each season for the Cabell Midland boys cross country team. Yet, time and again, the Knights find glory.

Midland, member of the ever-deep Mountain State Athletic Conference and Class AAA Region 4, enters today’s regional title meet as the No. 1 team in the state. After capturing the MSAC crown, Midland will contend with third-ranked Parkersburg, No. 4 Hurricane and 10th-ranked Parkersburg South.

Knights coach Chris Parsons said Midland readily accepts the difficult road, as the team seeks to extend its regional championship winning streak to 19 in a row.

“You want to keep that momentum going,” Parsons said. “Everybody seems to be running their best right now and we just need to get a little bit better in these last two weeks, sharpen everything up. The regionals, our No. 1 goal will be to qualify for state and if we happen to win, that’s great, but the biggest goal is to qualify and to do it healthy.” Each of Midland’s top five boys rank among the state’s top 20: senior Austin Jordan (fourth); senior Coy Smith (fifth); senior Jonathan Hathaway (11th); sophomore Brett Armbruster (19th); and freshman Jackson Gibson (20th).

Midland defeated Parkersburg for the MSAC title by a 27-point margin, while Hurricane placed third. Redskins freshman Russell Carroll ranks sixth in the state, yet placed 28th at the conference meet. If Carroll returns to his typical form, Parsons said he expects a bigger push from Hurricane.

The fourth-ranked Midland girls will battle Parkersburg (No. 3) and seventh-ranked Hurricane. The Knights edged Parkersburg by 12 points at the MSAC meet, while Hurricane fell to sixth without senior Anna Gordon, who shutdown her season with mononucleosis, and freshman standout Danielle Ray, held as a precaution because of her additional involvement with the girls soccer team.

A trio of sophomores pace the Knights, with Jessica Salmons (19th), Gretchen Mills (20th) and Anya Miller (21st).
“At the conference, they were all within two seconds of each other, so that was a good thing,” Parsons said.

Sophomore Olivia Collett, a returning All-State runner and currently third statewide, returns to lead Parkersburg, and she is complemented by freshmen teammates Madison Trippett and Ellie Dario, ranked fourth and ninth, respectively.

The girls race will begin at 5 p.m. at Huntington High School, with the boys to start at 5:45 p.m.

Class AAA Region 3Woodrow Wilson, the lone ranked team, looks the favorite to take both team championships, but George Washington expects to challenge for both individual titles.

Patriot sophomores Jacob Birurakis, currently second, and Olivia Ward, ranked eighth, represent two of the region’s top individuals.

“I’m hoping that Jacob and Olivia are able to pull that out for us and the rest of our team have strong finishes also,” GW coach Jenny Mayo said.

Birurakis faces a tall task in the state’s No. 1, Woodrow Wilson sophomore Chris Barbera, who edged Birurakis at the GW Invitational.

For Ward, the race figures to be less competitive, as the next highest-ranked runner is Woodrow’s Faith Tharp in 31st.

In addition to GW and Woodrow Wilson, St. Albans also figures to advance on the boys side. The Red Dragons, who bested GW at the MSAC meet, are led by seniors Josh Endres and Jeb Brady, ranked 14th and 25th, respectively.

Other top individuals include Woodrow’s Miles Kominsky, Capital senior Samuel Thomas and South Charleston senior Josh Greear.

Woodrow’s boys team enters ranked fifth, with the girls sixth.

The girls race will commence at 4 p.m. at Meadowood Park in Tornado, with the boys to follow at 4:45 p.m.

Class AA-A Region 3Charleston Catholic carries the talent to win the Class A girls state championship, but first must battle Class AA power, fourth-ranked Nicholas County.

“I think we’re a top three team — matter of fact, I know we’re a top three team,” Irish coach Scott Welch said.

This season, both Class AA and A teams will compete against one another at regional championships but vie for respective team state titles. At the state championship, both classes will run together, as they have in the past, but separate champions and runners-up will be crowned.

Both Nicholas County and Charleston Catholic figure to advance to the state meet, as well as Class A Richwood. With 13 teams expected to start the race, four squads will advance, as Herbert Hoover and PikeView will battle for the final spot, Welch said.
Senior Hannah Gacek, ranked 27th, will lead the Irish effort, and Welch said he will also look for a big contribution from surging sophomore Erin Hoyer.

Individually, Richwood senior Madison Frame, tied for third in the state, appears the favorite for the title, with sophomore teammate Caitlin Cowell the region’s next highest-ranked runner at 13th. Nicholas County boasts four top-45 girls, led by Luciana Martin (20th).

On the boys side, the Irish hopes of advancing aren’t as strong, but Welch said he remains optimistic. Eighth-ranked Nicholas County, Shady Spring, Richwood and Clay County figure to advance, with Charleston Catholic challenging should any team falter. For the individual title, Nicholas County senior Jackson Reed (third) represents the top athlete, as the lone regional runner among the state’s top 20.

The boys race begins 2:15 p.m. today at PikeView, with the girls to follow at 3 p.m.

Class AA-A Region 4Winfield will look to complete the total sweep in regional championships, in both team and individual titles.

The boys entered ranked second, with the girls team third statewide, the only ranked teams among their regional foes.
“We’ve progressed pretty well, had a good season up to this point,” boys coach Shawn Anderson said. “Everybody seems to be coming along pretty well.”

Generals sophomore Aaron Withrow currently sits atop the Class AA-A individual standings. Winfield’s Luke Lumadue, ranked eighth, and Ravenswood sophomore twin brothers Bryce and Blake Jarrell, ranked eighth and 16th respectively, represent Withrow’s top competition.

In the girls race, Winfield leads with a solid trio among the state’s best, with sophomore Savannah Hoff (seventh), junior Anna Lumadue (16th) and senior Alyssa Rittinger (21st).

Buffalo sophomore Madi Michels, ranked 11th statewide, also poses a challenge for the top spot.

In girls team standings, Buffalo and regional host Williamstown figure among favorites to advance, in addition to Winfield.

The girls will race first at 4:45 p.m. at Mineral Wells, with the boys to start at 5:15 p.m.

Regions with the following number of teams who begin the regional race will qualify the following number of teams:
       1-5 teams — 2 qualifiers
       6-9 teams — 3 qualifiers
      10 plus teams — 4 qualifiers

Each region will qualify 20 percent of the number of contestants that start the regional race to the state meet, inclusive of those individuals who qualified with a team. A minimum of 10 individuals will qualify from each region. Regular math rounding (.5 & up round up, below .5 round down) will apply.

Source: Charleston Gazette Mail