You can go ahead and call Wyoming County a hot bed for cross country.
Wait, what?
OK, that may be a stretch in a county where basketball is both king and queen, but head coach Randall McKinney definitely has the cross country programs on the rise.
“We are working on it. We are on our way, and we are trying to build something here,” McKinney said. “With the young kids we have coming up and the kids we have now, we are going to be alright in the years to come.”
Now in his eighth season, the cross country program was a far cry from what it is today at Wyoming East High School when McKinney took the helm.
“I think Wyoming East had like two kids on the boys’ team and maybe one on the girls’ team when I started,” McKinney said. “My son had some buddies, and they came along. They were doing cross country and basketball. My nephew came along, and I had him in middle school. He was a good runner and it started building.”
Also a coach on the Warriors basketball team, McKinney saw that not every kid was cut out for basketball and football at the high school level.
“I am normally basketball first, but I saw there were some kids that didn’t fit into that mold.” McKinney said. “There were kids that might never excel in basketball or football. My son was ninth grader at the time, and I thought I would give coaching cross country a try. I did a lot of research and I like it. I really like it.”
Not only did McKinney like the sport, but he also helped turn the program into a regional contender. Prior to 2020 when the Warriors season was ended a month before regionals by a COVID shutdown, the Wyoming East boys’ team had been a state meet participant each of the previous four seasons.
A driving force for East at the regional meet the last two season has been senior Jacob Ellison. When Ellison started running cross country, it was for a very Wyoming County purpose.
“When I was freshman Dylan Blake and Dalton Repass talked me into running. I just wanted to get in shape for basketball and it has helped me a lot. It really gets my stamina up and I really like the sport.”
As a freshman and a sophomore, Ellison finished inside the top-10 both years at the regional meet. Now as a senior the goal is clear.
“I was pretty upset about the season being ended last year. I really wanted to go back to states,” Ellison said. “I really want to get back again this year. I have been practicing hard and running every day. I think I can make it.”
Ellison is off to a strong start with solid performances at the Woodrow Wilson Chick-fil-A Invitational and the St. Mary’s Medical Center Cross Country Festival sponsored by Cabell Midland High School this past Saturday.
At the St. Mary’s event, Ellison crossed the line with a time of 18:32.35, his first race finishing under 19 minutes.
“Those are strong fields, and you may see times as good as the state meet. Those meets let you know if you are on the right track or if you need to re-evaluate,” McKinney said.
While a return trip to the state meet may be a strong possibility for Ellison, returning as a five-man team will be a much more daunting task for the Warriors. Cody Whitt has been a strong second runner for East, but East will need some youth to come up big at regionals.
“I only have five runners for the boys this year, so it going to be a little tough, especially where the young ones are still working,” McKinney said.
The girls’ team has not made it to the state meet during McKinney’s time at Wyoming East. However, with seven solid runners on the team, McKinney hopes that will change this year.
“The girls might have made it last year, but COVID ended that hope. Colleen Lookabill was at the state meet the last time we went as a freshman,” McKinney said. “We think she can make it back this year and I am hoping to get the girls team to slide in with her.”
In a field loaded with Class AAA schools, Lookabill finished 19th at the Chick-fil-A Invitational.
“They girls were pretty solid at the Chick-fil-A event, but they will probably all need to drop a couple of minutes as the year goes on,” McKinney said.
One advantage for Wyoming East is it has a perfect cross country training ground at Twin Falls State Park.
“I try to put them in what I call the uncomfortable zone. Get them there and then try to make it comfortable. That is the difference in the top-10 versus like the 10-20 finishers,” McKinney said. “Running here at Twin Falls is great. The kids love it, and the parents love it. We start in the field and come right over to the Still Run Ridge Trail. The kids love running the trails.”
The future continues to look bright for East cross country, especially with the kids coming from Pineville. The Minutemen finished third overall in the middle school portion of the Chick-fil-A run with four runners placing inside the top-25.
“The middle school kids are starting to do well. It is more that the kids are pulling their buddies in. I have noticed there are three or four really talented ones, all eighth graders. I am hoping they don’t go the football route,” McKinney said.
Wyoming East will run next at the Golden Bear Classic Friday, Sept. 10 in Beckley. The event is sponsored by the WVU Tech Cross Country team.
