Bluefield senior Hank Marson and Liberty junior Jadon Acord were all smiles last Thursday afternoon at Little Beaver State Park.
The joy was well earned.
The two standout runners had just realized one of their biggest dreams by earning an individual qualifying berth to the state cross-country meet at Cabell Midland High School Saturday.
On the boys side Thursday, three teams, PikeView, Shady Spring and Nicholas County, qualified for the state meet.
To make the trip to Ona as an individual, runners had to finish in the top-10 overall. Naturally, the tough part for an individual racer is several of those spots get filled by runners from the three top teams.
Marson, Acord and Sawyer Dobbins from Clay County had what it took to get the job done.
The smile for Marson came just short of the finish line when knew his dream had come true.
“I was so happy just knowing all of that hard work I had put in had paid out,” Marson said. “I had to battle injuries this year, but I pushed through it. I am really happy to get to states.”
The injury for Marson came earlier in the year in a soccer match and definitely put his cross-country dream in jeopardy.
“I dislocated my knee and hyper-extended something in my knee cap,” Marson explained. “I had to take a week and a half off, but I am back. I am just happy I made it back.”
The Beaver’s top runner won the Oak Hill Invitational in early September and even then, regional success was on his mind.
“Hopefully this momentum will carry on to regionals,” Marson said after the win. “Last year I kind of folded at regionals, but this year I am ready to go to states.”
The momentum for Marson appeared to take a blow the night before the regional run. Again it was on the soccer field in the sectional semifinal for Bluefield.
Marson was seen limping and grabbing at his knee midway through the second half.
“I got kicked in the knee again and it didn’t feel too good,” Marson admitted. “I had to ice it (Wednesday) night so I could be ready for the race (Thursday).”
Marson was not about to miss his final regional run and the chance to make it to the big show.
“I felt pretty good,” Marson said about starting the race. “It was tweaked a little bit, but I put some Bio-Freeze on it during first period. That did the trick for me.”
A few years back, Acord joined the growing crowd of basketball players running cross-country to stay in shape for hoops season.
Like several others, Acord discovered cross-country was actually one of his best sport.
“I started running cross-country in sixth grade to stay in shape for basketball. I found out I might be better at cross-country than basketball,” Acord said, laughing. “My freshman year, the courses are a lot longer (than in middle school) and I surprised myself. That is when I started to see cross-country was one of my best sports, but I still love basketball.”
Ironically, Marson and Acord both finished tied for 15th at the regional run last year.
“It is great. It hasn’t really set in yet. I guess I am a little brain-dead from all the running,” Acord said after the regional meet Thursday. “It is something I set out to do from the start of the season. I have had my mind on it from the very first practice. It is kind of unreal to be out here and get it done.”
With many of the same runners in the field at the Shady Spring Invitational, Acord finished 14th on the same course earlier in the month. Thursday, the Raiders top runner was nearly a minute faster when it mattered most.
“This was one of my goals and really my only goal this year. I also wanted to break 19 (minutes) and I did that a little earlier (in the year). This was the main goal,” Acord said. “This is the seventh time running the course. We came up here once or twice during the week to get the course under our belt and log some mileage.”
Acord’s time Thursday was 18:50.4.
“I am stoked to be going to states,” Acord said. “It is something that is talked about during the season. It is kind of unreal to be going there and not just talking about it.”
The Class AA boys run at the state meet will start at 12:45 p.m.
