Gallery by Karen Akers
Shady Spring High School cross country coach Eric Lawson could not hide the excitement about his boys team at the beginning of the season.
Saturday at the Shady Spring Invitational Cross Country Meet on the grounds at Little Beaver State Park, it was easy to see why.
Led by five runners that finished in the top-10, Shady Spring dominated the boys race by 23 points over second place Nicholas County.
“Five guys inside the top-10 is pretty impressive. We also had one guy who just got out of quarantine and hasn’t been able to practice for over a week-and-a half now. We may have been able to put six in there,” Lawson said. “I am super excited. I think we are tied for fifth in the state now. We are moving our way up and working hard every single day in practice.”
The individual title on the boy’s side went to Shady’s sophomore sensation, Jacob Dowdy. After having his freshman season cut short due to an injury, Dowdy has been on a mission this year.
“Dowdy is such a hard worker. I am pretty sure he has run every single day since Thanksgiving last year after his season was shortened,” Lawson said. “He is a free-flowing runner, and his motions are so natural. He looks like he is floating and effortless.”
Part of Dowdy’s mission this year was to set the course record on his home turf Saturday.
The course record at Little Beaver State Park was set in 2011 by Richwood standout, Andrew Shaffer, who went on to win the Class AA/A individual title that year.
Dowdy not only beat the old mark of 16:55, but he also shattered it.
“We talked about it coming into the race. From the jump, Dowdy was on a mission,” Lawson said. “He smashed the record by almost 30 seconds. That is crazy. It just speaks to how hard that kid works.”
While Dowdy was making mincemeat out of the course record, his teammates were tearing up the course behind him.
Jaeden Holstein finished second, followed by Sam Jordan in fourth, Eli Northrop finished seventh and Eli Jordan was 10th. All five Tigers finished the course in under 20 minutes.
Garrett Hatcher also ran well for Shady, finishing 12th.
“I felt kinda slow coming off at first because it was a little cold outside, but once my body warmed up to it, I felt better,” Holstein said. “This race is going to be a big team booster and sends a message to everyone else in the region.”
“Sam wasn’t too far behind Jaeden today. He has really picked it up this year. I couldn’t be prouder of that kid,” Lawson said. “Eli Northrup was our four today. Tomorrow it might be Eli Jordan. It might be Zane Carothers or Daniel Smith; I really don’t know. My whole boys team at any point could surprise somebody.”
Nicholas County was led by Alex Irvin who finished third. Wesley Holcomb crossed the line in eighth position, followed closely by Johnny Walkup in ninth. Jordan Donaldson and Noah Miner were 15th and 16th respectively.
“The course was great and the weather was beautiful. I think Alex cut about one minute off his time from when he ran this event last year,” Nicholas County head coach Dave Irvin said. “Alex was very competitive with Jaedan today. That healthy competition is always good for them. I had a couple of boys coming off quarantine, but the boys that could run were really strong today as a team. We had three runners that were out.”
Oak Hill finished third on the boys side led by another strong performance from Austin Bias who finished fifth on the day. Chase Crosier was the second Red Devil to cross the line in 11th position and Caleb Carver was 14th.
Jacob Ellison from Wyoming East finished sixth to round out the top-10.
The reminder of the top-20 boys finishers was Matthew Stutts from James Monroe in 13th and Phillip Fox from Westside was 17th. Greenbrier East runners David Anderson and Aiden Beebe followed Fox in 18th and 19th position. Isaiah Miner from Nicholas was 20th.
The girls side had some minor surprises starting with the individual title where Nicholas County freshman Haley Johnson outdueled Shady Spring standout Charlotte McGinnis for the crown.
“It was a pretty easy course because it was fairly flat,” Johnson said. “I was probably close to 10th in the beginning and I never thought I would catch (Charlotte), but I ended up catching her. I didn’t really have any expectations, but I am kinda surprised that I won.”
While the win may have surprised Johnson, the same could not be said for her coach.
“Haley is humble. I am not surprised that she won today. When she came around the first turn in the field she was maybe 30 or 40 yards out of the lead. I told her she needed to cut that lead in half coming up the hill,” Irvin explained. “I wanted her to make the rest of it up when they got near the cemetery. She did and they were neck-and-neck coming out of there before Haley was able to build a lead.”
“Haley has had some nagging injuries, but she was completely healthy today. She had no tape on her today which is a miracle. She is such a good kid.”
McGinnis still had a solid finish even though she was not at the top of her game.
“It was rough today. This is my new home course, so I have been here a lot. I just didn’t run the best that I could today,” McGinnis said. “I was off for some reason. The weather has changed so fast. It was hot last week and then it changed drastically. It was colder today, and my throat was burning. I probably should have prepared a little better, but it wasn’t a bad finish.”
Greenbrier East won the girls event powered by four top-10 finishers.
Abigail Londeree, Abby Dixon and Emma Toler finished third, fourth and fifth respectively, while Emma Kesterson was seventh overall. Lillie Shineberry also finished inside the top-20 in 19th place.
Shady Spring came in second with Abbigail Houck finishing ninth, followed by Journey Whistoff in 10th place. Ryen Keffer was 13th and Lindey Sweeney finished 20th.
“We have been battling some health issues, but my girls show up every day with the best attitude. They work hard and they are hungry too,” Lawson said. “We felt like some things didn’t go our way last year and if they had fell a different way, we would have had a much better outcome. They want what they feel like was theirs last year.”
Wyoming East placed three runners inside the top-20 led by Colleen Lookabill in eighth place, Sara Harris was 11th and Amy Vest finished 18th.
“Colleen and Jacob looked good today. Sara looked good as well,” Wyoming East head coach Randall McKinney said. “Shady was tough today, especially in boys and Nicholas was on the girls side. We still have a little way to go as a team, but it is looking good for those three to possibly qualify for the state meet.”
Jordyn Floyd from Oak Hill finished sixth overall, while Tianna Duncan was 14th and Olivia Honaker 15th for the Red Devils.
Kathleen Walkup (12) and Catherine Jerosz (16) joined Johnson inside the top-20 for the Grizzlies.
“For Haley to come out here and win this like she did is a huge accomplishment. Kathleen Walkup looked good today,” Irvin said. “We get Natalie Barr back next week who I feel might be top-10 in the state at the end of the year. So, we are hoping to be very competitive as the year goes on.”
Chloe Honaker from Independence rounded out the top-20 in 17th place.
Eastern Greenbrier won the middle school girls division, followed by Park and Shady Spring. The top five finishers were Devin Haynes (EG), Bria Donatelli (P), Bre Crouse (SS), Gwynn McGinnis (P) and Arabella Holley (Oak Hill).
Shady Spring won the boys middle school race with Pineville taking second, while Park was third. Logan Malott from Shady was first followed by Roman Gevenosky (SS), Brady Whitehead (P), Bo Huffman (SS) and Isaiah Conley (Oak Hill) in the top-five.
