It wasn’t that long ago that the Westside boys cross country program fielded a full team when the regional meet rolled around.
The last time that happened was 2019 and the Renegades sent two runners, Logan Vance and Kody Blackburn, to the state meet in Ona.
Then the Covid pandemic occurred, causing the program to take a jolt and numbers to plummet.
However, the fortunes are now changing in Clear Fork under the guidance of second-year head coach Kelly Laxton who has the program on the rebound.
For the first time in five years, the Renegade boys will head to the Class AA Region 3 meet Thursday at Little Beaver State Park with a full contingent of scoring runners.
“It has been a while since we had a full running team,” Laxton said. “I think the middle school programs have contributed to it greatly. It really helps finding one or two that have an absolute love for the sport and can pull some others in that don’t think they can do it. They try it and see it is a great sport with awesome sportsmanship.”
One of those runners with an elevated love of the sport is Brody Lester. After burning up the middle school circuit, Lester is now making noise at the high school level in his freshman campaign.
“I remember when Brody first started. He has transitioned well to the high school level due to the fact that he trains a lot,” Laxton said. “He trains all year round. Brody does AAU and Club running. He has a lot friends that are in all the different schools that he meets up with and runs with as well.”
Heading into the regional run, Lester in ranked 28th in the state and has a legitimate chance to make the state meet as an individual qualifier in his first varsity season.
“I know he likes to go to these really big meets where he sees hundreds of runners,” Laxton said. “He wants to be in those top runners and he is hungry to get better. He enjoys running in the different states as well.”
Lester already has a win under is belt, running first at the Liberty Invitational and he also finished second at the Princeton Invitational.
Joining Lester on the team this year is Jaxson Walker, Nicholas Shumate, Adam “A.J.” Toler and Brayden Vance.
“Jaxson came over from Wyoming East and is really moving up,” Laxton said. “He has been sick the last couple of weeks, but he is an awesome runner.”
For Vance, running is somewhat of a family thing being the younger brother of Logan. There is another brother on the horizon, Jackson, who is currently running for Oceana Middle School.
“Nicholas and A.J. have drastically improved,” Laxton said. “As a team this group has great comradery and they have really improved.”
Laxton also hopes to turn around the girls program which currently has just one runner. The good news on that side is help is on the way soon.
“Madeline Walker is a sophomore that started in middle school and she is our only girl right now,” Laxton said. “Next year I will have mine running and we have two running at Oceana. We invite everybody.”
While qualifying for the state meet as a team this year is going to be a tall task with Shady Spring, Nicholas County and PikeView fielding strong teams, the future does look bright for the Renegades.
“Cross country is not an easy sport, but we do not have any seniors,” Laxton said. “The success we have had so far is really good for the program and hopefully helps to get other runners involved.”
The format this year to qualify for the state meet has changed slightly. The top three teams from each region will qualify, while the top five individuals exclusive of the top three teams will also qualify.
The AA girls race Thursday will start at 1 p.m. with the AA boys running at 1:45. The state meet will be contested at Cabell Midland High School Nov. 2.
