Photos courtesy of Sarah Breeden, Grease Bucket Photography
Basically for the last decade, Woodrow Wilson has set the standard for cross country in Region 3.
Prior to this season, the Flying Eagle boys and girls had won seven regional titles apiece, along with two runner-up finishes.
All of that dedicated work has sent Woodrow Wilson to the state cross country meet at Cabell Midland High School for nine straight seasons.
However, extending that streak to 10 seemed to be very much in question back in August.
Both teams were hit hard by graduation and youth was the order of business for the Flying Eagles in a region that has been tougher and tougher each year.
Veteran head coach George Barbera understood the task at hand, but his confidence was still high.
“I love it when people don’t have a high expectation of our team,” Barbera said back in August. “There is no pressure on the kids and the success can be more rewarding.”
Last week at the regional meet, the results were clearly, very rewarding for Woodrow Wilson.
With a trip to the state meet on the line, the young Flying Eagles rose to the occasion to finish runner-up on both sides to once again punch their ticket to the big dance.
“We were extremely ecstatic and really pleased with their performances. Emotions were very high during the race and immediately after,” Barbera said. “We had some really good training sessions leading up to that race. We knew what the kids could do. It was whether they wanted to and would they actually dig deep. It was a great day.”
Woodrow Wilson entered the regional event with only two runners on each side which had competed in the 2023 regional run, but Barbera had seen strong progress of his young team all season.
“For a young team, only freshmen and sophomores on the boys side, they are laser focused. The peer leadership is excellent. They lead by example whether it be workouts or easy runs. Every practice was like a collegiate practice. You tell them what you want them to do and they executed,” Barbera explained. “We love this group of kids on both sides. They just take to task and there is never an issue. We just sit back and watch them in awe as to how focused they are.”
Kyle Peters and Vance Lindley were the only two experienced runners on the boys side. Sophomore Leah White and junior Skyler Wren were the returners on the girls side.
The remaining boys team was freshmen Drew Breeden, Ethan Houck, Alex Mullins and Tyler Cook, along with sophomore Chayse Dominick.
Juniors Ava Thomas, Maya Panta and Morgan Booth were joined by freshman Sofi White and Taylor Murdock on the girls side.
Peters and Lindley once again ran strong races Thursday, finishing third and fourth, respectively. They were followed by Breeden (9), Houck (25) and Mullins (28) who made up the five-person team score.
Breeden broke the 18 minute mark for the first time all season, while Peters and Lindley were roughly a minute faster than their freshman run a year ago.
George Washington entered the boys race as the defending regional champion and a favorite to repeat, but the Flying Eagles gave the Patriots all they wanted missing the title by a mere five points.
“That was a big race for Drew. Ethan was our No. 4 guy and he had just gotten over being sick. He really struggled that last mile, but he gutted it out and didn’t stop. There were two more kids right behind them,” Barbera said. “Alex Mullins stepped up and passed two people in the last mile and we ended up finishing three points ahead of Greenbrier East, so that made a difference. Chase was right behind him pushing as well. Tyler had a foot injury most of the season and he really stepped up and ran a great race. We are proud of all of them.”
Greenbrier East was a heavy favorite on the girls side, but the remaining positions were expected to be a battle with St. Albans and George Washington.
Leah White paced the Woodrow girls with a ninth-place finish along with Thomas (12) and Wren (14). Sophi White raced home 16th overall and Murdock was just outside the top-20 in 21st-place.
Wren and White were big movers for the Flying Eagles slashing nearly 90 seconds off of their 2023 times.
“The biggest jump that day was Ava Thomas. She hadn’t had the best first half of the season. She has a reoccurring hip injury,” Barbera said. “She just got it in her head that she wanted to get in the top-20. Taylor really stepped. We knew if we could keep Sophi healthy without racing her and just training her off and on, that she would finish up in our top three or four. Then we just had to inspire a couple of others.”
The success for Woodrow Wilson came without racing the final couple of weeks of the regular season.
“We decided to not race anymore after the Greenbrier East meet We skipped a couple of races. We cut back and worked to build confidence. The track workouts we did, did exactly that,” Barbera said. “It just kept growing. I knew what they could do on paper. I had a couple of parents come to me afterwards and tell me their kid just really wanted to perform well for the team today. That is what they did. It is exactly what you want.”
The Flying Eagles will race in the state Meet Saturday afternoon in Ona and once again will be looking to surprise the doubters.
“We obviously want our kids to experience the state meet,” Barbera said. “We have several freshman that will experience a state championship. Many kids go through high school and never get to. They will learn just how serious everyone else takes the sport. Hopefully we can get right in there and emulate that.”
“We continue to exceed these so-called predictions. We use it as fuel. We expect that, but we will continue to surprise people. We will continue to have (personal records). Last week I think half of our team got PR’s on one of the toughest courses in the state. Who knows what will happen. I feel like we are ready.”
