Change is a common occurrence in high school athletics.
That will definitely be the theme this year for both the boys and girls cross country teams at Shady Spring High School.
While there will be a changing of the guard per se, sixth year head coach Eric Lawson is by no means lowering the expectations for his highly successful program.
“I am thankful to have had that core group for four years. They not only did a lot for our program and our school, but they did a lot for our community. That group also did a lot to inspire the youth that is coming,” Lawson said. “They will definitely be missed being out here as an athlete, but I also gained some people that can be a mentor for the younger group. They come back some and they are proud alumni. Just like I was for them, I am super excited for a new core that I hope will be with us for four years. They are really, really young, but they have a lot of promise and they are very talented.”
The girls lost a pair of excellent runners in Charlotte McGinnis, who is running for Concord University this year, and Braylie Wiseman who helped lead the Tigers to the Class AA Region 3 title for the first time since 2011.
On the plus side, Shady Spring has four solid returning runners and some up and coming talent that will make solid contributions this year.
Sophomore Gwynn McGinnis, Charlotte’s sister, along with juniors Journey Wisthoff and Abby Honaker all finished in the top-10 last year at regionals.
“Gwynn is looking really good right now and Abby is way ahead at this point compared to last year. (Junior) Journey Whistoff has transitioned into the leadership role this year. I have been really impressed with her fitness level and her maturity,” Lawson said. “She came to high school with a lot of promise, but hadn’t fully tapped into her potential. Now she has really grown up so much and taken control of the girls. Journey texted the girls over the summer and got them together to run. She has been uplifting and doing a good job of filling those shoes left by Charlotte.”
Abby Szuch is back for her junior season after battling a medical condition that kept her from running as freshman. Last year, still battling the effects, Szuch ran home 23rd at regionals.
Lawson is also expecting solid contributions from Bre Crouse and Audrey Justice.
“As soon as Bre is cleared to go from an accident she had in gymnastics, she is going to turn some heads,” Lawson said. “I have also been extremely impressed with Audrey who has been on the heels of the returners from that championship team. She has a great attitude.”
Some key losses and youth characterize the boys side, but the regional runner-up from last year has the talent to regain the top spot that it held two years ago.
“Once everything gets put together, we are going to be pretty tough. We are just so young that I am not sure who my top seven will be right now,” Lawson said. “It is so wide open, but that is a great thing. That inter-squad rivalry is great to have because they push each other to be their best self and push their teammates to be their best self also.”
Graduation claimed regional champion Jaedan Holstein, who is also running for Concord University, along with Garrett Hatcher and Eli Northrop. Hatcher and Northrop finished 11th and 12th respectively in the 2022 regional meet.
The top returning runner for Shady Spring is senior Jacob Dowdy who has been on somewhat of a roller-coaster ride over his high school career.
Sidelined due to an injury his freshman season, Dowdy was regional champion and finished second at the state meet as a sophomore.
Last year he was again limited for medical reasons, but Dowdy did finish sixth in the regional competition.
“We will proceed with caution just like we did last year. When he says he is good to go, he will be good to go,” Lawson said. “He just had a gigantic growth spurt, but once all that settles in, he will be good to go. Whoever decides to take a chance on him in college is going to hit the jackpot.”
Along with Dowdy, the Tigers will be bolstered by the return of junior Eli Jordan who did not run last year. Jordan placed 11th in the regional run as a freshman.
“We missed Eli and (older brother) Sam (Jordan) both a lot last year,” Lawson said. “Eli looks like he has never missed a beat and is just a natural. He has taken over the leadership role as well.”
Shady Spring had two freshmen make solid showings last year at regionals with both finishing in the top-25.
“I had two freshman run at the regional race, so they have some experience. Bo Huffman and David Northrop were both very successful in middle school,” Lawson said. “They are best friends and do a lot of stuff together. They are competitive and they work hard.
The over all development of the freshmen and sophomores will go a long way in determining just how successful the Tigers will be this season.
“Our 10th grade and 9th grade classes were very successful in middle school and they have a great package. (Shady Spring middle school head coach) Matt Huffman does a heck of a job with the middle school program,” Lawson said. “They are tight knit and hungry. They haven’t experienced the success at the high school level that the group that just left has, so they are extremely hungry to carry on the tradition.”
Freshman Logan Malott and Josh Smith are two additional runners that could have a solid year for Shady Spring.
“Josh has really impressed me in practice. He has never ran anything more than sprints in track and has only ran track for one year,” Lawson said. “Logan Malott broke (Jacob) Dowdy’s course record in the middle school race here (at Little Beaver State Park). We are not setting the bar that high just yet, but that is of note.”
Ethan Dowdy is Jacob’s younger brother and is also going through some of the same growing issues as his brother. Lawson feels like he will be on the course earlier than his older brother and could be a solid contributor as the year goes along.
Reid Radford was a top-10 finisher at the county meet each year in middle school and has been consistent in the early going according to his coach.
“(Assistant) coach (Elizabeth) Hegele’s son David is also running this year. He is running cross-country and playing soccer. He hasn’t ran (cross-country) since sixth grade, but he is going to be tough too.”
Shady Spring will open the 2023 season at the Dutch Miller XC Invitational which will take place at the YMCA Kennedy Center in Huntington. on Aug. 26.
“We are going to throw them to the wolves at the Dutch Miller race in Huntington,” Lawson said, smiling. “That is where we started last year, so we will see where we stand against schools from that part of the state.”