The cross-country season has come down to one race, but it’s the one that runners have been dreaming of all year.
Saturday morning and into the afternoon runners from all across the Mountain State will gather for the state cross country meet at Cabell Midland High School.
Class AAA girls will open the meet at 9 a.m. with the AAA boys run set for 9:45 a.m. Class A will follow with the girls going off at noon, followed by the boys at 12:45 p.m. The Class AA event starts at 3 p.m with the girls run and the boys hitting the course at 3:45 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson has been a frequent visitor to Ona on both the boys and girls side of the ledger. Both teams have a strong chance at a top-5 finish this year.
“The boys are on a roll and running very consistent. They are very hungry and dedicated,” Woodrow Wilson head coach George Barbera said. “The girls are too. They have been fighting off some injuries and some sickness that they are overcoming.”
The boys team dominated the Region 3 event beating second place George Washington by 55 points. All five runner placed in the top-10, led by Aiden Kneeland who won the race by over a minute.
“I am hoping we can get a couple of runners on the podium this weekend. There are going to be a lot of kids in the race that no one has raced before. We have raced some of the kids a couple of times, but you never know,” Barbera said. “Nerves get into play. You get a young man like Aiden who is motivated, and Brandon (Canaday) is too, you never what can happen.”
Kneeland has been dominant in his races this year and enters the state meet ranked as the third best runner in the state. Barbera feels the young sophomore has a shot to bring home the top honor.
“I was just talking with each one of them the other day to see if they needed anything and how they felt. His response was, I’m ready,” Barbera said.
The girls team accomplished its goal of returning to the state meet, but finished second to Greenbrier East at the regional meet.
“We earned another trip to the states and we have done that for the last eight years. When you dominate the region in a sport, you have a bullseye on your back from day one,” Barbera said. “Every once in awhile, somebody is going to get you, but that just wakes you up. It’s hard to win, but it’s harder to stay on top.
The Flying Eagles are projected seventh overall in the boys race and eighth in the girls competition.
“When we do look at the rankings we use them as motivation. We are going to go down there and do our thing. We are going to go after the teams that we can get this year,” Barbera said.
Class AAA individual qualifiers for the boys include Austin Bias from Oak Hill who will be making his fourth appearance in the state meet, along with Zachary Neal from Princeton.
Oak Hill’s Chrissa Mayfield will make her first-ever appearance when the girls race out. Mayfield will be joined by Haley Collins from Princeton.
PikeView won the Class AA Region 3 boys title by one-point over Shady Spring, followed by Nicholas County to round out the team qualifiers.
Jaedan Holstein from Shady was the regional champion and is the top-rated runner from Region 3, followed by PikeView’s Braden Ward and Matt Murphy. Shady Spring’s Jacob Dowdy finished second overall last year in Ona and will run Saturday after battling an injury this season.
The Tigers are picked to finish sixth, with PikeView right behind them and Nicholas in ninth.
Tommy Wikel from Wyoming East qualified as an individual and will make his first trip to the state meet.
Shady Spring won the AA Region 3 event this year in the girls division, followed by Nicholas County and PikeView. The Tigers are picked to finish sixth this year led by senior Charlotte McGinnis who is picked to finish 15th overall.
Nicholas County is projected in the eighth spot led by Natalie Barr who won the regional title for the second year in a row. Her teammate, Haley Johnson is also projected to finish inside the top-20.
Richwood finished second in the Class A Region 3 girls race won by Charleston Catholic. Baylee Jarrett is the top projected runner for the Lumberjacks at No. 22 after finishing fourth at regionals.
Katie Collins from James Monroe will compete as an individual, becoming first-ever girl from Lindside to make the state meet. Wyatt Lilly made the big race and will represent the Mavericks in the boys race.
Summers County will have two individual runners as well with Sarah Turner in the girls event and Dakota Pettry on the boys side.
The course at Cabell Midland is not an easy run with an early hill that usually separates the field. Barbera explained the strategy for his team and likely many of the runners Saturday.
“You have to get out well, but you have to recover quickly after the hill. There is a lot of kids that will get out the first 100-150 meters and then settle in before the hill,” Barbera said. “Once you top the hill, you have to recover fast. Then it is downhill with a lot of flats. Our plan is to get out quick, maintain and recover at the top.”