There is no hiding the fact that cross-country is not an easy sport.
While the punishment for mistakes in many sports is running, harriers across the state scurry across the fields and through the woods for fun and competition.
Wyoming East head cross-country coach Randall McKinney is looking for another young man and a couple of young ladies to come and join the fun this season.
“Cross country is a hard sell. Come on up here and I am going to let you run six miles and then I will fuss at you some,” McKinney said, playfully.
Needing five runners to compete as a team, the Warriors are one athlete shy on the boys side and two on the girls team.
‘If I had a full team, we would have a shot at the regional title. The ones I have are pretty solid,” McKinney said.
While East waits to see if other runners will join the team, they will be competing on an individual basis.
The top runner for the Warriors heading into the 2023 season is junior Tommy Wikel.
Prior to last season, Wikel had never ran cross-country, only playing basketball and baseball. Now he wonders why he didn’t start sooner.
“He wants to be good and that is the key,” McKinney said. “He wanted to be good in basketball and baseball, but he found it in cross-country. This is his sport.”
In his first trip to the postseason, Wikel finished ninth at the regional meet, sending him to the state meet at Cabell Midland High School.
“I kind of just came out of nowhere. I have never ran this sport before and somehow made it to the state meet,” Wikel said. “It was really something I felt like I could do. Cross-country kind of just came to me naturally. It is mainly a mindset for me. Running is just the ability to keep pushing yourself to go. Maybe I should have ran before, but I never even thought about it until coach said something.”
Folks around the state are taking notice as well. In the preseason rankings on runwv.com, Wikel was 20th in Class AA.
“At 20 you have chance to get on the podium at the state meet. He got better every race last year,” McKinney said. He was ninth last year at regionals and that was a tough field with really good runners.”
McKinney talked about what has made Wikel an instant success.
“His frame is perfect. He is not carrying much weight and if you watch him run, he strides out,” McKinney said. “He is the total package really. He is getting older and stronger, but he is not putting on the weight.”
Wikel finished 43rd at his first state meet, which was very respectful, but not quite up to his expectations.
“I think I could have done a lot better. The course up there is not my favorite, but that is not an excuse. You just have to keep going,” Wikel said. “It definitely has motivated me for this year. It makes me want to run more and get more reps in so I can run faster and better than last year.”
Wikel even used Mother Nature for motivation during his summer workouts.
“Some days I would just go out and run five miles just out of nowhere, even in the rain. We had a tornado watch one day and I was out running. It definitely made me want to get home sooner,” Wikel said, smiling.
Sophomore Brayden Hoosier is also off to a strong start to his career. Hoosier was ranked 57th to open the season and Mckinney is excited to watch his progression this year.
“Braydon is also ranked for the first time. He is a multi-sport athlete that got bigger, but stayed skinny. He does everything you ask him to do.,” McKinney said. “I look for him to jump up this year. He ran last year for the first time and got better as the year went along too. He is doing great in practice this year.”
Junior Iain Furman and freshman Jaxson Walker round out the boys squad. McKinney sees plenty of potential in both runners.
“Iain is a three-year runner. If I can ever get him to stride, he will really come on. He is 6-foot-2, but just needs to work on his form some. It is just a focus thing for him,” McKinney said. “Jaxson is the Wyoming County Middle School champion from last year. He may struggle a little early, but he will be solid later in the year. Right now, it is just about learning the extra mile-and-a half distance.”
Tommy is not the only Wikel in the family that runs, older sister Lexi is ranked just outside the top-60 on the girls side. McKinney expects a strong senior season from her as well.
“Lexi is determined. She runs a steady race,” McKinney said. “She was right with (former East standout) Colleen (Lookabill) all season long. She was close to qualifying for the state meet as a junior last year.”
Sophomore Kyndal Lusk had an impressive freshman campaign and looks to build on that this season.
“Kyndal transferred in from Westside and she is just an athlete with a lot of upside.,” McKinney said. “She will play basketball and run cross-country. She can be super. She is ranked 65 right now, but she is better than 65 right now. I feel like she will qualify for states.”
Lusk has been playing basketball and running cross-country for several years now.
“I started running in the fifth grade because my sister was running. I liked it as soon as I started running with her,” Lusk said. “I struggled a little at the end of the season because I hurt my Achilles tendon and that kind of pushed me back. I feel like I can build on last year and move up in the rankings.”
China Lambert rounds out the girls squad. McKinney has been impressed with her work and says she has a chance to work her way into the rankings this year.
Wyoming East opened the season Saturday morning at the Chick-fil-A Beckley Invitational.