A season of running through the fields and the woods came to a head Thursday afternoon at Little Beaver State Park in the Class AA Region 3 cross country championship.
Nicholas County opened the day by winning the girls regional crown, while the Shady Spring capped a strong season by taking the championship on the boys side. It was the first regional title for both teams since 2021.
The girls championship was a battle between the Grizzlies and two-time defending regional champion Shady Spring who had been nip and tuck all season. Nicholas County bested the Tigers with a heavy finish up top, placing three of the five scoring runners among the top four finishers.
“We trained really hard, but I can’t lie to you, I didn’t expect this. I thought we would put four in the top 10 and five in the top 15, but I had no idea this was coming,” Nicholas County head coach Chris Winebrenner said. “We trained on hills really hard the last few weeks. The idea was to come out fast and hopefully take (Shady Spring) out with us and burn their legs up. I can’t say it worked, but that was the plan.”
Defending state champion high jumper Adrienne Truman led the day for the Grizzlies with a strong finish down the stretch to capture the individual title. She was followed by Madison Angus in third place overall and Haley Johnson in fourth. Shaelee Flanagan was ninth and Caroline Hinkle finished 15th for Nicholas County.
“I feel good right now, but I hate this sport,” Truman said, laughing. “I hate running with a passion. I do this to get in shape for basketball. I never imagined I would be a regional champion. To be honest, I am a little shocked. I am really happy and grateful for that. I got eighth here last year, so I didn’t think I could improve that much. I am really happy that I did.”
Shady Spring also qualified for the state meet Nov. 2 at Cabell Midland High School.
Bre Crouse (6), Gwynn McGinnis (7), Raelyn Carr (8) and Taygn Milam (10) all ran in the top-10, while Berkley Davis also had a strong day in 13th place.
“I respect Shady Spring. They have the best coaches,” Winebrenner said. “Their athletes are very respectful and are really great kids. It is always fun to compete with them. I am not taking anything away from them. They are fantastic.”
All runners in the top-10 automatically qualified for the state meet, as did the top five runners exclusive of the team qualifiers.
Carli Spade from PikeView was second overall, followed by Kynzie Taylor from James Monroe in fifth place. The three remaining state meet spots went to Cheyanne Taylor and Abigail Grandon from Clay County and Makenzie Kindle from Bluefield.
Shady Spring was a huge favorite on the boys side coming in and the Tigers were on point, running to a 31 point win over second place PikeView who was also the two-time defending regional champions.
Ethan Dowdy (2), Logan Malott (3) and David Northrop (6) paced Shady Spring with top-10 finishes, while Caleb Rose (11) and Vaughn York (16) capped the Tiger dominance on the day.
“Like I have said before, the boys are hungry. They are not scared of the moment and I expected them to step up,” Shady Spring head coach Eric Lawson said. “They were ready to go. They know the work they have put in all year long and they reaped what they sowed.”
The Tigers did have to battle some adversity Thursday when one of it’s senior captains, and top runners, Eli Jordan could not compete due to illness.
“You want the next man to step up when they have to, but we missed our senior leader today,” Lawson said. “It is tough not getting to run your senior regional meet at your home course. My heart is breaking for him, but the boys stepped up for him. That is the best they can do.”
Fellow senior Vaughan York ran one of his best races of the year after battling back from a serious knee injury last track season.
“When I walked in, I just expected to see all seven of us. Eli called me and told me he couldn’t be here. He told me I had to take the captain spot because we are both captains,” York said. “He told me I had to lead them. I told him I was praying for him and we were going to do it for him. We wanted to prove ourselves.”
The second place finish for PikeView also earned it a spot in the state meet. The Panthers were led by Elijah Keaton (9) and Tyler Huffman (10). Luke Collis ran 13th, while Jonah Nolan was 17th and Josh Davis was 20th.
Clay County edged Nicholas County by three points to grab the third and final team spot. Senior standout Sawyer Dobbins led the charge in fourth place with Kane Nida in 12th and Kaden Fitzwater was 14th.
Johnny Walkup from Nicholas County grabbed his second straight regional title in the individual race to punch his ticket to the big dance.
“That sounds awesome. I am definitely super excited about that,” Walkup said when asked about being a two-time regional champion. “Ethan Dowdy led there for the first mile, but I knew the spot to win the race was up this hill. That second mile is really the toughest part of the course. I tried to create some space there. I think that is where I got gap on him. The third mile is a lot of downhill, so I really tried to let loose there and get it done.”
Walkup’s senior teammate, Luke Barr also had a strong race finishing fourth to qualify for the state meet, along with Westside freshman sensation Brody Lester who ran seventh overall.
Jadon Acord from Liberty finished eighth to make the state meet for the second year in a row, but this time he won’t be going alone. Acord’s teammate Tristan Toler qualified as well.
The AA event will be the first race of the day in Ona with the girls running at 9 a.m. and the boys following at 9:45 a.m.