The weather conditions were less than ideal Saturday at the West Virginia State Cross Country meet. However, the wind, rain and muddy conditions were just another obstacle to overcome for harriers all around the Mountain State.
The best local finish of the day went to Shady Spring runner Jacob Dowdy. After missing his freshman year due to an injury, the sophomore standout came home second in the Clas AA boys event.
“We sat down and talked earlier in the week about our gameplan. We wanted to be tactical about the race. You don’t get to the state meet by being just OK. These runners are elite level talent. We knew nobody was just going to jump out front and walk away from everybody this year,” Shady Spring head cross country coach Eric Lawson said.”
Running in third place most of the day, Dowdy closed the gap late in the race.
“We just wanted to keep the race close for the first two-and-a half. With about 1,000 meters left it is anybody’s race and it’s all guts. Dowdy kept the two leaders in sight and with about 1,000 meters, he started chipping away. It was still a pretty big margin with 600 meter to go, but by 300 meters he was on their shoulders.”
Dowdy passed Matthew Schenegerg from Winfield but could not quite run-down his teammate Brayden Marshall.
“It’s unfortunate that we run 5,000 (meters). If it had been 5,200, I think Dowdy might have caught him,” Lawson said.
The second-place finish earned Dowdy All-state honors.
Junior Jaedan Holstein came home 19th for Shady Spring and senior Alex Irvin from Nicholas County was 28th. PikeView junior Braden Ward was 31st and Wyoming East standout, Jacob Ellison finished his high school cross-country career in 36th place.
Shady Spring finished sixth in the boys team event, but with a team full off underclassman, Lawson feels his team has better days ahead on the state scene.
“When you get here, anything can happen. We finished sixth and that is not where we wanted to be but going forward I think it will serve as motivation for the boys to get better,” Lawson said. “We don’t have any seniors, so it is some bulletin board material, and we will use it as motivation.”
In the Class AA girls event, Nicholas County junior Natalie Barr came home 13th, while freshman teammate Haley Johnson was 14th.
Charlotte McGinnis from Shady Spring finished 24th.
Freshman Aiden Kneeland from Woodrow Wilson also brought home All-state honors in his first state meet with a ninth-place finish in the Class AAA boys race.
Oak Hill junior Austin Bias was 28th and Kneeland’s teammate Josh Cormack finished 39th as a sophomore.
Sophomore Kyndall Ince from Woodrow Wilson was 32nd to lead the local finishers in the Class AAA girls race. Colette Lindley came in 37th and Abi Londeree was 39th.
Trey Stanley closed out his high school career in style Saturday in the boys Class A event. Qualifying for the state meet for his fourth year in a row, Stanley held on for a sixth-place finish, earning All-state honors for the second year in a row..
The Richwood sophomore trio all finished inside the top-40 in the Class A girls race. Baylee Jarrett was 13th, while Kelsey Davis was 27th and Carlee Dillard was 30th.
Junior Sarah Turner from Summers County was 37th.
University repeated as the boys AAA champion and Morgantown dominated the girls race for its second championship in a row.
Winfield swept both races in Class AA, while Doddridge County dethroned four-time state champion Williamstown to win the Class A girls race.
In Class A boys, Williamstown took home the title to snap Ritchie County’s three-years run.