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Red Devils, PCHS advance in regional

Ravenswood sophomore Blake Jarrell, who finished fourth overall, eyes the finish line during Thursday’s Class AA/A, Region IV cross country championship in Mineral Wells. Photo by Jay W. Bennett.

MINERAL WELLS — Although Winfield swept the team titles here Thursday in the Class AA/A, Region IV cross country championship, there will be plenty of local flavor advancing to next week’s state tournament.

Both the Ravenswood and Parkersburg Catholic boys qualified, but the Williamstown girls failed to finish in the top two and the lone Yellowjacket heading to state is junior Kasey McNamara, who finished seventh overall with a time of 21:45

“I’m just really tired. We were hoping to make it (as a team),” McNamara admitted. “I was hoping to get fourth. I’m just going to do what I can do next week.”

Winfield, led by champion Savannah Hoff (19:36), topped the field with 17 points. Point Pleasant and Williamstown had 70 apiece, but neither program had a sixth entrant and the Big Blacks’ fifth-place effort was better than the Yellowjackets’ fifth-place showing.

“She had a fever up to 102 or 103,” admitted WHS head coach Jason Ward of not having his usual No. 3 runner Bethany Wager. “It was just one of those that kept going up and down and up and down and she couldn’t go.”

A pair of ninth-graders from the Mid-Ohio Valley — Ravenswood’s Paige Pursley (22:14) and Parkersburg Catholic’s Madeline Huffman (22:18) — finished ninth and 10th, respectively, to make it out as individuals.

“That was the goal. I was getting kind of nervous out there,” Huffman said. “I knew I was right on the edge. I thought it was doable. I knew it would take everything I had. I PR’d by 10 seconds.

“I just came into this year trying to condition for basketball because that’s like my number one (sport) is basketball, but I ended up really liking it and I wanted to do well and it paid off.”

Winfield (27), Ravenswood (42), Buffalo (114) and Parkersburg Catholic (131) each qualified as a team. General Aaron Withrow finished in 16:16 to best runner-up Bryce Jarrell of Ravenswood (16:52), twin brother Blake Jarrell (4th, 17:15), Williamstown’s Ethan Beck (5th, 17:19), Red Devil Chris Murray (9th, 17:52), Yellowjacket Quinton Fleming (10th, 17:58) as well as Crusaders’ Jonathan Kammerer (12th, 18:09) and Yogi Tomasch (15th, 18:33) along with Ravenswood’s Colby Marks (14th, 18:31) and Deshone Cooper (16th, 18:41).

Beck and Fleming will represent Williamstown next week. All of Ravenswood’s scorers finished in the advancing top 16 while the Crusaders’ scoring also consisted of Jay Schaffer (17th), Zach Meredith (50) and Braedon Ayers (52nd).

PHS advances both teams

∫ HUNTINGTON — Parkersburg’s boys and girls finished runner-up behind champion Cabell Midland here Thursday in the Class AAA, Region IV cross country meet.

Two-time Mountain State Athletic Conference champion Olivia Collett topped the field with a time of 21 minutes and 14 seconds. She was followed by teammates Madison Trippett (2nd, 21:20), Ellie Dario (4th, 22:33), Kelsey Fleming (19th) and Julia Collett (23rd) to account for the Big Reds’ scoring. Parkersburg South’s Abby Herring, a returning first-team all-stater, finished seventh with a time of 22 minutes and 49 seconds and also made it back to the state meet.

The Big Red boys got a runner-up effort by Ian Domenick (17:22). Will Lemaster (6th, 17:36) and Scott Barker (8th, 17:45) finished in the top 10 and the red and white also had scoring efforts from Brayden Ray (13th) and Benjamin Lake (17th).

South’s Kerwyn Marshall was 22 seconds off the pace and finished 15th while Ripley’s Allison Knox placed 13th overall and was 25 ticks away from advancing.

LKC champ St. Marys moves on

∫ GRAFTON — St. Marys, which just captured the Little Kanawha Conference title, finished third overall in the Class AA/A, Region I meet here Thursday to advance to next week’s state championships.

Brady Gorrell (17:29) and Walker Hashman (17:35) led the way for the Blue Devils with a solid four-five finish. The top 25 placers advanced to state and St. Marys’ team scoring also consisted of Spencer Wren (13th, 17:59), Jayden Wolfe (21st, 18:15) and Devon Amos (51st).

Ritchie County will send teammates Clayton Bee (20th, 18:14) and Chase Sullivan (22nd, 18:21).

In the girls race, no area team advanced, but the top 17 finishers continued their season. Tops from the area was Magnolia’s Jordan Delaney, who captured sixth in 20:41. The only other qualifier was Ritchie County’s Gwyn Napier (15th, 21:23).

Bulldogs are state bound

∫ BRIDGEPORT — Doddridge County needed a top three finish here Thursday in the Class AA/A, Region II championship at Bridgeport and that’s exactly what head coach Craig Kellar’s squads got as the Bulldog boys and girls advanced to next week’s state meet by each taking third.

Sophomore Desirae Schoonover, who just won her second straight LKC crown, led the way for the Bulldogs with a runner-up effort. Hunter Riffle finished third overall while Trey Heaster was fifth. Roane County’s Kyle Stutler finished one spot away from advancing. The Raider was 15th and his time was 16 ticks off the pace.

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