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TORNADO -- Winfield runners Trace Marshall and Juliana Von Wulffen swept the boys and girls races at the fifth annual Coal River Classic cross country event on Wednesday at Meadowood Park in Tornado.
Marshall, a senior, crossed the finish line with a time of 15:57.31 to win his fourth meet of the season while Von Wulffen, a sophomore, overcame injuries to make the Coal River Classic her first meet of the year and captured the girls title with a time of 19:18.55
It made for a good day for Generals coach Hunter Sheldon.
"These two runners, especially Trace, just loves to race," Sheldon said. "It's real easy to coach kids who love to race, and it's really not me. It's both of them just putting all the effort in."
Both Marshall and Von Wulffen ran the Coal River Classic as middle school runners but neither had run in the event in recent years. The 2026 race became much more attractive for Winfield and more than a dozen other schools as the site will later host the Class AAA and Class AAAA South Region meets on Oct. 24.
"It was just coming here and seeing what the race is like before we come to regionals, but it's really fun to finally see them both win like they definitely should have been doing from the start of the season," Shelson said.
Behind Marshall was Herbert Hoover's Dylan Straight who ran the race in 16:08.50. Charleston Catholic's Peter Basdekis who finished third with a time of 16:31.92.
Finishing ahead of 153 boys in the field meant a lot to Marshall, he said.
"A big thing for me is obviously everybody's out here doing it," said Marshall. "Everybody's getting wet before and struggling out there."
What had originally been scheduled for four races including boys and girls junior varsity were combined into two races because of lightning, thunder and heavy rain that fell constantly during the event.
The girls race began first with 143 runners. Von Wulffen's pace put her just ahead of Huntington's Laurel Johnson who finished in 19:24.08.
"I'm happy to be back," Von Wulffen said. "I was struggling with injuries last year, so I was really looking forward to this race and to be back."
At the end of her eighth grade year, Von Wulffen said she broke an ankle which later led to knee injuries. She missed competing in the regular season of her freshman year. Von Wulffen ran in the region meet and state meet last season but had no training leading up to those events.
"I went into it pretty confident" Von Wulffen said.
Alyssa McCrady of Parkersburg South took third place with a time of 19:49.73.
While Winfield captured the individual race titles, it was Parkersburg South who swept the varsity team awards.
The Patriots' boys scored 61 points, led by Gatlin McLain's fourth-place finish. Parkersburg South also got a boost from Jett Hines' ninth-place finish.
Shady Spring scored 80 points to take second. George Washington tallied 89 points for third.
Charleston Catholic, Winfield, Huntington, Buckhannon-Upshur, Herbert Hoover, host St. Albans, Nicholas County, Spring Valley, Poca and Oak Hill rounded out the boys' teams.
Parkersburg South's girls matched the boys' 61 points, led by McCrady. However, the Patriots also had a top 10 finish from Haley Raper, who took sixth.
Buckhannon-Upshur placed three in the top 10 and took second as a team with 84 points. Shady Spring took third with 93.
George Washington, Huntington, Winfield, Herbert Hoover, Covenant Christian, Oak Hill, Charleston Catholic, Nicholas County, Chapmanville and Sissonville rounded out the girls' teams.
Meadowood Park will also be the host site for the Kanawha County Championships on Oct. 15.