Local Sports

PHS boys wins regional cross country title

Metz finishes first in girls race

TORNADO — If anything was more predictable than a cool, foggy October morning in Kanawha County, it was Cabell Midland High School’s girls winning a region cross country title.

The Knights totaled 45 points to win the Class AAAA South Region championship Saturday at Meadowbrook Park. Hurricane was second with 51 points, followed by Parkersburg with 99, Parkersburg South 129, Buckhannon-Upshur 130 and Huntington High 160 among teams that qualified for the state championship meet Saturday at Cabell Midland in Ona.

George Washington at 172, Woodrow Wilson 184 and Oak Hill 228 competed but failed to qualify.

The Knights were paced by No. 3 finisher Lindsey Bailey in 19:28.57 and No. 4 Kinslee Methax in 19:37.03. Cabell Midland’s Scout Stines placed eighth in 19:43.14, Maya Hagley was 13th in 20:11.42, Maya Casto took 17th in 20:32.04, Charlotte Coakley finished 18th in 20:33.38 and Raegan Freeman came in 24th in 21:02.74 in the 60-runner field.

“It was good,” Knights coach Chris Parsons said. “They ran solid. We had the two up front, Lindsey and Kinslee, and that helped us. That put two in front of Hurricane’s No. 1. Scout finished behind Hurricane’s No. 1.”

The Redskins’ top finisher was Ella Sturm, who was sixth in 19:39.23. Parkersburg South’s Alyssa McCrady was fifth in 19:37.82. Parkersburg South’s Haley Raper placed seventh in 19:42.28, followed in the top 10 by Stines and Hurricane’s Lexi Elmore in 19:44.62 and Sofie Zappitelli in 19:50.95.

Parsons said the Knights’ depth was key.

“They stepped up,” Parsons said. “Maya Hagley, who was our fourth runner, normally is our fifth. She stepped up big time and ran a PR. We knew every point was going to count.”

Morgan Metz of Parkersburg won in 18:16.01. Huntington High’s Laurel Johnson ran second in 19:20.79.

“I’m so pumped,” Johnson said. “That’s the fastest I’ve run all season, probably in the last two years.”

Metz, who won the Mountain State Athletic Conference title two weeks ago, said Saturday’s race meant more because she won after losing to former Cabell Midland and current Ohio University runner Savannah Pritt last year.

“This one definitely was a lot more special,” Metz said. “It’s the next step. It’s exciting because I’ve never won this one before. It was usually a battle between Savannah Pritt and I. I came in second last year, so to come out and win today is special.”

Parkersburg won the Class AAAA South Region boys title with 57 points. Hurricane finished second with 60, followed by Cabell Midland with 88, Parkersburg South 109, George Washington 121 and Woodrow Wilson 148.

Huntington High at 166, Riverside at 201, Buckhannon-Upshur at 225 and Oak Hill at 290 didn’t qualify.

“We put a lot of work into it,” Big Reds coach George Angelos said. “If we’re going to do it, do it well. I’m super proud.”

Angelos said the win was his first as a coach in a region meet.

Woodrow Wilson’s Kyle Peters won in 16:22.93 despite battling a hip injury that has bothered him the last two weeks. Peters was helped hopping on one leg to the trainer’s tent after the race.

During the contest, Peters appeared healthy and in control as the pace rider on a bicycle had to pedal hard to stay ahead of him. He said, though, his right hip “really turned up” after about a mile and a half.

“I really started to push it at the two-mile,” said Peters, who took the lead at about the one-mile mark. “I just started chasing that bike. When he dropped it, I thought, ‘Aw man, there went my target.’ I just kept pushing it hard and shot for the finish as hard as I could.”

Peters said he never considered not completing the run despite being in pain.

“There was no choice but to finish it,” Peters said. “We have to get the team to state. I really started feeling it when I started sprinting. I held it together through the finish line and ended up in the medical tent.”

Peters said he’s uncertain if he’ll be able to run at the state meet.

“It’ll be a concern, I think,” Peters said. “If I can get on it and be able to run at states, I’ll blow it out again, but that’s up in the air.”

Hurricane’s Paxton Haddox ran 16:32.81 to finish second. Haddox said he was pleased with a runner-up finish individually.

“It felt good,” Peters said of winning. “I came in with some tendonitis. I only ran about 20 miles the last week. I just wanted to come in and get a good run before states. I did that.”

Drake Rollins of Parkersburg finished third in 16:33.62, followed in the top five by George Washington’s Collin O’Connor in 16:34.54 and Hurricane’s Brayden Frye in 16:42.50.

Rogan Mincks of Parkersburg was sixth in 16:45.99. Teammate Calvin Lantz placed 10th in 17:04.83. The Big Reds’ Aiden Romine was 17th in 17:19.51, Caden Moat finished 21st in 17:32.92, Steven Woofter placed 29th in 18:04.94 and Harlan Wolfe came in 31st in 18:07.78.

Cabell Midland’s Cam Holley finished seventh in 16:46.42, followed in the top nine by Huntington High’s Jacob Waugh in 16:52.96 and Parkersburg South’s Gaitlin McLain in 17:01.01.

Winfield’s Trace Marshall ran the fastest time of the day, winning the Class AAA South Region boys race in 15:49.49 to lead the Generals to a second-place finish with 64 points, 18 behind Shady Spring.

Herbert Hoover was third with 80 points, ahead of Ripley with 93, Greenbrier East 122 and St. Albans 155 in the top six. Capital at 184, Nicholas County at 205 and Spring Valley at 208 failed to qualify.

Marshall comfortably outdistanced runner-up Dylan Straight of Herbert Hoover. Straight crossed the finish line in 16:25.61. Shady Spring’s Ethan Dowdy was third in 16:37.86, followed by Capital’s Micah Hale in 16:54.44 and Point Pleasant’s Wyatt Kirkpatrick at 16:56.08 in the top five.

Eli Casto of Ripley ran sixth in 17:16.86, followed in the top 10 by Winfield’s Nikolaus Von Wulffen in 17:17.04 and a trio of Shady Spring runners — Brady Justice in 17:32.75, Caleb Rose in 17:43.79 and Logan Malott in 17:53.23.

“I feel happy,” Marshall said. “Coming into this race, we had three weeks without one, so I was able to get pretty fit and do some good workouts to get back up the mileage. I’m feeling pretty good.”

Marshall said he went to sleep early, ate right and drank water to take care of his body preparing for the race. He said he’ll continue that process in the week leading up to the state meet.

Shady Spring also won the girls Class AAA South Region championship, with 49 points. Greenbrier East was second with 53, followed by Winfield with 92, St. Albans 93, Herbert Hoover 109, Nicholas County 137 and Chapmanville 154.

Neena McClintic of Greenbrier East won in 19:24.41. Herbert Hoover’s Tessa Aulenbacher finished second in 20:08.31. Shady Spring’s Bre Crouse was third in 20:39.46, Raelyn Carr fifth in 21:13.60 and Berkley Smith sixth in 21:23.87. Brynlee Deaton of Nicholas County was fourth in 20:58.38.

Spring Valley’s Mallory Maynard ran 21:24.39, good for seventh, ahead of Princeton’s Akoma Berkoh’s 21:27.26, St. Albans’ Evelynn Brennan’s 21:28.9 and Greenbrier East’s Caroline Perilli Hancock’s 21:37.06.

McClintic said she was thrilled to win for the third time in four seasons but missed defending champion Maysen Fletcher. The Herbert Hoover star missed the race because of a hip injury.

“I’m excited my senior season to win it again,” said McClintic, who recently committed to run in college at Miami (Ohio). “I didn’t have any expectations because I know some people were hurt and I wasn’t sure who was going to be here and who wasn’t. I was just hoping to go out and be up there.”

Aulenbacher said she felt rewarded after the race.

“I’m very, very excited,” Aulenbacher said. “I feel all my hard work is paying off. My goal was to get top-three, so I’m thrilled with runner-up.”