St. Marys girls look to defend single-A cross country title
Ritchie favored for team crown
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PARKERSBURG – The Class A and AA state cross country championship races will take center stage on Saturday afternoon in Ona at Cabell Midland High School as runners and teams put it all on the line one more time this season in the Mountain State.
At 1 p.m., the Class A girls will take the stage followed by the boys at 1:45 p.m. with the double-A girls beginning at 3 p.m. and the boys capping the final race of the season at 3:45 p.m.
The defending single-A state champion girls of St. Marys are paced by three-time all-stater Anna Bennett and fellow senior teammate Savana Burd, who finished seventh a year ago.
Bennett, who was third in 2025 and finished as a four-time regional victor, has been tabbed by runwv.com as the expected champ ahead of Ritchie County freshman Layla Devereux, but the Rebels are favored to claim the team title with Wirt County pegged to place fourth.
Devereux, who has finished runner-up thrice to the Blue Devil this season, is hoping to be joined on the top 10 all-state podium by freshman Jayden Primm, sophomore Cassandra Hardbarger and perhaps freshman Abby Hardbarger. Also expected to challenge for a top 25 showing is Rebel senior Charlee Haddox.
The Class A field for the girls is strong locally.
Calhoun County freshman Brooke Tingler and ex-Red Devil but current Gilmer County Titans senior Paige Sterns are vying for top five showings. The Tigers have been led this year by junior Kinsley Nicolais, freshman Arabella Smarr and sophomore Allison Bumgarner, while the Blue Devils of head coach Steven Nutter are hoping for top 25 efforts from freshman Anna Roush as well as seniors Maddie Smith and Sidni Gerlach.
“We are hoping to have as many as possible in the top 10 and the top 20,” admitted Ritchie County head coach Holli Haddox Vaughan. “We have three senior boys running. We know that they will want to leave their legacy out there on that course. Our girls are ready to pack it up and see what happens.
“You really never know what will happen on state meet day. We’ve trained for it all season, but so has our competition. We are definitely proud of our teams and excited to watch them race.”
The most exciting team race of the day could come with the Class A boys as St, Marys, Charleston Catholic and Trinity all have hopes for team podium finishes. Ritchie County and Wirt County are expected to challenge for the top five.
SMHS, which won its fifth straight regional crown, has been led by the one-two punch of seniors Koa Navarro, who finished fourth at last year’s state meet while at Wood County Christian, and Parker Barnes. Barnes earned all-state as a junior after taking seventh while sophomore teammate Desmond Parks has been picked 10th.
The Rebels are hoping for all-state runs by sophomore Jenner Stewart and junior Kenson Roman, who were picked fifth and 11th, respectively.
Also expected to challenge for top 25 efforts are St. Marys sophomore Wyatt Payne, RCHS seniors Seth Cronin and Landen Bartlett, Wirt County’s Sam Williams (JR) and Lucas Curfman (SO) along with Magnolia sophomore Manowah Vaughn as well as Calhoun County teammates Jackson Clawson (SR) and Braidin Ferrell (FR).
“On the girls’ side, Ritchie has put in tremendous work during the offseason and that dedication has paid off throughout the fall,” stated Nutter. “Both the team and individual races should be exciting to watch. With the teams (boys) so evenly matched, Saturday’s race will come down to execution, determination and which team rises to the occasion when it matters most.
“The St. Marys boys and girls have worked extremely hard throughout the summer and fall to put themselves in a position to succeed this weekend. As coaches, we are especially blessed to have eight seniors preparing to compete for the final time in their high school cross country careers. Coaching these seniors the past seven years has been one of the greatest joys of my career.”
The Williamstown girls are picked to finish state runner-up behind Lincoln as Yellowjacket senior Cassie Sites has one more run left as a prep student-athlete.
Sites will try and complete her career at WHS as a four-time all-stater. She is currently picked fourth.
Also vying for all-state honors are Clay County freshman Marissa Atha, Braxton County senior Leah Payne, Ravenswood senior Gwyn Gorrell and Eagle junior Reece Carpenter. Gorrell was fifth in 2025 while Payne placed eighth.
The Yellowjacket girls of first-year head coach Greg Gant also have predicted top 25 finishers with the freshman duo of Raeley Perdue and Kendall Gant along with senior Lucy Collins. The other top expected LKC efforts could come from Braxton County junior Chelsea Payne and Roane County senior Addie Taylor.
"Cassie has been a tremendous leader for our team this season," stressed coach Gant. "She does a great job keeping everyone positive, setting the tone at practice and leading by example. She has put together another strong season and we're excited to see if she can make it four consecutive all-state finishes. Freshmen Perdue and Gant have been great additions to our team and have made an immediate impact. Lucy joined us after having success in track last spring and she has continued to develop as a cross country runner.
"Bridget Kirby has also continued to improve throughout the season and has been an important part of our lineup. One of the things that has really helped our team is the competition for those sixth and seventh spots. Alia (Phelps), Salys (Shotwell), Ali (Harris), Grace (Davisson) and Logan (Richardson) have pushed each other throughout the season. That competition has made for some great practices and challenged everyone to get better each day. Having that kind of depth is important because it makes the entire team stronger. We're proud of their work and we're looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish."
In the Class AA boys team race, Frankfort is expected to top LKC champion Buffalo with Williamstown, Doddridge County and Ravenswood firmly in the top five mix.
Tyler Consolidated’s Travis Moore will try and end his career in style as the Silver Knight is favored to win it all. Moore finished fifth last year and was seventh as a sophomore.
The other top expected efforts locally are with former Ravenswood Red Devil and current Williamstown senior Gavin Wilburn, who was picked sixth, and Doddridge County senior Cory Swentzel (No. 7). Wilburn earned all-state in 2025 by taking eighth. DCHS senior Samuel Gola, who was picked just outside the top 10, took seventh last fall.
“Our team is good and ready to take care of business,” noted WHS boys coach Cliff Taylor, who also has predicted top 25 finishers in sophomore Brody Pickens and senior Zander Boyce. “We are going to do our best. We’ve been at it since June. As coaches we can only train our athletes to be the best possible.
“Now it’s up to them. Would love to make the podium. There are six teams that can be there. Just have to race and not be afraid of the discomfort that it will take to do that. We have some great young men that can do great things as runners.”
Five other LKC double-A boys enter the final race of the season ranked inside the top 25 – Ravenswood freshman Jose Andrade (16th) and junior teammate Mason Kerns (18th), Silver Knight senior Brody Nice (17th) and Braxton County sophomore Ira Ransbottom (22nd).
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com