Cross Country State Meet: Harriers finish another successful season
Oct. 31—FAIRMONT — The 2021 cross country season came to a head Saturday morning at Cabell Midland High at this year's state meet.
Fairmont Senior's girls took second place, trailing only Winfield. East Fairmont's boys and girls teams both finished fourth in their respective races. Fairmont Senior's boys and North Marion's girls both had individual qualifiers finish inside the top ten.
Fairmont Senior's girls team finished on the podium, but after taking the top spot the last two seasons, the Polar Bears were still left with a bad taste in their mouth.
"We were hoping for a little bit better," Fairmont Senior girls head coach Mark Offutt said. "It hurts not to win, especially after winning two years in a row. But all the girls ran strong today, and sometimes other teams are just a little bit better and Winfield was tough today. You have to give them credit. You've got to also give my girls credit because the season we had, we stepped up and gave it our best shot at the end of the year, which is exactly what you want to do in cross country."
Lydia Falkenstein finished third among all runners at the meet, posting a time of 20:38.66. After placing first last year, Falkenstein ended up on the podium for the second year in a row. She will have another opportunity to continue her successes next year as a senior.
Fairmont Senior also qualified two boys for the state meet — Jasper Brown and Jacob Angelo. Angelo finished 25th out of the 85 runners, while Brown finished inside the top ten, taking ninth place with a time of 17:13.00.
"I was proud with both Jasper and Jacob's seasons this year," Fairmont Senior boys head coach Dayton McVicker said. "Jasper has finished top twenty twice, both of the last two years, so to see him get over that hump and get an all-state honor means a lot. I'm looking forward to their upcoming track season."
East Fairmont's boys team was right in the thick of things throughout their fourth place finish, ending up just five points away from the eventual third place team, Oak Glen. Drew Moore was East's top runner at the meet, finishing just outside the top ten, in 11th place.
East's girls team was likewise in the middle of a tight race towards the top of the standings, as the difference between their team score and the second place team — 24 points — was a smaller amount than the difference between first and second place — 28 points. Marissa Haymond finished first amongst the Bees, coming in at 19th place.
The top three runners for the boys and top four runners for the girls still have more seasons to come for East, as the team is looking forward to the future.
"Overall pleased with their performances," East Fairmont head coach Ken Hibbs said. "Mostly ran as expected by the runner rankings. The one that had the best race was Marissa Haymond, finished 19th, was ranked 30th. Most of the others were within a couple spots up or down. Both teams are mostly underclassmen, we're looking forward to next season, but we've got a lot of work to do."
North Marion's girls team sent one runner to the state meet, sophomore Taylor Hess. Hess finished within the top ten for the second year in a row, this time clocking in with a 20:50.17.
"Taylor ran a good race," North Marion girls head coach Keri Richardson said. "She was predicted in the top ten and finished 9th, which is great. All state for the second year in a row, as a sophomore! She is an excellent athlete and we look forward to her future."
Top Ten Runners— Boys
1— Brayden Marshall (Winfield) 16:24.30
2— Jacob Dowdy (Shady Spring) 16:25.60
3— Matthew Scheneberg (Winfield) 16:33.80
4— Charlie Smoak (Elkins) 16:44.60
5— Steven Kent Niland (Frankfort) 16:49.90
6— Garrett Ferguson (Frankfort) 16:53.00
7— Konnor Allison (Oak Glen) 16:54.10
8— Landon Brumfield (Poca) 16:55.60
9— Jasper Brown (Fairmont Senior) 17:13.00
10— Peyton Slider (Frankfort) 17:15.60
Top Ten Runners— Girls
1— Rachel Withrow (Winfield) 20:04.23
2— Addison Lease (Frankfort) 20:23.31
3— Lydia Falkenstein (Fairmont Senior) 20:38.66
4— Nicole Donato (Nitro) 20:42.73
5— Olivia Williamson (Wayne) 20:46.16
6— Mariam Al-Zoubi (Winfield) 20:47.15
7— Emily Williamson (Wayne) 20:48.01
8— Jalynn Browning (Scott) 20:48.66
9— Taylor Hess (North Marion) 20:50.17
10— Aliya Todd (Liberty) 20:53.34
Team Standings— Boys
Winfield— 46
Frankfort— 50
Oak Glen— 95
East Fairmont— 100
Elkins— 150
Shady Springs— 155
Wayne— 168
Nicholas County— 201
PikeView— 235
Lewis County— 237
Robert C. Byrd— 319
Team Standings— Girls
Winfield— 72
Fairmont Senior— 100
Wayne— 112
East Fairmont— 124
Frankfort— 125
Liberty (Harrison)— 139
Braxton County— 150
Elkins— 153
Nicholas County— 175
Shady Springs— 238
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
