By Stephen Smoot
Four hours minus one minute, Google states as the time difference between Franklin and Cabell Midland High School. For West Virginia high school cross-country competitors, this serves as the apex of their aspirations in the sport.
On Saturday, qualifiers from all over West Virginia will congregate at Cabell Midland High School to race for their schools, their teammates, their communities, and themselves.
That includes Wildcat harrier Callie Dunn.
Last weekend under cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid to high 50s, four Wildcat runners took to the course at Holly Gray Park in Braxton County. There, they ran in the Class A Region II championship. This year, Pendleton County sent a young team with one freshman and three sophomores.
Dunn earned a seventh-place finish with a 25:51.7. Shayne Clutter took 14th with a 30:18.2 while Allison Reuss ran a 32:18.4 and Makayla Turner, the team’s sole frosh, ran for 34:54.6.
The Wildcats took on runners from Tucker County, Trinity Christian, East Hardy, and Clay-Battelle.
At states, Class A girls will take off at 11 a.m. The forecast for the place and time, as of now, shows temperatures in the mid to high 40s, a slight chance of rain, and breezes below 10 miles per hour.
Much of the first mile of the course that snakes in and around Cabell Midland High School traverses flat land until it reaches the band field. From that point, a short and steep ascent leads to a 300-yard uphill slope. According to the website “Midland Running,” this represents “the first and toughest climb of the course.”
It says of the course, overall, that “Cabell Midland’s cross-country course offers a balanced combination of hills and flats that is one of the best groomed courses in the state. The course runs on the campus of Cabell Midland High School and the Cabell County Farm. It is very spectator friendly and allows coaches to monitor the action closely for the majority of the race.”
The second mile involves multiple uphill and downhill runs with some sharp turns in the course. According to “Midland Running, the concluding mile “is either downhill or flat, making it very fast” and concludes at the high school’s track.
Other Potomac Highlands Class A qualifiers include East Hardy’s team, which took second place at the meet behind Trinity Christian. East Hardy will send Gracie Heishman, Shaye Barb, Brianna Hamilton, Danielle Funkhouser, and Madison Cowgill.
Tucker County had the top runner Estoria Chase. Addi Moats also qualified from that school.
