Redskins Run to Another OVAC 1A/2A Title Sweep

By Julie LaFollette

The OVAC Cal Pokas Cross Country Championships were held at Cambridge on Saturday with both Caldwell and Shenandoah participating, with the Redskins sweeping the Class 1A/2A race for the fifth year in a row.

“I am very proud of both teams; they ran very well today,” said Caldwell Head Coach Keith Wilson. “These kids have worked hard all year to come out and show everybody what they are made of. This was the first opportunity to do that this year and they did not disappoint. I am very happy for them and very proud of them.”

The Caldwell boys won the 1A/2A race for the 10th year in a row with  471 points, finishing in 16^th place overall. University placed first overall with 27 points followed by Wheeling Park with 82 points.

The Zeps boys finished in sixth place in the 3A race and 21^st overall with 589 points.

“We did not do very well today,” said Shenandoah Head Coach Craig Sebring. “We have several athletes with injuries and the different weather affected us. We ran well today and competed hard, but it just was not our day.”

Larry Josh Edwards of University won the boys’ race with a time of 15:22.05 followed by teammate Rocco Devincent in 15:40.02.

Two Redskins received medals for finishing in the Top 10 in the 1A/2A race. Blake Miller was fifth (55^th overall) with a time of 18:12.14 and Noah Scheich was 10^th (77^th overall) in 18:50.97.

Other finishers for Caldwell were Chuck Estadt (82^nd, 18:59.45), Gavin Clark (143^rd, 20:33.94) and Cody Welch (183^rd, 21:56.12).

The top finisher for the Shenandoah boys was Cale Bond, who finished in 101^st place overall with a time of 19:29.60, followed by Eli Dimmerling in 123^rd in 20:02.79.

Other runners for the Zeps were Mason Stottsberry (147^th, 20:43.66), Jarrett Wentworth (148^th, 20:45.17), Austin Perkins (164^th, 21:12.40), Dierkis Vincent (189^th, 22:01.57) and Cole Showman (190^th, 22:05.57).

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The Lady Redskins finished in first in the 1A/2A race for the fifth straight year with 195 points and were fifth overall. Morgantown won the overall race with 18 points followed by University with 86.

Irene Riggs of Morgantown won the overall race with a time of 17:18.82 and her teammate, Lea Hatcher, finished in second at 18:38.82

Several Lady Redskins finished in the Top 10 in the 1A/2A race and received a medal. Brynn Block won the small school  division and was 12^th overall with a time of 20:22.89. She was followed by Sage Speck in second (25^th overall) in 21:16.91. Sadie Watson placed fifth (53^rd overall) in 22:26.02,Katie Franklin was eighth (63^rd overall) in 22:57.70) and Emma Lowe finished 10th (76^th overall) in 23:25.21.

Other finishers for the Lady Redskins were Calli Hesson (83^rd, 23:36.87) and Zoey Crock (101^st, 24:16.56).

Shenandoah’s lone girl – Denali Waers – finished in 111^th with a time of 25:01.84.

“Denali ran well today, probably one of her better times this year.” Said Coach Sebring. “She looked focused.”

 

Sebring is looking for his runners to continue to improve.

“Our objective is to get into the district meet in a couple weeks,” he said. “The season is coming down to the end, so we have to get it going.”

“We still have more races to go,” said Caldwell’s Wilson. “I am proud of what we have achieved so far.”

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Both teams had several runners race in the combined open race.

The Shenandoah boys had four runners – Quinton Gadd (59th, 22:42.80), Andrew Neff (61st, 22:53.20), Noah Townsend (66th, 23:00.71) and Gavin Leasure (98th, 28:37.30).

For the Caldwell girls, it was Emily Crum (89^th, 26:06.32), Clara Buening (94^th, 27:05.15) and Chloe Chambers (97^th, 28:30.04).

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The Caldwell junior high girls finished in fourth place. They were led by Ida Estadt in fourth with a time of 13:30.03 followed by Breighlee Moracco in fifth at 13:01.13. Others racing for the Lady Redskins were Jusdena Clark (31^st, 14:18.33), Megan Lowe (32^nd, 14:18.378), Raelyn Clark (62^nd, 15:52.84) and Hailey Abrams (97^th, 17:25.81).

Shenandoah only had one girl in the race, Kendall Snyder, who finished in 67^th with a time of 15:52.66.

In the junior high boys’ race, Shenandoah finished in eighth place. The Zeps were led by Emmitt Slevin in 30^th with a time of 12:35.85 followed by Peyton Forshey in 43^rd in 13:03.08. Other finishers were Ethan Stritz (55^th, 13:25.89), Jace Noll (74^th, 13:57.57) and Noah Mcelroy (80^th, 14:05.23).

The Redskins had two boys in the race – Alex Sheanshang (42^nd, 13:00.59) and Jacob Laswell (49^th, 13:11.73).

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Caldwell joins Fort Frye in a three-team event Saturday at Shenandoah, with action starting at 9 a.m.