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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Midland boys win Class AAA cross country title
Jefferson High junior Brandon Doughty (3) and Cabell Midland High freshman Jacob Burcham (9) run neck-and-neck during the Class AAA boys at the State High School Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 31, 2009, at Cabell Midland High School.
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ONA -- On Sept. 12, Fairmont Senior won the Class AAA boys title in the Geico Classic and Cabell Midland finished second, 22 points behind the Polar Bears in the 5K race at Cabell Midland High School.
The rematch so to speak came on a chilly, cloudy Saturday morning in the West Virginia High School Cross Country Championships. Heavy rain made the course at Cabell Midland a mess for all participants. The Knights, who had been coming on strong late in the season, handled the slop and the field to win in impressive fashion with 37 points to 82 for runner-up Jefferson. Fairmont Senior wound up third (106).
"He gets us ready to run," sophomore Tyler Salmons said of Knights coach Chris Parsons. "He puts us in front of everything else."
Freshman Jacob Burcham came in sixth overall (17:09) to lead the Knights and Salmons followed for seventh. Junior Ryan Smith was 12th, just missing All-State honors (top 10). Senior Michael Niemann placed 15th, senior Collin Meadows 20th, sophomore Steven Egnatoff 21st and freshman David Job 27th.
"This is the race you want to peak," Burcham said. "We did. I thought he (Parsons) was going to cry. This is a cool experience."
Jefferson's Brandon Doughty won the individual title (16:31) and defending champion Cody Pelliccini of Morgantown wound up second (16:50).
This is the first state title for Cabell Midland since 2004, sixth overall and first on its course since becoming the host school in 2006.
"I'm super proud of the seniors," Parsons said. "They wanted to go out as state champs. The key for us was three through seven."
In Class AA-A, Grafton won the championship with 57 points. Berkeley Springs was second with 97. Drew Woodford helped Grafton's push to No. 1 by winning the individual crown (17:10). The Bearcats also had better efforts from runners three, four and five.
Parsons pointed out that the runners who handled adversity the best likely would prevail.
"You deal with the conditions out there," he said. "I told the guys these conditions are extreme and ideal for us. Expect to go down."
Burcham took a hard fall on the hill and Smith had to deal with ankle issues.
"Jacob went down hard, but got up and ran strong," Parsons said. "He had to. I saw Ryan twist his ankle two times, but he sucked it up."
Salmons recalled Burcham's fall.
"I caught him," he said. "It's great to see the way we battled. We ran this one for the seniors. They hadn't won a state before."
With five runners back and those who didn't qualify pushing them, the future is promising for the Knights.
"Right now potentially we have some guys who can do big things the next three years," Parsons said. "It's up to them. I know I'll have to challenge them."
