Manchester’s McKenzie Morrison heads for the finish line as the winner of the junior high girls race at the 2017 Dragon Run on Aug. 29 at West Union High School.

Eastern Brown dominates high school races – 

Story by Mark Carpenter – 
Photos by Kaiajade – 

A tradition early in the past few cross-country seasons has been the Dragon Run, hosted ably by the folks at West Union High School. The 2017 Dragon Run took place on Tuesday, Aug. 29 with nine different schools sending either junior high or high school runners to battle the competition as the rains held off long enough for all of these athletes to be out on the course at WUHS. Joining the host Dragons were squads from Eastern Brown, Whiteoak, North Adams, Manchester, Notre Dame, Fayetteville, Western Brown, and Fairfield.
It turned out to be a big day for the teams from Eastern Brown High School as the Warriors captured both high school team titles and finished second in both of the junior high races. Adams County produced one individual winner on the day as Manchester’s McKenzie Morrison won the junior high girls event.
Morrison took that girls race rather comfortably, finishing with a time of 13:30, ahead of second place Paige Abbinante of Western Brown, who clocked in at 14:12. Medals were given to the top 10 runners in each race and in the junior high girls. North Adams’ Ainsley Grooms earned some hardware, finishing fifth in a time of 14:22. Also, medaling in the junior high girls was West Union eighth grader Adelyn Shupert, who conquered the course in a time of 14:35.
Rolling in from Brown County, Western Brown took the team title in a junior high girls race that featured 50 runners. The Lady Broncos’ top five runners were all in the race’s top 17 as they got by second-place Eastern Brown. North Adams placed third in the overall team standings.
There were 63 boys at the starting line for the junior high boys race, and it was Western Brown eighth grader Caleb Ware leading the way, placing first in a time of 12:03. The junior high boys competition was a tough one for Adams County runners, with the highest finisher from the county being West Union’s Cameron Campbell, who placed 18th with a time of 14:09.It was awhile before another county runner came down the finish chute, North Adams’ Carson Chaney finishing 36th with a time of 15:33.50.

West Union sophomore Anna Shupert placed second in the high school girls race at last Tuesday’s Dragon Run

Manchester’s Morgan Craver was 41st with a time of 16:30, with teammate Kristopher Saunders in the next slot at 16:32.
The junior high boys squad from Fairfield dominated the race, placing five runners in the top eight to easily capture the team title. With Eastern Brown again placing second.
Only 23 runners toed the line for the high school girls race, and leading the pack across the finish was Eastern Brown’s Camryn Pickerill in a time of 21:28, with West Union sophomore Anna Shupert second at 22:21. Adams County runners did a bang-up job of filling the rest of the medalists, beginning with North Adams’ Adison Wright, who was fifth with a time of 24:11. Manchester’s Billie Kinhalt was seventh (24:43), North Adams’ Alyssa Mays ninth (25:28), and West Union’s Kemdra Grooms 10th (25:58).
The Lady Dragons’ Katie Fulton (11th) and Katrina Boldman (12th)) narrowly missed the top 10, with Manchester’s Torie Barlow 13th and North Adams’ Maleia Eldridge 14th.
Eastern Brown took the high school girls team title with four of the top six runners, with West Union placing second, and North Adams third.
To say that the Eastern Brown boys dominated the high school boys race might be somewhat of an understatement, as the Warriors finished with five of the race’s top six runner, with senior Logan Lainhart continuing his early season success with a first-place finish and a time of 17:48. Lainhart was joined in the top six by teammates Cy Young, Garyn Purdy, Dustin Jimison, and Andres Vargas.
The top Adams County finisher in the high school boys race and the county’s only medalist was West Union senior Adam Fulton, who placed eighth with a time of 19:29. Just outside the top 10 were North Adams’ Nolan Newman in 11th place (19:44), West Union’s Gabe Grooms in 14th (20:15), and Manchester’s Declan Huron in 15th (20:58).
Obviously, Eastern Brown easily took the team title with an impressive low team score of 17. Whiteoak placed second, West Union third, and North Adams fourth.
Before the regular racing slate, an Elementary Run was held for youngsters from Adams County and the top 10 finishers were Cody Hesler, Beau Hesler, Dalton Pence, Landon Fulton, Hunter Grooms, Tegan Knox, Kayne Dotson, Wes Ellis, Kirsten Campbell, and Ryan Butcher.
2017 Dragon Run Team Standings:

North Adams senior Colt Shumaker, in his first year as a cross-country runner, placed 34th in the high school boys race with a time of 23:39.

Junior High Girls: Western Brown 33, Eastern Brown 38, North Adams 99, West Union 105, Fairfield 107
Junior High Boys: Fairfield 27, Eastern Brown 50, Western Brown 62, Whiteoak 90, Manchester 150
High School Girls: Eastern Brown 27, West Union 43, North Adams 51
High School Boys: Eastern Brown 17, Whiteoak 59, West Union 77, North Adams 108, Notre Dame 144, Manchester 149, Fayetteville 178