For the fifth time, the West Union High School cross-country program played host to the Dragon Run, with eight schools sending girls and boys teams on Aug. 25 to compete in the invitational. Four races took place on the day, with Hillsboro taking the junior high girls team title, Ripley the junior high boys title, West Union the high school girls title, and Manchester the high school boys title.
In the junior high girls race, 16 girls competed with the to 10 earning medals. The top finisher from Adams County was Alisan Behr from Peebles who placed fourth with a time of 15:00 over the two-mile course. Behr was followed in fifth place by West Union’s Katrina Boldman at 16:17. Adams County dominated the rest of the top 10, grabbing spots 7-10. Alyssa Mays of North Adams was seventh, Katie Fulton of West Union eighth, McKenzie Stamm of Manchester ninth, and Kendra Grooms of West Union 10th.
A total of 49 runners began the junior high boys race and the winner was Manchester’s Dalton Williams, who completed the course in a time of 13:19. Levi Carter of West Union was fourth at 13:51, followed closely by Damon Baker of North Adams in fifth place at 13:58. Those were the only two Adams county runners to medal in the race, though West Union’s Colt Parker and Zane Kingsolver plus North Adams’ Trenton McCann, finished 12th, 13th, and 14th respectively.
The varsity girls (33 runners) hit the course next for their 3.1 mile competition, with Hillsboro’s Reaghan Hanes taking the top spot with her time of 22:31. After Hanes though, the remainder of the top 10 was filled with Adams County girls. A pair of West Union seniors took the second and third spots, with Ashley Hackworth second at 22:48 and Madigan Marshall third at 23:21. Manchester’s Kelsey Friend placed fourth with a time of 24:47, with Lady Hound teammate Amanda Farthing sixth at 25:54. Also earning medals in the top 10 were Abby Faulkner from Peebles in seventh, Alexis Hesler from North Adams in ninth, and Manchester’s McKenzie Smith 10th.
Finishing off a successful meet was a group of 40 high school boys in the final race of the day. It was Manchester’s Ethan Pennywitt pulling away from the pack at the end of the race to claim the top spot, finishing with a time of 18:48. Pennywitt’s teammate in the “Dog Pack”, Jamie Combs was second with his time of 18:57. Another Greyhound, Gage Lucas, placed fifth with a time of 19:14 and the Hounds continued their domination of the top 10 prizes with Logan Hanson placing seventh, Brendon Kessler eighth, and Rickey DeAtley ninth, as Manchester easily captured the top team spot.
Meet manager Jason Little from WUHS was again pleased with the smooth efforts in the Dragon Run.
“We had another great meet.,” said Little. “Donnie McCarty and Jeremey Grooms have been working very hard to make our course challenging and having it well marked and I think they succeeded. The cross-country parents do a fantastic job of running the meet and I appreciate that.”
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
Junior High Girls: Hillsboro 15
Junior High Boys: Ripley 38, Hillsboro 47, West Union 60, Manchester 95, Peebles 122
High School Girls: West Union 37, Hillsboro 47, Manchester 57, Ripley 72
High School Boys: Manchester 23, Hillsboro 55, Ripley 58
