Post by rainman on Nov 1, 2009 12:31:33 GMT -5
Clark second, McVicker third at states
ONA — While Marion County failed to bring home state gold, it certainly represented itself well at Saturday’s state cross country championships at Cabell Midland High School.
Fairmont Senior’s Chelsea Clark highlighted the field with a second-place finish in the Class AAA girls’ race. The North Marion girls’ squad took fourth. And the Polar Bear boys received a third-place run from Dayton McVicker and wound up third as a team.
Clark capped her career in impressive fashion. The senior, who finished eighth in states as a freshman and battled injuries over the next two seasons, entered Saturday’s meet ranked fifth in Class AAA.
“If there’s one word to describe Chelsea, it’s determination,” Fairmont Senior girls coach Eric Moffa said after the Region I meet.
Her final high school meet brought more of the same. Clark used the wet, muddy conditions and an off day from Elkins’ Letitia Propst to her advantage. Clark finished in 19:42, the same time as Propst but was awarded second place.
Propst, a two-time defending state champ, finished 13 seconds ahead of Clark in last month’s North Central Athletic Conference meet.
Hurricane senior Alex Dent won the girls’ race with a time of 19:16. But like everyone else, the weather conditions greatly skewed her final time — Dent finished fourth in last year’s state meet and ran a 19:12.
North Marion’s girls’ team closed a strong, steady season with a top five team finish. The Huskies’ strength has been in numbers and it showed again Saturday as the squad placed three runners in the top 16.
Senior Jordan McDonald was 12th, freshman Emma Harrison took 13th and sophomore Devan Elliott added a 16th-place finish. Another North runner, senior Marcie Mason, took 31st overall.
Fairmont Senior’s other top runner, No. 11-ranked sophomore Alyssa Scherich, was 45th.
Jefferson won the girls’ team race with 73 points, followed by University (80) and Hurricane (98).
On the boys side, it was a bittersweet day for coach Chris Neptune. The Polar Bears had a pair of top 10 finishers in McVicker and Patrick Stanton, but illness and other factors led to a third-place team finish.
'It was a great season overall,” Neptune said. “We had a nice string of wins. All in all, you have to be somewhat pleased.' The fifth-year coach said “somewhat” only because Fairmont Senior had been ranked No. 1 for much of the season and had its sights on another team title.
It didn’t happen. One of the Polar Bears’ top runners, Joe Vozniak, was diagnosed with a mild case of swine flu that sapped him of all his energy and endurance on Saturday.
The junior had a gutty performance but placed 80th overall.
“I didn’t realize how much it would affect him until he got down here,” Neptune said of Vozniak. “He’s a person who's really fit, and he was hunched over.”
Then again, Fairmont Senior might have had trouble catching Cabell Midland on a good day.
Running its home course, Cabell dominated. It scored 37 points, nearly 50 better than runner-up Jefferson, and had six runners in the top 25.
On this day, McVicker and Stanton were the bright spots for the Polar Bears. McVicker, a junior, finished in 16:56, just five seconds behind defending state champ Cody Pelliccioni of Morgantown. Jefferson junior Brandon Doughty ran away from the field in an upset victory, finishing 21 seconds in front of Pelliccioni with a time of 16:32.
'Dayton had a good run,” Neptune said. “I was very pleased with him.”
Stanton took eighth with a time of 17:20.
'Patrick has come a long way,” Neptune said. “Ever since his sophomore year, he’s been training like a mad man. His training numbers are even better than Dayton’s. He’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever had.”
Grafton won the Class AAA boys’ title, denying Ravenswood a 10th consecutive championship. Ravenswood finished eighth.
St. Mary’s took the girls Class AA-A crown, followed by Berkeley Springs and Shady Spring.
ONA — While Marion County failed to bring home state gold, it certainly represented itself well at Saturday’s state cross country championships at Cabell Midland High School.
Fairmont Senior’s Chelsea Clark highlighted the field with a second-place finish in the Class AAA girls’ race. The North Marion girls’ squad took fourth. And the Polar Bear boys received a third-place run from Dayton McVicker and wound up third as a team.
Clark capped her career in impressive fashion. The senior, who finished eighth in states as a freshman and battled injuries over the next two seasons, entered Saturday’s meet ranked fifth in Class AAA.
“If there’s one word to describe Chelsea, it’s determination,” Fairmont Senior girls coach Eric Moffa said after the Region I meet.
Her final high school meet brought more of the same. Clark used the wet, muddy conditions and an off day from Elkins’ Letitia Propst to her advantage. Clark finished in 19:42, the same time as Propst but was awarded second place.
Propst, a two-time defending state champ, finished 13 seconds ahead of Clark in last month’s North Central Athletic Conference meet.
Hurricane senior Alex Dent won the girls’ race with a time of 19:16. But like everyone else, the weather conditions greatly skewed her final time — Dent finished fourth in last year’s state meet and ran a 19:12.
North Marion’s girls’ team closed a strong, steady season with a top five team finish. The Huskies’ strength has been in numbers and it showed again Saturday as the squad placed three runners in the top 16.
Senior Jordan McDonald was 12th, freshman Emma Harrison took 13th and sophomore Devan Elliott added a 16th-place finish. Another North runner, senior Marcie Mason, took 31st overall.
Fairmont Senior’s other top runner, No. 11-ranked sophomore Alyssa Scherich, was 45th.
Jefferson won the girls’ team race with 73 points, followed by University (80) and Hurricane (98).
On the boys side, it was a bittersweet day for coach Chris Neptune. The Polar Bears had a pair of top 10 finishers in McVicker and Patrick Stanton, but illness and other factors led to a third-place team finish.
'It was a great season overall,” Neptune said. “We had a nice string of wins. All in all, you have to be somewhat pleased.' The fifth-year coach said “somewhat” only because Fairmont Senior had been ranked No. 1 for much of the season and had its sights on another team title.
It didn’t happen. One of the Polar Bears’ top runners, Joe Vozniak, was diagnosed with a mild case of swine flu that sapped him of all his energy and endurance on Saturday.
The junior had a gutty performance but placed 80th overall.
“I didn’t realize how much it would affect him until he got down here,” Neptune said of Vozniak. “He’s a person who's really fit, and he was hunched over.”
Then again, Fairmont Senior might have had trouble catching Cabell Midland on a good day.
Running its home course, Cabell dominated. It scored 37 points, nearly 50 better than runner-up Jefferson, and had six runners in the top 25.
On this day, McVicker and Stanton were the bright spots for the Polar Bears. McVicker, a junior, finished in 16:56, just five seconds behind defending state champ Cody Pelliccioni of Morgantown. Jefferson junior Brandon Doughty ran away from the field in an upset victory, finishing 21 seconds in front of Pelliccioni with a time of 16:32.
'Dayton had a good run,” Neptune said. “I was very pleased with him.”
Stanton took eighth with a time of 17:20.
'Patrick has come a long way,” Neptune said. “Ever since his sophomore year, he’s been training like a mad man. His training numbers are even better than Dayton’s. He’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever had.”
Grafton won the Class AAA boys’ title, denying Ravenswood a 10th consecutive championship. Ravenswood finished eighth.
St. Mary’s took the girls Class AA-A crown, followed by Berkeley Springs and Shady Spring.
