Photo by Kristy Whaley
Ripley standout Tori Starcher defeated the field soundly at the 20th annual Chick-Fil-A Invitational in Mineral Wells on Sept. 7.
Starcher, a senior, won the girls varsity race with more than a minute cushion in 17:43.8 after placing third at the St. Marys XC Festival at Cabell Midland on Aug. 31.
Williamstown junior Ella Hesson, the Class A-AA reigning state champion, placed second in 19:06. Hesson led a trio of Yellowjackets to place in the top 10; however, Winfield edged Williamstown for the team title by 10 points.
Generals freshman Rachel Withrow finished third overall in 19:10.1, as Winfield's top five runners placed among the top 32.
Wheeling Park, Ripley and Parkersburg finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively as the top Class AAA teams.
On the boys side, Fairmont Senior's Ethan Kincell held off Doddridge County junior Carter Lipscomb by seven seconds with a winning time of 15:43.6. Winfield sophomore Matthew Scheneberg placed third overall.
Fairmont Senior and Winfield entered the meet as defending champion and runner-up, respectively, from last year's Class A-AA state championship. At Chick-Fil-A, though Bridgeport unseated both teams for the title after placing third at last year's state meet. The Indians defeated Fairmont Senior by 10 points, with Wheeling Park the top Class AAA team in third.
For Bridgeport, seniors Jackson Jacobs and Cade Robinson both placed in the top 10, with fifth- and seventh-place finishes.
Parkersburg sophomore Franklin Angelos crossed as the top Class AAA runner - fourth overall - in 16:13.05. Wheeling Park finished as the top Class AAA team in third.
Junior Varsity
Bridgeport dominated the junior varsity races, with both boys and girls squads capturing team victories.
Mason Titchenal, Caleb Hobert and Kyle McCarthy finished one-two-three for the Indians in a 53-point margin victory over second-place Wheeling Park. Titchenal won with a time of 17:54.4.
On the girls side, Bridgeport placed four runners among the top 10 en route to the team title, with Indians Emma Campbell and Natalie Wagner leading the way in second and third place.
Caldwell freshman Rachel Turner won the individual title with a time of 22:46.9
Middle School Varsity
Doddridge and Ripley tied with 60 points, but Doddridge took the win with a faster sixth finisher.
Ripley eighth-grader Ellie Hosaflook won the individual title, with a time of 10:02.5, besting runner-up Alyssa Sauro, of Williamstown. Doddridge's Katie Cottrill finished third.
With the top five runners for both Doddridge and Ripley netting 60 points, the tie was determined by the sixth runner, with Doddridge's sixth finisher Payton Currey placing ahead of Ripley's sixth finisher.
On the boys side, Winfield eighth-grader Brayden Marshall won with a time of 9:03.9 to help propel the Generals to a second-place team finish.
East Fairmont's Drew Moore finished third individually to pace his squad in the team victory.
Middle School Junior Varsity
A trio of East Fairmont runners helped to provide its squad the team victory narrowly over John Adams.
Adalynn Parilak won with a time of 12:27.0, edging teammates Julia Barnes and Adriana Bond.
John Adams' Lexi Graham finished fourth, the first of four top-10 runners for the squad, but East Fairmont prevailed by two points.
On the boys side, John Adams avenged its narrow girls team loss by taking first.
Seventh-grader Cade Adkins placed second, with two other John Adams runners among the top 10.
Marrietta's Maxwell McCabe won the individual title with a time of 11:24.0