A Brief History of WV High School
Cross Country
(Through the Years)
1958 Was when the first boys State Cross
Country Meet for Individuals & Teams was held for All-Classes combined.
Coach Stan Romanoski of West Virginia Universitys track & cross-country
teams started the event for high school harriers. Schools from West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio participated in what was then called the Mountaineer
High School Invitational. West Virginians were crowned individual and team
champions for the State.
1958 The first Individual Boys Champion
was Roger Meador of Charleston High. His winning time was 10:22 for the
2.1-mile distance.
1958 Dunbar High was crowned the first
boys Team Champion (All-Classes Combined).
1959 Roger Meador of Charleston High
becomes the first two-time Individual Boys Champion.
1961 - Huntington HS and Charleston HS tie
for the West Virginia high school cross country championship. Both teams scored
a low score of 49 points. This would be the only tie for the team crown in the
history of the West Virginia high school cross country championship boys or
girls.
1980 Was when the first Girls State
Cross Country Meet for Individuals was held (All-Classes combined).
1980 The first Individual Girls Champion
was Cindy Campbell of Huntington East. Teams did not exist for the female
division.
1981 Steve Taylor of St. Marys becomes
the first West Virginian to be a Kinney/Foot Locker Cross Country National Boys
Finalist.
1982 - Steve Taylor of St. Marys becomes
the first West Virginia two-time Kinney/Foot Locker Cross Country National Boys
Finalist.
1982 Was when the first Girls State
Cross Country Meet for Teams was held (All-Classes combined).
1982 The First Girls Team Champion was
Parkersburg High (All-Classes Combined).
1983 - Margaret Blake of Fairmont becomes
the first two-time Individual Girls Champion.
1984 - Margaret Blake of Fairmont becomes
the first three-time Individual Girls Champion.
1986-1987 Teams and Individuals were awarded
for AAA (Boys & Girls) and AA/A (Boys & Girls).
1988-1993 Individuals were awarded for AAA
(Boys & Girls) and AA/A (Boys & Girls), while teams were awarded for
All-Classes combined (Boys & Girls).
1989 - Wendy Green of Athens becomes the
first four-time Individual Girls Champion.
1994-2015 Once again, teams and Individuals
were awarded for AAA (Boys & Girls) and AA/A (Boys & Girls).
1996 - Aaron Toothman of North Marion
becomes the first three-time Individual Boys Champion.
2010 Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland becomes
the first West Virginian to be a NXN Cross Country National Boys Finalist.
2012 - Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland
becomes the first West Virginian to be a two-time NXN Cross Country National
Boys Finalist.
2012 Maggie Drazba of St. Marys becomes
the first West Virginian to be a Foot Locker Cross Country National Girls
Finalist.
2013 Amelia Paladino of University
becomes the first West Virginian to be a two-time Foot Locker Cross Country
National Girls Finalist.
2016 - Individuals were awarded for AAA
(Boys & Girls) and AA/A (Boys & Girls), while teams were awarded for
All-Classes (AAA, AA, A / Boys & Girls).
2016 - St. Marys Boys and Doddridge Girls
bring home the first ever Class A Team Championships.
2017 Sophomore Victoria Starcher of
Ripley becomes the youngest West Virginian to qualify for the Foot Locker Cross
Country National Finals.
Did you know? Since RunWV began online in 1997,
the West Virginia High School Cross Country State Championships have been held
at Davis & Elkins College from 1996-1997. The Meet was then held in
Williamstown from 1998-1999. In 2000-2001 it was contested at Davis &
Elkins College. It then moved to a much flatter venue in 2002-2005 at Mineral
Wells. The State Meet has since been running at Cabell Midland High School from
2006 to present.
Through the years weve had:
1 Tie:
In 1961,
Huntington High and Charleston High boys were co-champions.
13 Two Time Individual Boys
Champion:
Roger
Meador (Charleston) - 1958, 1959
George
Mickens (Huntington) 1961, 1962
Jeff
Adkins (Woodrow Wilson) 1977, 1978
Steve
Taylor (St. Marys) 1981, 1982
Sean Hunt
(Gilmer) 1989, 1990
Jeff Roby
(Huntington) 1990, 1991
Ricky
Moore (Wheeling Park) 1997, 1998
Justin
Simpson (Oak Glen) 2001, 2002
Andrew
Benford (Ravenswood) 2004, 2005
Levi
Grandt (Doddridge County) 2006, 2007
Ryan
Beaubout (Wheeling Park) 2006, 2007
Drew
Woodford (Grafton) - 2009, 2010
Seth
Edwards (University) 2014, 2015
6 - Two Time Individual Girls
Champion:
Jessie
Trippett (Parkersburg) - 1985, 1986
Valerie
Peer (Berkeley Springs) - 2002, 2003
Keri Bland
(North Marion) 2004, 2005
Amelia
Paladino (University) 2012, 2013
Alicia
Parsons (Grafton) 2013, 2014
Abby
Colbert (Jefferson) 2014, 2015
Jessica
Melvin (Philip Barbour) 2016, 2017
3 Three Time Individual Boys
Champion:
Aaron
Toothman (North Marion) 1994, 1995, 1996
Josh
Watson (Magnolia) - 1996, 1997, 1998
Jacob
Burcham (Cabell Midland) 2010, 2011, 2012
4 Three Time Individual Girls
Champion:
Margaret
Blake (Fairmont) 1982, 1983, 1984
Holly
Hunter (East Fairmont) 1996, 1997, 1999
Letitia
Propst (Elkins) 2007, 2008, 2010
Maggie
Drazba (St. Marys) 2009, 2011, 2012
3 Four Time Individual Girls
Champion:
Wendy
Green (Athens) 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
Jessica
Taylor (Fayetteville) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
Rachel
Buser (Berkeley Springs) 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
1 Freshman Individual Boys
Champion:
David
Ciarolla (Fairmont Senior) 2005
10 Freshman Individual Girls
Champion:
Wendy
Green (Athens) 1986
Mendi
Hamilton (Martinsburg) - 1993
Holly
Hunter (East Fairmont) 1996
Jessica
Taylor (Fayetteville) 1997
Valerie
Peer (Berkeley Springs) 2002
Rachel
Buser (Berkeley Springs) 2004
Letitia
Propst (Elkins) 2007
Maggie
Drazba (St. Marys) 2009
Victoria
Cooke (Morgantown) 2011
Alicia
Parsons (Grafton) 2013
Team Championships (Boys):
Berkeley
Springs: 2015 (1)
Bridgeport: 2013, 2014, 2016 (3)
Buckhannon
Upshur: 1993 (1)
Cabell
Midland: 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 (9)
Charleston: 1961, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1970 (5)
Doddridge:
1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2017 (6)
Dunbar:
1958 (1)
East
Fairmont: 2017 (1)
Elkins:
1978, 1979 (2)
Fairmont
Senior: 1977, 1988, 1997, 1999, 2012 (5)
George
Washington: 1991 (1)
Grafton:
2009, 2010 (2)
Huntington: 1961, 1962 (2)
Huntington
East: 1964, 1965 (2)
Jefferson:
2011 (1)
Keyser:
1971 (1)
Magnolia:
1981, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1996 (5)
Martinsburg: 1975, 1987 (2)
Morgantown: 1959, 1960, 1985, 1989, 2016, 2017 (6)
North
Marion: 1992, 1994, 1995, 2005 (4)
Parkersburg South: 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 (4)
Philip
Barbour: 2011 (1)
Preston:
2003 (1)
Ravenswood: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (9)
St.
Albans: 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1998 (6)
St. Marys:
2016 - (1)
Stonewall
Jackson: 1967 (1)
University: 2006, 2013, 2014 (3)
Wheeling
Park: 1986, 2007, 2008 (3)
Team Championships (Girls):
Athens:
1988 (1)
Berkeley
Springs: 1995, 2005, 2014, 2015 (4)
Cameron:
1991 (1)
Charleston
Catholic: 2001 (1)
Doddridge:
1996, 1998, 2003, 2006, 2016 (5)
East
Fairmont: 1999 (1)
Elkins:
1986, 2001 (1)
Fairmont
Senior: 1989, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003 (5)
Grafton:
1999, 2000, 2002, 2007 (4)
Jefferson:
2009 (1)
Magnolia:
1983, 1986, 1987 (3)
Morgantown: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 (7)
North
Marion: 1993 (1)
Parkersburg: 1982, 1994, 1995, 2000 (4)
Parkersburg South: 1985, 1987 (2)
Philip
Barbour: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 (5)
Ravenswood: 1990, 1992 (2)
Ritchie:
2004 (1)
Shady
Spring: 2008 (1)
St. Marys:
2009 (1)
University: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (7)
Wheeling
Park: 1984 (1)
Williamstown: 1994, 1997, 2017 (3)
Winfield:
2017 (1)
9 Most Team Championships (Boys):
Ravenswood
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (9)
Cabell
Midland: 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 (9)
7 Most Team Championships (Girls):
Morgantown
2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 (7)
University: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (7)
9 Longest Team Winning Streak
(Boys):
Ravenswood
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (9)
4 Longest Team Winning Streak
(Girls):
Philip
Barbour 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 (4)
University
- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (4)
West Virginia High School Cross
Country Leaders:
Boys:
Steve Taylor (St. Marys) - West Virginia State Cross Country Meet (5K) Oct
30, 1982 - 14:47.00
Girls:
Amelia Paladino (University) - Foot Locker South Regional (5K) - Nov 30, 2013 -
17:04.00
Did you know? At the 2003 West Virginia High
School AA/A Boys State Cross Country Meet, Josh Wagner of Liberty Harrison
finished in the top 10, but was disqualified for not having a bib number.
*******************West Virginia
Runners (Post Season)********************
1 NXN Cross Country Championships
National Finalist:
Boys:
Jacob Burcham (Cabell Midland) 2010, 2012
5 Kinney/Foot Locker Cross Country
Championships National Finalist (Boys):
Steve
Taylor (St. Marys) 1981, 1982
Brian
Redman (Keyser) 1982
Mikey Cox
(Athens) 1992
Justin
Simpson (Oak Glen) 2002
Cody
Pelliccioni (Morgantown) 2010
3 Foot Locker Cross Country
Championships National Finalist (Girls):
Maggie
Drazba (St. Marys) 2012
Amelia
Paladino (University) 2012, 2013
Victoria
Starcher (Ripley) - 2017
Top Foot Locker South Performance
(McAlpine /Charlotte, NC):
Boys: Cody
Pelliccioni (Morgantown) Seeded Race 2010 - 15:04
Girls:
Amelia Paladino (University) Seeded Race 2013 - 17:04
Gatorade West Virginia Boys Cross
Country Runner of the Year:
2017 2018 / Chris Barbera (Woodrow Wilson)
2016 2017 / Philip White (University High)
2015 2016 / Seth Edwards (University High)
2014 2015 / Seth Edwards (University High)
2013 2014 / Matthew Brafford (George
Washington)
2011 2012 / Jacob Burcham (Cabell Midland)
2012 2013 / Jacob Burcham (Cabell Midland)
2010 2011 / Jacob Burcham (Cabell Midland)
2009 2010 / Cody Pelliccioni (Morgantown)
2008 2009 / Cody Pelliccioni (Morgantown)
2007 2008 / Ryan Beabout (Wheeling Park)
Gatorade West Virginia Girls Cross
Country Runner of the Year:
2017 2018 / Tori Starcher (Ripley)
2016 2017 / TaShala Turner (University High)
2015 2016 / Jessica Melvin (Philip Barbour)
2014 2015 / Peyton Panger (Capital)
2013 2014 / Amelia Paladino (University High)
2012 2013 / Maggie Drazba (St. Marys)
2011 2012 / Maggie Drazba (St. Marys)
2010 2011 / Sarah McCauley (Philip Barbour)
2009 2010 / Alex Dent (Hurricane)
2008 2009 / Letitia Propst (Elkins)
2007 2008 / Letitia Propst (Elkins)
Compiled by
Coach Mike McMillion (Last edited 04/10/18)
E-mail:
mgmcmillion@aol.com