By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
The search for Mothman and Bigfoot went awry as cryptids run amok and eluded capture through the forest and around the ball fields in Short Gap during the Potomac Valley Conference Cross Country Championships, despite a valiant effort by a plethora of teams.
Keyser Boys and Frankfort Girls teams led the hunt earning the PVC Cross Country titles with Luca Altobello (KHS 17:01.8) and Bailey Ferguson (FHS 20:28.2) at the helm, respectively.
PVC Girls Cross Country featured 40 competitors representing Frankfort, Keyser, Hampshire, East Hardy, Tucker County, Pendleton County and Berkeley Springs.
Frankfort won the PVC XC team championship, followed by Keyser, Hampshire and East Hardy.
Ferguson led four Falcons teammates in the Top-10, while Keyser had three Top-10 finishers, along with one apiece by Hampshire, Berkeley Springs and Tucker County.
Prior to the race, East Hardy junior Brianna Hamilton, the self-appointed team mom, fixed freshman teammate Shaye Barb’s hair and mentioned it is all about looking pretty for a race.
That special touch on the hair did the trick as Barb had the best time for the Cougars finishing in 15th place at 25:32.9.
Barb looked forward to the downhill portion of the race to help with momentum.
“I was happy with how I ran. I like how it is up and down here. Each uphill is followed by a downhill, so you can recover. It was mainly wooded, so it was shady and I didn’t overheat. I was pleased with my time,” East Hardy Girls Cross Country’s Shaye Barb remarked.
The good vibes were rolling for East Hardy Girls Cross Country with big smiles and thumbs up before the race commenced.
The course wrapped around a portion of Frankfort Middle School before transcending through the forest and around ball fields as the search for the cryptids covered elevated and mixed terrain.
East Hardy senior Gracie Heishman collected 17th place as the second Cougars runner to finish in the Top-20 with a completion time of 25:44.6.
“I liked the finish line and that the course was in the woods. My time was alright,” East Hardy Girls Cross Country’s Gracie Heishman stated.
East Hardy sophomore Danielle Funkhouser showed tremendous sportsmanship and character stopping to help her struggling teammate Brianna Hamilton coming up the hill on the final leg of the event.
These Cougars runners finished close to each other across the finish line with Funkhouser taking 27th place in 30:15.9 and Hamilton was 28th overall in 30:40.1.
“The finish and the downhill is what I liked the most. I wasn’t very happy with what I got,” East Hardy Girls Cross Country’s Brianna Hamilton said.
East Hardy senior Madison Cowgill rounded out the team effort in trying to capture Mothman with 37th place in a time of 35:00.1 which was a personal best time.
“I liked the downhills and how it was in the woods, so it wasn’t so hot. I did pretty good on time and I PR’d [personal record],” East Hardy Girls Cross Country’s Madison Cowgill commented.
After the race, the girls found flavored ice drinks to savor as the boys started to compete.
There were fans who bought the foot long pepperoni roll to enjoy as the participants traversed through the course.
Bigfoot remained elusive despite a total of 53 cross country boys competing in the PVC Championship from Keyser, Frankfort, Hampshire, Berkeley Springs, Tucker County, East Hardy, Paw Paw and Pendleton County.
The Top-4 PVC Cross Country teams were: Keyser, Frankfort, Hampshire and Berkeley Springs.
Keyser’s Luca Altobello paced two other teammates in the Top-10, while Tucker County had thrice finish in the Top-10, Hampshire and Frankfort had two apiece in that mix.
East Hardy Boys Cross Country junior Jonathan Montgomery garnered 23rd place in a time of 20:31.5 without finding Bigfoot.
Montgomery had just enough saved in the tank to dash past Tucker County’s Draven Bunnell in the final 50 meters to the finish line.
“What I like most about this course is being done with it. I don’t like this course at all. It’s a tough course, but I don’t like it. I didn’t do very good, but I thought I pushed myself pretty hard. I did better than expected,” East Hardy Boys Cross Country’s Jonathan Montgomery stated.
East Hardy Boy Cross Country freshman Kane Persinger collected 50th place in the PVC Championship with a time of 27:04.9.
Persinger kept pace with Pendleton County’s Jonas Turner throughout the competition and pushed hard to the end to beat him by 22 seconds.
“I liked the downhill a lot, but I wasn’t really happy with how I ran. I have been injured a little bit, but I hope to do better in Braxton,” East Hardy Boys Cross Country’s Kane Persinger noted.
The final runner from Hampshire was supported by fellow competitors with loud cheers in the final portion of the race with some jogging alongside in a show of good sportsmanship.
Every PVC runner completed this challenging course.
Keyser Boys coach and Frankfort Girls coach won the PVC Cross Country Coach of the Year awards.
East Hardy travels to Braxton County for the Region II Championship with a state meet trip on the line.
Hamilton, Heishman and Montgomery were state meet qualifiers last season for the Cougars and look for a return trip with new teammates.
“I’m always proud of them. We had some good finishes and we were working through some injuries and adversity. We are looking forward to Braxton County. It is a really tough course at that park with one of the steepest hills to climb. We are hoping to qualify for the state meet,” East Hardy Cross Country coach Michelle Wolfe concluded.
