Published: September 06, 2008 10:57 pm            

Russell boys grab Fairview title

WESTWOOD — Overcast. Pleasantly cool. Misty.

In other words, just about ideal if you happen to be a cross country runner.

Senior Matt Collins and junior Tanner Alexander — Russell’s dynamic duo — took advantage of the conditions Saturday morning with a strong one-two finish in the Fairview Cross Country Invitational.

Collins covered the John W. Clark course first in 17 minutes, 24 seconds.

“Last time here, I was in the 18s,’’ Collins said. “I wanted to be in the 17s today and get first and second with Tanner. It’s a one-two punch.’’

Alexander was right behind in 17:26.

“The weather was great,’’ Alexander said. “I couldn’t ask for better. It’s a fast course and we were competing against a lot of teams.’’

Led by its one-two combination, Russell won the boys’ team title under new head coach Gary Salyer.

"It’s a great feeling,’’ said Salyer, brought 11 years of coaching experience from East Carter. “All the work you your athletes put in, it’s great to see it pay off. It’s very humbling to come in and win a meet like this.’’

Mason County took the girls’ title with 35 points. Runner-up Fairview totaled 41, while Charleston Catholic was next with 62 points. All three are Top 10 teams in their state rankings.

Coach Becca Stacey, whose young Fairview squad is No. 7 in Kentucky’s Class A, came away pleased.

“All the girls ran better times than in our little preseason showcase,’’ Stacey said. “We’re moving in the right direction. Yeah, they wanted to win this meet because we won it last year. But as a team, we’re looking at the bigger picture.’’

Becca wants to make sure her team is well-tested this season. Fairview will travel to Grant County next weekend and face some of the big schools in northern Kentucky. The Lady Eagles’ schedule also includes trip to Lexington Catholic.

"That kind of competition is only going to make us better,’’ she said.

Eighth-grader Brooklyn Bowen led Fairview by placing second behind Charleston Catholic sophomore Ally Hoyer.

Bowen led about the first 2 1/2 miles and posted a time of 21:19.

“It feels good,’’ Bowen said. “The faster people push me to do better in races. Hopefully this is going to be a really good year for our team. We want to come out and win most of our races me. If not first place, then second.’’

Fairview placed four runners in the top nine. Freshmen Dani Craig (21:55) and Felicia Mills (22:33) finished fourth and seventh, respectively, and junior Kaitlin Bridges (22:36) was ninth.

Each team’s top five runners are used for scoring purposes.

“It’s early,’’ Stacey said. “We are still working on a fifth runner to get the team score down.’’

Freshman Julia Terrell, a first-year cross country runner, was Fairview’s No. 5 finisher in 25th. Teammates Audrey Sizemore and Brandi Mills took the next two spots. Mills, a senior, is working to get back in form after taking a year off from cross country.

“She’s sore right now from not being use to the workouts,’’ Stacey said. “But Brandi works too hard for her not to be up there by the end of the season.’’

Charleston Catholic’s Hoyer paced herself through the early stages of the race and then overtook Bowen to win in 20:53.

“They started out really fast,’’ Hoyer said. “Coach (Scott Welch) told us to be careful of that.’’

Welch, a 1978 graduate of Ashland Blazer, called Hoyer an exceptional runner and athlete.

“Ally is very capable and intelligent,’’ he said. “She measures people and has a natural instinct as a runner.’’

Hoyer’s best sport is softball. A standout pitcher, she has already earned first team All-State honors in West Virginia.

Welch likes to bring his team — currently ranked sixth in West Virginia’s Class A-AA — to the Ashland area each season. Charleston Catholic bypassed a large meet at Cabell Midland on Saturday in favor of the Fairview Invitational.

Mason County showed its strength by putting five runners in the top 12. Valerie Rice led the way with a third-place time of 21:50. Russell sophomore Jennifer Miller was sixth overall (22:22).

Russell’s boys finished 21 points ahead of Charleston Catholic for the top spot.

“This is a big one for us,’’ Salyer said. “It’s the way you want to start your season. But like I tell the kids, if you don’t continue to get better then somebody is going to pass you by.’’

Collins said the Red Devils’ workouts are showing early dividends.

“Coach Salyer’s motto is train harder than everybody else,’’ Collins said.

Russell senior Tyler Cooksey shaved 42 seconds off his time from the previous meet to get 16th place in 18:50. Freshman Brandon Yates (19:16) was 21st and senior Rodney Thacker (19:40) finished 26th for the Red Devils.

“Every one of their times was better today,’’ Salyer said. “It shows the determination and heart these kids have.’’

Rose Hill Christian’s Johnny Bush finished fifth in 18 minutes. Fairview’s Tyler Brown (18:07) and Ceth Gunter (18:25) also placed in the Top 10.

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.

        

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