By CHARLIE HUST
Webster County cross country teams capped off one of the finest seasons in school history on Saturday with some outstanding performances in the 2013 KHSAA State Championships held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Led by a third-place finish from Iszack Whitsell, the Trojans finished fifth overall in the Class 2A race. It was the best team finish ever for a WCHS squad. And Whitsell’s third-place clocking of 16:37.29 was the best ever by a Trojan on the state course designed in 2009. It tied him with John Warren who also finished third in the state meet in 1990.
Webster County junior Ali Cherry also saved her best race for the state meet, finishing 21st overall, the best for a Lady Trojan on the new state course. That led WCHS to a 10th-place team finish, the best in school history. Both Cherry and Whitsell were named to the 2013 KHSAA ‘All State’ squads. Whitsell was also honored by the Kentucky National Guard with the ‘Leadership and Sportsmanship Award’.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these young men and women. They are a hard-working, confident group that helps each other and are very dedicated to each other. They have represented themselves, their families and WCHS very well this season and have made this program one of the top programs in the state. That was evident today,” noted WCHS head coach Todd Whitsell. “They have earned the respect of schools throughout the state both on and off the course.”
Whitsell capped off his final race as a Trojan in style, battling the best down to the wire, finishing just 13 seconds behind all-state runner Jay Solinger of Collins High for the individual state title. Ethan Shuley of Highlands was second in the race, crossing the finish line just four seconds ahead of Whitsell.
Webster’s ‘youth movement’ continued to shine on the big stage as a pair of sophomores were next across the finish line. Mitchael Shelton was 41st overall in a pesonal-best 17:57.61, followed by Trevor Cole in 48th and a 18:11.75 clocking. Ronin Periard, just a freshman, was WC’s fourth runner in, finishing 65th in the 215 runner field with a time of 18:18.95. WC junior Robert Daugherty was 69th overall (18:22.29) while Pretson Glazebrook, another sophomore, was 74th overall in 18:26.14. Webster senior Jeremy Garrett completed the scoring with a 131st place finish in 19:10.45.
North Oldham easily won the 2A state title with 53 points, placing five runners in the top 15 positions and six in the top 20.
"On the new state XC course Ali Cherry and Iszack Whitsell set new records for the Webster County XC teams," said Todd Whitsell. "Ali Cherry broke Kendra Griffin’s 21:54 record from 2012 by a minute and 3 seconds. Ali recorded a 20:51 placing 21st earning a spot on the state stage receiving a medal from the KTCCCA for her all area/all state recognition award. The girls team also ran extremely hard placing 10th overall. This is a very young team with no seniors and they have high expectations for next year.
“Iszack Whitsell broke Jon Ashby’s 17:04 in 2011 by 27 seconds placing 3rd overall with a 16:37. Iszack’s 3rd place finish ties Jon Warren’s 3rd place finish at the state meet from 1990 as the best individual finish in WC Trojan history. Iszack also won the “National Guard Best & Brightest Award” which signifies his leadership and sportsmanship among his peers for cross country. This is the first time any Trojan runner has ever won this award. Iszack made first team “All-State” for the second year and Mitchael Shelton also earned “Honorable Mention” in his first season running varsity cross country and Trevor Cole was able to earn the “Honorable Mention” award after being injured the first half of the season. The boys team also made new history, placing 5th overall as the best team finish in school history. Each runner on this team made huge gains this season and left their best race for the last race of the season. Wayne County a team predicted to finish 3rd or 4th at state and beat the Trojans back in early October at the Greater Louisville Classic by 145 points tied the Trojans on Saturday with 195 points each but the tie breaker in the 6th place position gave the Trojans a win earing them the 5th spot at state. A great season for both teams! Words can not express how grateful we “coaches” are for our runners and all they do for this team, the school and this county.”
2013 Class 2A Boys Cross
Country State Championship
1. North Oldham 53
2. Covington Catholic 69
3. Highlands 114
4. Russell 175
5. Webster County 195
6. Wayne County 195
7. Christian Academy 254
8. Lexington Catholic 271
9. John Hardin 340
10. Collins 353
11. Warren East 363
12. Rowan County 376
13. Ashland Blazer 384
14. Shelby County 392
15. Scott 435
16. Calloway County 437
17. Boyle County 467
18. South Warren 474
19. Thomas Nelson 500
20. Boyd County 516
21. Letcher Central 520
22. Bell County 551
23. Edmonson County 559
24. Garrard County 560
25. Paducah Tilghman 593
26. Johnson Central 716
In the girls’ state championship, Webster’s Ali Cherry continued to display improved strength and confidence on the course, leading the very young Lady Trojan squad to a 10th-place finish overall.
The talented junior was 21st in the race with a 20:51.19 clocking. Gabriella Karas of Collins, just a freshman, won the 2A individual title in an incredible 17:39.04, one of the best times at the state meet in any class. Paducah Tilghman’s Aleja Grant was second in 18:34.51.
Next in for the Lady Trojans was eight grader Hadley Mitchell, making her first appearance at the state meet. She finished 48th overall in 21:59.19. A pair of WCHS freshmen, Canlor Cole and Kaile Branson were close behind in the 217 runner field. Cole was 76th (22:33.80) while Branson was 77th (22:35.57). Webster junior Hannah Pritchett was 100th in her first state meeting with a 23:00.66 clocking while seventh grader Colleen Glazebrook was 120th in her first state apparence with a time of 23:25.29.
Lady Trojan junior Paige Tapp, another first-year runner, was 173rd with a time of 25:08.54.
Highlands easily won the state title with 76 points, claiming four of the top 20 finishes. Webster did edge regional rival Fort Campbell in the state meet. The Lady Falcons, who won the last week’s regional title by four points over WCHS, was 12th overall.
2013 Class 2A Girls Cross
Country State Championship
1. Highlands 76
2. Christian Academy 152
3. North Oldham 176
4. Scott 185
5. Collins 251
6. Lexington Catholic 262
7. Boyle County 262
8. Calloway County 265
9. South Warren 266
10. Webster County 276
11. Elizabethtown 277
12. Fort Campbell 280
13. Edmonson County 301
14. Boyd County 358
15. John Hardin 388
16. Fleming County 419
17. Casey County 431
18. East Carter 439
19. Mason County 441
20. Corbin 445
21. Wayne County 450
22. Nelson County 542
23. Franklin County 637
24. Letcher Central 664
25. Johnson Central 683
26. Trigg County 700
27. Knott Central 847