MORGANTOWN — When the state cross-country meet begins Saturday morning on the campus of Cabell Midland, there are plenty of stories to be told and history to be made among all four enrollment classifications.
None bigger than the current domination that’s been put on display by the University High School boys’ team, which will be seeking a seventh straight team state championship.
The Hawks boys team won titles in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, while also having the individual state champion for the first three years of that run (Josh Edwards ‘19, ‘20, ‘21).
In 2024, UHS placed four runners in the top 14 and returned three of those runners this season in senior Ethan Conroy, sophomore Micah Gainer, and junior Logan Conroy.
“We brought back that core nucleus of runners, only losing Tyler Umbright who is now running for Pitt,” UHS head coach Ed Fronaphel said. “We have another senior, Colin Schrull who also was in the top 25 last year at the state meet, and he’s had a good season.”
UHS senior Ethan Conroy has the chance to join some rare company in program history on Saturday, as he seeks to secure his fourth top 10 finish of his high school career. He finished 10th in 2022, seventh in 2023, and fifth in 2024.
Sophomore Micah Gainer placed sixth in 2024 as a freshman after running some of the best times in program history for a first-year runner, according to Fronaphel.
“Micah has a lot of physical talent,” he said. “His dad was a great runner and he’s a great kid to work with. He’s a little quiet but he’s coachable and that’s all you can ask for. We try to instill in our kids from day one that if you want to be one of the best in the state, you have to start working toward that your freshman year and keep running until your last race is over.”
Class AAAA qualifiers
Morgantown High boys: senior James Stacy, juniors Joaquin Summers and Maxwell Abdilso, sophomores Joshua Shrewsberry and David Kahl, and freshmen Andrew Richman and Timothy Samuel.
Morgantown High girls: senior Olivia Riley, juniors Megyn Amsler, Lauren Hawkins and Kylie Cline, sophomore Tumaini Yawe, and freshmen Jenna Conaway and Leyland Phillips.
University High girls: junior Abigail Rogers, sophomores Rosalia Biundo and Vienna Lisle, and freshmen Shae Hopkins, Kera Rogers, Sophie Dunn and Mikayla Tager.
Preston High girls: Seniors Autumn Myers, Delilah Myers, and Hannah Liston, junior Ava Simmons, sophomore Zoey Borgman, and freshmen Miranda Poe and Eileen Parks.
