The Mathews High School cross country season ended last week, as teams from all across Virginia traveled to Great Meadow to compete in the Class 1A state championships.
The MHS boys placed third in Friday’s meet, behind Auburn and George Wythe; while the Lady Devils took fourth overall, with Auburn also winning that race, followed by Parry McCluer and Galileo.
Up first on Friday was the 1A girls’ race with 98 racers, including 12 teams and 20 individuals. The individual 2018 1A state champion was Morgan Dalton of George Wythe, who finished with a time of 19:08. The Blue Devils’ first runner to cross the line was Abbie Hudgins in 23:08, earning 28th place overall. One spot behind was teammate Avery Betz, finishing in 23:13. Brittany Ottarson secured the Lady Devils’ third finishing spot on the team in 23:40. Zoe Goodwin and Jade Davis finished out the team’s top five, in 23:43 and 24:04. Mathews’ top seven was completed by Jaysen Hall (25:35) and Caroline Bray (26:21).
The team points added up to a decisive victory for Auburn, which won the race with 40 points to repeat as state champs. Parry McCluer (56 points) and Galileo (95 points) finished second and third, respectively. Mathews placed fourth in the state with 127 points.
Although the girls’ team was not able to secure the state title this year, the squad had an incredible season, going undefeated through the regular season, and becoming Tidewater District and Region A champions.
In the boys’ race there were 104 runners, 12 teams and 20 individuals. The Blue Devils hoped to improve from their fourth-place finish the previous year, and had their eyes set on a state title. Pre-race predictions had the race being close between Mathews, Auburn, George Wythe and Parry McCluer.
The individual 1A state champion was Jordan Keith of Holston, with a time of 16:15. In second place was Parry McCluer’s number one runner in 16:28. Virtually tying with a time of 16:28 was Blue Devil Cameron Stearns. The freshman finished the course in the fastest time in Mathews High School history, and earned the highest ever individual placement of a Mathews runner with third place overall.
Next to finish for Mathews was Josh Rosadino, in 13th place overall with a time of 17:35. Not far behind him were teammates Will Hutcheson in 18th and Nasir Thomas in 20th places, in 17:40 and 17:43, respectively. Austen Wood completed the Blue Devils top five in 17:55, earning 26th overall. Sean Carlson (18:14) and Calvin Kramer (18:47) finished out the team’s top seven in strong fashion, dominating the six and seven runners from all other teams.
Auburn squeaked out a victory with 69 points. This was Auburn’s fourth consecutive year as boys’ state champs. George Wythe secured second place overall, finishing only three points behind Auburn with 72 total. Mathews placed third overall with 78 points, tying the highest team finish in school history.
The 2018 Blue Devil squad also reached two other school milestones—becoming the first team in school history to have all top five runners finish in under 18 minutes at the state meet, and to have more than one runner receive All-State honors in the same year. All-State honors were awarded to the top 15 overall finishers—Stearns (third place) and Rosadino (13th).
Although the Blue Devils were not able to capture the title, nothing can take away from such a successful season. Similar to the Lady Devils, the boys also finished the regular season undefeated, and were both Tidewater District and Region A champions.
The future for coach Drew Greve’s program looks bright, with a lot of talent returning for the 2019 season, and expectations are high.