EDITOR'S NOTE: The resurgence of the Bridgeport girls cross country program continued this year. Although listed as one of the favorites to win a 'AA' state title, the team came up a bit short and finished fourth on a miserable day in Cabell County. To determine the top choices on teams that made it to the semifinals (that didn't finish a direct third), the number of views was used as a tiebreaker.

 

Bridgeport’s girls cross country team was hoping to do something Saturday that it had never done before in school history. And that was to win a Class AA state championship.

 

Going into the meet at Cabell Midland High School, the Indians were actually projected to win the title by the slimmest of margins. Although the girls managed a strong showing, things didn’t end up going their way and they ended up finishing in fourth place.

 

The Tribe finished with 109 points, which was behind the winning total of 90 by Winfield and the runner-up total of 92 by Philip Barbour. Berkeley Springs was third with 104 points.

 

“The girls also finished lower than predicted.  The unfavorable conditions were again one of the major culprits.  I think the girls also had issues getting out fast enough and had to try to work though the pack,” said Griffith. “With the condition the course was in the traversable part became pretty narrow.”

 

Griffith was fully aware that all the teams ran on the same course, but said he felt the weather – for whatever reason – impacted his team more than many others. Despite that, he offered praise to the host school for getting the course in the best shape possible after hundreds of runners competed in the Class AAA boys and girls events prior to the girls racing.

 

“I give Cabell Midland’s staff a lot of credit.  They anticipated the weather and had tons, literally, of gravel hauled in to help with the course, but the graveled part of the path was only so wide,” said Griffith. “Normally we can use more ground to pass runners and make our way forward.   We just couldn’t do that on Saturday.  That left us in a bad position to work from.”

 

Several runners finished as many as 10 spots lower than expected. Griffith said those runners finishing in the usual positions, or higher, could have resulted in a point swing for the title, but it wasn’t meant to be.

 

“They all gave great effort, unfortunately, they just couldn’t get in position to get where they needed to be,” said Griffith.

 

Bridgeport was led by junior Julia Muller. Muller not only paced the Tribe with a seventh place finish, but her time of 19 minutes, 47.25 seconds earned her all-state status.

 

“Julia Muller ran very well.  She managed to get out well at the start and handled the weather.  Her finish was something to see.  She normally finishes with a great closing sprint,” said Griffith. “On Saturday, she found the strength to make two moves coming to the finish.  The last one coming at about 60 yards out to pass two girls to the line moving her from a predicted finish of eighth to seventh.

 

“From finishing 30th last year to seventh this year is quite an accomplishment,” Griffith continued. “Her dedication in the off season combined with a great track season are the recipe I wish I could get everyone on the team to buy into before next cross country season.” 

 

Muller wasn’t the only one finishing near the top of the list to outdo their expected finish. Sophomore Emma Campbell also turned the trick after placing a time of 20 minutes, 10.39 seconds.

 

“Emma Campbell also ran very, very well on Saturday.  Predicted by RunWV.com to place 14th she managed to pick up a spot and finish 13^th,” said Griffith. “She didn’t quite have the start that Julia had, so Emma had to work a little harder to move up through the second pack in the first mile.  She did move up and finished with the standard look of determination she demonstrates race after race.  She is a true fighter.”

 

Allison Hess was the third BHS runner to finish (41^st, 21:32.94). She was followed by Jenna Soltesz (45^th, 21.44.59) and Brooke Wagner (48^th, 21:52.94). 

 

The Indians return the bulk of their top runners for next year. The Tribe does graduate for seniors and Griffith had praise for all of them.

 

“Rhe Freeman is a first-year runner for us and did an outstanding job working her way up to eighth for the girls.  Kayla Milliman has been with us for three years.  She has been battling knee issues all season, but still managed to set several personal records this season in spite of some serious pain, and may be the toughest girl on the team. 

 

“Hayley Chamberlain never participated in sports until coming to winter conditioning her sophomore year.  She started slow, but though hard work and dedication has been in our top 4-6 for the last two years,” Griffith continued. “Finally, Jenna Soltesz who is the heart and soul of our team.  Following a bout with low iron her freshman year, Jenna has been tremendous.  The only girl qualifier two years ago, she has led the resurgence of the girls’ team to last year’s third place and this year’s fourth place finishes for the girls team.  Even more than her running, is her tremendous leadership of the girls. She will be very hard to replace.”

 

The Indians return five of their top seven runners in 2018. He also expects several younger runners and perhaps some newcomers to make some noise.