Bridgeport High School boys and girls Cross Country Coach Jon Griffith goes into Saturday’s season-opening meet at St. Mary’s High School in a position he’s never been in – or for that matter the program has been in. And the position is as the Class AA boys defending state champions.

 

While that’s certainly a good thing, what may be even better is that the BHS boys cross country are currently predicted to win it all once again. In the pre-season Runwv.com power rankings, Bridgeport is picked to finish in the top along with Fairmont Senior. Both the Indians and the Polar Bears have a predicted total of 106 points.

 

“I can't remember where we were ranked at the beginning of last season.  I'm pretty sure that (last year) was the highest we had ever been ranked to start a season.  I just can't remember if we were 1, 2 or 3,” said Griffith. “The preseason rankings are based on the end of last cross country season.  Since then, things have changed for everybody.  To go all the way through track season and two off seasons, you just don't know who around the state has improved or not.  You also don't know who may have moved in from out of state.  There are just too many variables for it to mean too much at this point.”

 

Some of those variables will play out tomorrow in the Autumn Classic at St. Mary’s. The meet begins at 9 a.m.

Even though Griffith isn’t putting all his eggs in the preseason ranking basket, he knows that even with the loss of standouts Abe Merinar, Matt Dearth and Zach Abbott, the cupboard isn’t bare.

 

“After what we accomplished last season, it's hard not to have a few high expectations.  But with three outstanding runners now gone and running in college, I have to stay realistic,” Griffith said. “On the upside, we do have some outstanding runners back and we have some kids who have improved dramatically since last year.  The way we practice, it is sometimes hard to tell exactly where we are.  It usually becomes much clearer after the first meet or two.”

 

Returning and ranked in the RunWV.com preseason poll’s top 20 are four Bridgeport runners. Arryn Tennant is listed at number 11, Troy Pallay is at the 13^th spot, Ian Frailey comes in at number 17 and Michael Duez is listed in the 19^th position.

 

While the girls aren’t listed in the top 10, they do have one runner listed in the top 40. Junior Savannah Blythe is the top ranked female runner at the number 38 spot.

 

Regardless, Griffith is ready for the season after weeks of practice. He is sidestepping discussion of the boys winning a second consecutive state title and focusing on the things he said he focuses on in cross country and in his duties as track coach.

 

“Practices are going well.  We have a couple of kids a little banged up, nothing serious, but some things we keep a close watch on.  The nice thing about this team both last year and again this year, we have the depth to be able to continue competing at a fairly high level even without a kid here or there,” said Griffith. “As far as back-to-back anything, it's way too early to be thinking about that.  We just want to focus on improving from day to day and week to week.  Our philosophy doesn't change.  Whether it is track and field or cross country, we want every single kid on the team to keep getting better.  It's a simple lesson, but one that pays big dividends in cross country, track and field, academics, careers and life.”

 

Editor's Note: Photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.