W. VA. STATE CROSS COUNTRY: Sauro finishes 1st as Yellowjacket girls outlast Doddridge

ONA -- Williamstown tipped the scales in its favor in time for Saturday's W.Va. Class A State Cross Country Meet when one of their runners managed to return from an injury hiatus that lasted six weeks.

Sophomore Alyssa Sauro, who recently joined team workouts after rehabbing from shin splints, won her first individual A title and joined a pack of Yellowjackets which placed five runners in the top 10 for all-state recognition. After Doddridge County snapped a string of three Williamstown team championships last season, the Yellowjackets returned to the top of the podium while finishing 31 points -- 27 points ahead of the runner-up Bulldogs.

"Today was going to be a struggle against (Doddridge County), and we knew if we ran as a pack that would really help us accomplish our goal," said Williamstown sophomore Ava Leightfritz, who placed eighth overall. "Having Alyssa back really helped boost our confidence. We stepped it up as a team.

"For me, it was a little rough out there. It was a little hotter than I thought it would be, but the conditions were a lot better than last year."

Joining Sauro and Lightfritz in the top 10 were teammates Brianna Winsett (seventh), Sydney Anderson (ninth) and Lexi Wynn (10th). Anderson and Brookelyn Reynolds are the only two seniors among the seven runners who represented Williamstown.

"Last year was a little hard on everyone," Anderson said. "This year, the entire season we have been looking forward to this moment. When we came through, it meant a lot and shows all the work we put in paid off.

"Obviously, we couldn't have done it without Alyssa, but the whole pack is a huge part of us winning today."

Doddridge County senior Alexis Lamb led the field by seven seconds at the one-mile mark, but she fell twice during the remainder of the 3.1-mile course and placed third in a time of 19:49.87. Sauro's winning time clocked out at 19:01.65 and more than 30 seconds faster than runner-up Virginia Haddox ( 19:35.85) of St. Marys.

"I wasn't really sure how I was going to race," Sauro said. "I haven't ran since September 17. It's been a while. I've just been doing some jogging to get back into it. This is really the first hard workout I've done since and I'm really happy how I did. I wanted to go out a little slower than I usually do because of injuries, but it's feeling pretty good. It' not really the shape I wanted to be in right now.

"As for the team championship, the girls and I have worked so hard during the season to get this point. I'm really proud of them."

Rounding out the Williamstown contingent were Reynolds placing 23rd and Sylvia Harris crossing the finish line in 48th place.

"That was an amazing job by those young ladies," said Williamstown girls cross country coach Mike Taylor, who can't remember having more than four all-staters on any one team during his tenure in the high school ranks. "Getting five all-staters, you dream maybe they can pull that off. They went out and did it today.

"Alyssa has actually started training with us a little bit, not a whole bunch, about two weeks ago. Gradually, things kept improving. She got three to four quality workouts in with no pain or anything. We played it day to day and made a decision Wednesday she would be good to go today. When she started practicing with the team that was a big morale boost for the girls. When Alyssa went down, it might have been a blessing in disguise as far as the team getting focused and working as a pack -- which our girls did today."

Winsett admitted she didn't feel her best making her way through the course for the final time in her high school career. Yet, she turned in the second fastest time among the Yellowjacket runners as a way to complete her senior season.

"I tried my best in that race even though I did not have my best," Winsett said. "My team is what I will remember most about cross country at Williamstown. I will miss practicing with them every day."

Wood County Christian senior Lacey Dimit used the pace set by the main pack of Williamstown runners to her advantage and earned all-state honors for the first time in three attempts after placing sixth in a time of 20:38.01.

"My goal was to try and stay ahead of the pack of Williamstown girls. -- that was my plan," Dimit said. "I was able to stay ahead of them the entire race. I looked at Brianna (Winsett) the whole time and told myself to keep focusing on her. That's what helped push me through.

"I'm so excited -- it as my last chance and I did it. My sophomore year and junior year weren't very good. I was sick, especially at the state meet. This is the first year I have been healthy. I had a good season and felt strong. I am really happy that I made it."

Area schools also fielding full teams were St. Marys (5th, 109 points), Ritchie County (6th, 135 points) and Ravenswood (7th, 144 points).

Class AAA

Williamstown matched Morgantown's output for all-staters. However, the bigger story was Mohigans senior Irene Riggs, who obliterated the state record of 17:17 set by St. Marys' Maggie Drazba, who turned in a time of 17:17 in 2012. Riggs set the tone early and finished the first mile in a time of 5:28 and separated herself from the rest of the field by 34 seconds. Riggs eventually finished in 16:32.32.

After a lengthy absence of qualifying as a team for the state meet, the girls team from Parkersburg placed seventh in a field of 12 teams. Morgantown won with 32 points, while University won the tiebreaker for runner-up after matching Cabell Midland with 77 points. The Big Reds scored 198 points.

The two fastest times turned by PHS belonged to junior Aubrey Lantz (25th, 21:00.11) and sophomore Ellie Hines (21:09.11). The Big Reds return all seven runners who competed on Saturday. Lantz estimated set set a new PR by two seconds. With game-time temperatures hovering around 35 degrees for the Class AAA championship races, Hines fell short of her PR.

"My PR is 20:45, so I was sort of close -- I might have been able to get it, but it was so cold," Hines said. "I didn't think my legs were going to go any faster than they were going."

Ripley's lone representative, junior Ellie Hosaflook, placed 16th with a time of 20:07.59.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com