The Magnolia boy’s cross country team won their second event in as many weekends by taking the championship in the triple-A division at the giant Ohio Valley Athletic Conference championship this past Saturday, the first since the 1990 season.

This race had been targeted by the local harriers for success from the beginning of the year after having been runners-up the past two seasons. The boys came through with outstanding races to handily win the title.

Cross country parent and booster Sandy Hinerman said, “These kids weren’t even born the last time Magnolia won an OVAC title!”

Leading the way once again was senior all-stater Bill Feeney in an outstanding time of 16 minutes, 31 seconds that was good for fourth place overall and first in the 3-A division. Fellow senior and all-state performer Alec Hinerman completed an overall ninth place finish, and a runner-up spot in the division, by breaking the 17-minute barrier in 16:50. Both of these times were their all-time bests.

“I don’t have to say much to these seniors,” said Head Coach John Holliday, “because they are both extremely competitive and are big meet performers. They always come through when it is most needed.”

Filling in the scoring was junior James Haught in 18:17 in 30th place (4th in the division); freshman David McIlvain in 19:56 in 98th place (10th in division); junior Kenny Headley in 19:57 and 99th place (11th in division). Also running were Kyle Lancaster (21:12), Mikal Raber (21:37), and Dylan King (23:05).

The expected battle between defending champion Barnesville and the Blue Eagles never fully materialized as the Shamrock number one runner did not finish the race. Since they started the day with the minimum of five runners for a team score, losing one runner prevented them from placing in the team standings.

“It is bad enough to have a competitor go down and not finish, but for it to be your best runner and then to not have someone to take his place in the scoring was a double whammy for them,” said coach Holliday. “But on that day it would not have mattered. At the time he went down we were well in control of the race. Everyone on our team ran so hard we were not going to be denied. To have the whole team, from number one to number eight, turn in such a positive performance at the same time is very gratifying to me as a coach. Now we need to take it a step farther and get through our regional meet.”

The girl’s cross country team did not field a full squad and did not receive a team score for only the second time this season.

Leading the way was junior Christa Harshberger with a 21 minute, 36 second time, good for a 47th place overall and 6th place in the three-A division, earning her a medal. Next was steadily improving freshman Katie Ensinger in 26:41 with her best time of the year. Then came junior Sarah Goddard in 27:05 followed by junior Julianne McIlvain in 30:29.

“The girls ran well and I am very proud of each of them.” said Holliday, “To win a medal in this event is something special for Christa. And to see Katie improve her time by almost three minutes is gratifying because she worked hard in the pre-season and she works hard every day at practice. That is what makes this a special sport because the stopwatch doesn’t lie.”

Parent and cross country booster Meg Ensinger said, “It’s exhilarating to see the passion these athletes have for cross country running. Their commitment is evident in their continuous improvement throughout the season.”

A majority of the runners had to leave immediately following the morning races in Byesville, Ohio, for the band competition at the Forest Festival in Elkins, W.Va. This made for a very long and tiring weekend for them.

The Blue Eagles will next compete at home for the Region 1 A-AA Championship on Oct. 20 at the old golf course and marina. The girls run at 4:30 p.m. and the boys at 5:15 p.m.

This will be for the right to travel to the state championship in Huntington. The top 10 individuals qualify for the state championship and the top three teams will also get to travel.

Said Coach Holliday, “We have the defending boys regional champion in Bill Feeney and the returning runner-up in Alec Hinerman. Even though they went first and second at regionals last season, our team did not qualify for state.

“I will not let our guys forget that. We are in an extremely competitive regional and we cannot take anything for granted.

“The boys and girls teams will have to step up again or we will not have the chance to show how good we really are at the state championship.”