Eyre wins 4th consecutive SHAC championship; Mustangs earn team title

Saturday was a championship day for Whiteoak senior Landen Eyre and the Lynchburg-Clay boys cross-country team, as Eyre became a four-time Southern Hills Athletic Conference champion, while the Mustangs won the team championship in boys competition.

Below is a submitted article on Whiteoak, followed by recaps of all the other SHAC teams from Highland County.

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Eyre reigns supreme at SHAC Championships

Submitted Article

On Saturday (Oct. 12) at Ripley High School, the Whiteoak Wildcats cross-country runners competed at the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Championships. The first race of the day was the varsity boys meet, and senior Landen Eyre displayed his dominance with his fourth straight conference championship, cruising to a 1:26 victory over the second-place finisher.

Eyre ran a 15:47 to defeat the field of 63 competitors.

“This was another tremendous achievement that he makes seem mundane,” WHS head coach Doug Hughes said. “Landen is the second male SHAC runner to ever win all four years, but the last three years no one has been within a minute of him. That doesn't even sound possible.

“The course was about eight seconds longer this year than the prior 17 years, so his 15:47 this year is better than his 15:47 he ran last year. Landen is primed and ready for the postseason. These next three weeks should be fun.”

With his ninth meet win of the season, Eyre moves to 1,553-1 on the season.

As the varsity boys race continued, Eyre got to witness his younger brother Keegan fly across the finish line in ninth place with a time of 18:30, thus earning him All-SHAC honors alongside his brother.

“Keegan is in his first year of running cross-country, and he was stuck just above 20 minutes most of the season,” Hughes said. “He trusted me, stayed patient, but most importantly worked hard at practice, and today he attacked a course like he didn't know he could. Now he knows, and he can compete next week at districts.”

Whiteoak rolled in four more runners to round out the scoring in their fifth-place team finish, as Shane Mitchell-Cox clocked a 20:02, his personal best of the season and a 26th-place finish. Kenyon Hughes was 41st (21:31), Shawn Mitchell-Cox was 50th (22:58) and Austin Richards was 59th (26:34)

“These four boys all play soccer, and it's a lot to do both. They gave great efforts today,” Hughes said. “Richards, a senior, broke his ankle just before soccer season started, and he's just now been able to jog at all. He's seven minutes behind where he would've been, but he's a competitor, and he really wanted to be out there to finish out his senior season."

On the girls side, the Lady ’Cats runners represented Whiteoak well.

Addy Hauke took sixth place with a time of 21:51.

“Addy doesn't know this, but she just ran the best time at the conference meet of any girls in Whiteoak history, as Ashleigh Harless ran a 21:52 in 2015,” Hughes said. “Addy pushed herself and is preparing herself for a challenging district race next week."

The finish gave Addy Hauke her second All-SHAC honor for cross-country, and much like the boys, she got to witness her sister Charli Hauke earn an All-SHAC honor in her first year of running with a 13th-place finish and a time of 23:17.

Freshman Aubrey Swafford ran her first-ever varsity league meet race and finished in 30th place with a time of 27:05.

The junior high kids were also well represented, as Adrian Ehkator raced to an 11th-place finish and a time of 12:07. Ehkator, a seventh grader, ran the second-best time for a Whiteoak seventh grader in Coach Hughes's 21 years.

Teammates Jason Wolf in 36th place (14:43) and Luke Cox in 41st (15:59) both easily secured their top times of the season. Kenley Juillerat finished in the top 10 for her second straight year with a 10th-place finish and a time of 14:47, while teammate Natalie Burnett was 11th with a 14:51.

Rounding out the running was Tessa Frazier, who finished 29th with a time of 17:20. This was Frazier's top time of the year by over two minutes.

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Mustangs win boys SHAC Championship; Lions finish 3rd place overall  

By STEPHEN FORSHA
The Highland County Press

The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs boys cross-country team was crowned the champions of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference on Saturday (Oct. 12), winning with a score of 45 over second-place Ripley on Saturday at Ripley High School.

The Mustangs had three Top 10 finishers, as junior Kyler Fite led LCHS with a second-place finish with a time of 17:13.8, and in sixth place was senior Asher Faust at 17:47.3. The seventh-place finisher was junior Wyatt Osborn with a time of 18:28.3.

LCHS also had finishes from freshman Tavion Hughley in 14th place (18:44.6), a 16th-place finish from junior Elam Faust (18:58.8), a 19th-place finish by senior Caden Faust (19:27.0), and in 28th place was freshman Linkin Barnett (20:10.8).

The Fairfield Lions were third place overall as a team with a score of 108. Sophomore Ryan Smith placed eighth at 18:29.3. In 20th place for FHS was Zach Ahsaruk, a junior, with a time of 19:27.6, and the 23rd-place finisher was sophomore Connor Ayers with a time of 19:40.1.

The Lions also had sophomore Caleb Rice with a 25th-place finish at 19:53.4, and the 32nd-place finisher was sophomore Griffin Friend at 20:20.3. The Lions also had junior Greg Achterman in 56th place at 24:03.2, and sophomore Landyn Hoskins finished in 60th at 26:44.8.

The final boys team standings in the SHAC meet were:

1. Lynchburg-Clay (45)
2. Manchester (62)
3. Fairfield (108)
4. Eastern (122)
5. Whiteoak (124)
6. North Adams (159)
7. Peebles (167)
8. West Union (168)
9. Ripley (178).

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Fairfield, LC compete in SHAC girls meet

By STEPHEN FORSHA
The Highland County Press

On Saturday, runners from Fairfield and Lynchburg-Clay (Whiteoak’s runner’s finishes were detailed above in the submitted article) raced in the 2024 SHAC Cross Country Meet at Ripley High School, where Fairfield placed fourth overall and LCHS had runners, but not a complete team score.

Fairfield placed fourth overall with a score of 107.

The Lady Lions had a Top 5 finisher, as senior Aylah Humphreys was fifth place overall with a time of 21:48.9.

Also for Fairfield, freshman Iryna Reeves was 26th overall with a time fo 25:40.12, and in 28th place was junior Madelyn Wiseman at 26:10.5.

Fairfield also had sophomore Eleanore Warner finish in 35th place at 30:41.5, and the 37th-place finisher was junior Emelia Roehm at 31:14.0. The 39th-place finisher was sophomore Taylor Livingston at 33:52.5.

For Lynchburg-Clay, freshman Lillian Layne was 12th place overall with a time of 22:43.8.

The final girls team standings in the SHAC meet were:

1. West Union (35)
2. Manchester (50)
3. Eastern (54)
4. Fairfield (104)
5. North Adams (109)
6. Ripley (147).

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