Owen sweeps conference cross country championship

Warhorses and Warlassies race to the top of the Western Highlands Conference

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 18, 2023

Nearly 120 distance runners representing eight schools in the Western Highlands Conference descended upon Pulliam Stadium, Oct. 18, as Owen hosted the conference’s championships cross country meet.

As the dust settled on the trails around the Montreat College Black Mountain campus, the Warhorses claimed their sixth straight WHC title, led by conference runner of the year Harding Kinnaird, while the Warlassies returned to the top spot in the conference, placing five runners among the top 10 finishers.

Six members of the reigning state champion Warhorses, which will enter the NCHSAA 2A West Regional meet at Asheville Christian Academy, Saturday, Oct. 28, as the second ranked team, finished within the the top 10 of the conference meet. Kinnaird, a junior, completed the 5K in 17:14.0, followed closely by senior Leo Parmenter, who crossed the finish line with a time of 17:30.9.

Senior Kyle Tilstra’s 17:51.4 performance earned a fourth-place finish, while sophomore Craig Webb (18:14.1) finished seventh. Senior Steve Garcia (18:25.6) and junior Luke Hall (19:06.2) rounded out the group, finishing ninth and 10th.

The team is continuing to improve as it enters the postseason, according to head coach Bob Sadlemire.

“They are getting better, and we have a goal to get to the state championship and finish somewhere in the top three,” the coach said. “We’re ranked third right now, and I think it’s realistic for us to finish second or third. Considering we lost four of our top six runners from last year’s team, that would be a strong season.”

Owen relied heavily on the strength of its top two runners early in the season, but key contributors have emerged from the pack, he added.

“We knew Harding and Leo were our best runners, but Craig, who is a sophomore and running for the first year, has really come on strong,” Sadlemire said. “He could be second or third on our team, consistently. Also, some of our younger runners are getting better all the time.”

The Warlassies, who last won a WHC title in 2021, were led by second-place finisher Neveah Perkins, who posted a time of 22:05.9, and Piper Berry, whose 22:25.0 earned her the third spot. Joining the two in the top five was fellow senior Peyton Draper, who followed closely behind Berry with a time of 22:32.9.

Senior Elsa Quam finished sixth with a time of 23:24.8, while freshman Lauren Tressler (23:27.8) took the eighth spot. Seven runners represented the Warlassies in the conference’s top 20.

The team’s 2023 showing marks a return to form for the program, according to Kate Dost, who is in her 12th year at the helm of the program.

“We have a lot of people who can play a scoring role this year,” she said. “If someone has a bad day we have runners that can step up, and we’ve had a few who have had breakthroughs this year.”

The program, which retained seven runners from last season’s roster, counts 18 members in 2023.

“We have a few freshmen, but we also have a few who are running for the first time as sophomores and juniors,” Dost said.

The team placed an added emphasis on strength training coming into the campaign, according to the coach, allowing runners to push themselves on the course.

“Some of our experienced runners have really flipped a switch this year,” she said. “We’ve seen them develop a mindset that they can really contribute, and some of those girls have made shocking progress this year.”

Freshman runner Adyson Draper called the team a family.

“I want to shout out our seniors, Peyton, Piper, Nevaeh and Elsa for leading us to victory,” she said, following the championship meet.

Keeping runners healthy will be the primary focus for the third-ranked Warlassies as they prepare for the regional meet.

“Like a lot of football coaches say, the hay is already in the barn,” Dost said. “We just have to keep our heads in the game, our nerves calm and back off on intense training. We want fresh legs going into the regional meet.”

Photos of the 2023 Western Highlands Conference Cross Country Championship meet can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.