Team chemistry comes together at right time for MHS

Prior to the state meet, Coach Mike Ryan sat down with the girls and explained the importance of what each girl needed to do in order to claim the team title. Each of their performances would be instrumental in achieving this goal over rival University High School. It worked.

Not only did MHS win the West Virginia State Meet, but they also went 1-2 with two very strong front runners in freshman Tori Cooke and sophomore Sydney Pineault. Cooke went 19:02.7, and Pineault was just seconds back in 19:09.7.

Behind them were a strong pack of girls who excelled as well: junior Brynn Harshbarger in eighth place (19:33.5), sophomore Allison Lynch in 12th place (19:45.6), freshman Andrea Pettit in 21st place (20:28.5), freshman Caroline Moore in 30th place (20:54.5
And sophomore Rebekah Lafata in 32nd place (21:02.3). These top notch performances also contributed to the fastest average team time ever recorded in AAA class history. MHS recorded a 19:36 average time.

“It feels great,” Ryan said. “It’s a bit of a relief. I felt that coming in one and two individually was really icing on the cake. The goal all season was for the team title, and that just makes it even more special to know that individually they all succeeded.” As a freshman, Cooke portrayed the leadership of an upperclassman by taking a very early lead in the race at 1,200 meters and never hesitating in her decision.

“I tried to stay with the top girls and going up and just trying to keep the lead,” Cooke said. “I felt pretty strong. It’s a really good feeling leading most of the race. It was pretty fun.” While she was having fun, Ryan was indecisive as to whether her early move to the front was the best way to approach this race. Cooke had not won a race all season. Suddenly, his doubts were instantly set aside by the reality of what transpired right before his eyes, as she kept extending her lead.

“When I got to see her up close and see that she was relaxed and controlled, I started to believe that it could happen and that she would win the race,” he said. “Tori is a competitor, and you put her in any situation and she’s going to try to strive to be the best.” But Pineault had a different strategy.

After being sidelined with a few injuries early on in her career, she and Ryan approached this season a little differently. “She’s another one that I think people kind of forgot about because she was a little injured coming into the season,” he said. “I was a little over cautious with her and took her out of some workouts, out of some races, held her back, so I could make sure that she was rested and injury free leading into the meet of the season when we needed her.”

When the team needed her most, she responded in astounding fashion. She came from as far back as 12th place at the state meet to slowly move her way up behind her team mate, Cooke. Everything was clicking for the team that day, but this was not a
surprise for Ryan. In the weeks leading up to the state competition, he noticed even more how well his team was performing, how confident they were in their fitness and even more importantly how much belief they had in each other.

“I think the fact that we’re all really close together helps us run as a team, so even if someone is not feeling their best one day, we remind ourselves that we need to do this for the team,” Moore said. How they define themselves as a team all started earlier on in the
season at the Red, White and Blue Invitational. There in Pittsburgh MHS claimed the team title over 30 other schools throughout the area. That day the team was led by a born leader in Harshbarger. Placing eighth in a quick 19:12 performance, she never allowed anything to interfere with what she sets out to do.

“She’s been solid all season,” Ryan said. “At the end of the race she puts it all out there, and I think the other girls have seen that. Really, she pushed them a lot early on in the season, and I think that set a precedent for our entire season and our entire program to have that type of competition within the top seven.” So much competition made it difficult to define and establish the top seven who would be competing at the Regional meet. Their depth was limitless, and it all started with Harshbarger’s performance in Pittsburgh.

“We could go back to our ninth runner on our team, and they would probably make varsity on almost any other program,” Ryan said. “Our sixth runner on the team this year would have been a top five runner on any team besides us and UHS, so we really have a lot of depth. And I look at somebody like Brynn. She set the tone very early in the season for the direction this team could go.”

Confidence in the team atmosphere only cultivated even more after that. Team titles at big invitationals were no longer a surprise. Although many spectators may remember the girls for what they did on the cross country course at the state meet, the team knows there is more to it than that.

It’s in the moments and hours after a race that the team exudes the undeniable team chemistry they have. After parents booked hotel rooms at the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) Championships earlier this season, the girls still opted to ride the bus back together after the race.

“They just enjoy each other’s company, and they feed off of that, and it really helped the entire atmosphere,” Ryan said. With that attitude they knew they could do anything, even if the odds seemed to be against them.

“Even though we might not get the most support as a team, we definitely support each other enough to accomplish anything,” Pettit said.