For my boys state preview, click here
For my girls state preview, click here
Peyton Panger, Capital junior
-enters state championship ranked No. 2 in girls AAA according to www.runwv.com
-on the state championship course, knowing how to handle its difficult terrain
“You have to realize that once you get up that hill you’ve gotten through one of the hardest parts of the race and you just have to keep your game face on and don’t get discouraged early on.”
“On that course, usually when you get to the two-mile mark you’re thinking ‘OK, the hardest part of the race is over, I’m feeling good. I think I can do this,’or if you’re not feeling good on the course, when you hit the mile mark, you’re just like ‘Can this be over now?’”
-on her preparedness for the state meet
“I do think I have the right mindset going into this. I’m more confident than I feel I ever have been and I worked harder than I ever have, run more hills, done more miles and it’s put me in such a different place than it has in the previous years. I feel more prepared than ever and I’m excited for this weekend.”
-on the Capital girls and boys teams both reaching the state meet for the first time in program history
“It feels wonderful that the whole team is going, especially since both boys and girls teams -- I think this is the first time ever that both teams have been able to go, and it’s a really exciting time for the cross country team at Capital. I’m really excited about it.”
Jason Henley, Hurricane coach
-on the preparedness of his girls team after winning the AAA Region 4 meet last week
“I always feel good going into the state meet when they’ve run very close to what it is they need to do, the week before at regionals. They were pretty close to that.”
-on senior Tori Dent, the team's top runner who is ranked eighth in girls AAA
“To get to the point where she’s our No. 1 and she’s got an opportunity to be all-state again this year, it’s been a big deal. She’s worked really, really hard to get herself back to that kind of condition after sitting out last track season.”
-on freshman Anna Gordon, ranked 13th in the state
“She’s the fastest freshman in the state right now.”
-on the defending champion Cabel Midland boys, ranked second in the state, being a traditional power
“Midland’s strong. They have that tradition of excellence that they’ve always had. To be able to knock them off of a podium spot, whether it’s the first spot or second spot, would take a monumental effort from any other team.”
Kelsey Spang, Winfield girls coach
-on No. 3 Winfield's preparedness after finishing second in the AAA Region 4 championship behind second-ranked Hurricane
“I think this last meet really showed them and proved to them they are just within the grasps of possibly reaching that title.”
Scott Welch, Charleston Catholic coach
-on team's keys to success
“I think the girls are going to have to be mentally tough, they’re going to have to work through their nervousness, their anxieties that they often get. They have the capability of being a top-three team, but they’re going to have to step up their game a little bit. They don’t necessarily have to run fantastic, they don’t have to improve by leaps and bounds, but they can’t – they have to be tough enough where they don’t take a step backwards, because you can’t afford to do that at states.”
-on freshman Hannah Gacek
“She’s been our No. 2 solid runner all season long. She probably works harder than anybody in practice. She’s been kind of under the radar, because Payton Mullen’s in the front, so she doesn’t get a lot of attention, but I think she’s ranked 17th or 18th in the state, which is pretty good. She’s been so consistent.”
Chris Parsons, Midland coach
-on boys team's performance at Region 4 Championship meet, which the second-ranked Knights won
“Our guys, they all ran personal records. That’s the fastest they’ve ran all year and so all the hard work that they’ve done prior, it’s all starting to pay off. Going into the state meet, that’s when you really want to put it together. They’re ready to race.”
-on boys AAA No. 1 University
“They got their whole team back. They’re good. They got good runners one through seven all the way across the board. We’re really solid one through seven. We don’t really have any weak runners, so it’s just a matter of matching up to them and going head-to-head, but at the same token you can’t overlook any of the other teams either, the Hurricanes, Morgantown’s got a good little team and Jefferson’s always tough.”
-on team's depth and consistency
“We’ve run well all year. We’ve not had a bad meet. Somebody might be off a little bit, but someone else steps in and that’s what’s good about this team, because we have that depth that if someone doesn’t quite pull through, someone else can step in there and take over, so that’s been a big plus for us.”
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