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Photo of Jay W. Bennett Williamstown’s Chase Trembley competes in the 2021 Broughton XC Invitational. Trembley and company are looking for big things at the end of the season.
WILLIAMSTOWN – Williamstown boys’ cross country coach Cliff Taylor responded with a fairly straightforward response when asked if he saw this coming.
Yes.
Something special is happening in the ranks of the Yellowjacket, after all. The women’s cross-country team, long masters of the dorm, have company. According to runwv.com, the boys sit there with their counterparts in the first place in Class A.
Zach Cannon, Chase Trembley and company experience a breakthrough. Runners one through eight, the boys have their eyes set on the program’s first state championship. Eight of the best runners in the Yellowjacket have also made their home in the site’s top 47.
This is not surprising for their head coach.
“I knew when they were running in middle school that when they got to high school and matured a little bit more, we would have a really good team that believed in each other and that’s when you can really get your team to accomplish something. “ Taylor said.
But, it may come as a surprise to those who look from the outside to the inside. Before the Yellowjackets started making noise last season, the team hadn’t set the world on fire. The best result for anyone at the State Tournament, before Cannon finished in seventh place last season, was Chandler Antill’s 12th place finish in 2013.
Things have changed dramatically. With the exception of a loaded Chick-Fil-A field, the ‘Jackets are close to the top of the standings in each race. They now face reigning three-time state champion Ritchie County, Ravenswood, Doddridge County and Buffalo for playoff material.
The versatility of the Yellowjackets makes them dangerous threats to win some awards, according to Taylor.
“There isn’t much of a difference between our top five riders from night to night. They can discuss who is in charge. They have not settled and decided on a hierarchical order. It can change from night to night. he said.
Taylor predicts that his boys will only grow in strength as the cross country season draws to a close.
“Our first four were our first four all year”, he said. “The football team does not back down its star because he injured his knee one day or he did not run 100 meters on the ground. The basketball team is the same way, your top scorer doesn’t come out because he’s in a shooting fit. Our top four runners are legitimate.
Of course, it all starts with Cannon. The Yellowjackets’ top runner continues his coming out night from a season ago.
He has matured and gives the same effort, but with much faster results. And it occupies sixth place in the power ranking thanks to its improvements.
Next in eighth place is Julian Johnson, or someone Taylor calls “a special person.”
“He’s maybe the toughest kid I’ve ever seen, looks like he’s finished a race and can bend over and find something. It takes a special person to be like that.
Trembley is at number 12. He brings a much faster approach to the course, according to the manager.
Will Conier, ranked 16th, stands out for many of the same reasons as Johnson.
“They could exchange” Taylor said.
With Dawson Winsett (26th), Alex Cockerham (31st), Malachi Stewart (37th) and Frank Conner (47th) in the field, they’ve made a fierce group facing some of the best programs in the state. So far in the season, they have faced Class AAA Power University and Class AA Winfield among other great teams.
All of this experience will come in handy when the going gets tough. As the season draws to a close, fewer and fewer runners can score points in competitions, and the Yellowjackets with a competitive top eight to nine mean they can afford someone to have a run to. the bottom.
Not that Taylor thinks it’s going to happen.
The ‘Jackets have one more encounter, the St. Marys Autumn Classic on Saturday, before things start to get intense. The Little Kanawha Conference Tournament takes place five days later, the regional ones a week after, and the state tournament a week after the regional ones at Ona.
The message to his team is simple as it all comes to an end.
“We just want them to stay humble and keep doing what they’re doing. We have set up a way to train how we want to go through this step by step and we are exactly where we want to be ”, Taylor said. “Don’t go on the internet and watch what other people are doing because Mike (Taylor), me and Coach (Larry) Cassady know what they need and they just have to keep trusting us like they do. have done so far. “
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