WELLSBURG — The University High boys’ cross-country team was perfect in winning the Region I championship Thursday at Brooke High School.
The Hawks, already the winner of the last three state championships, turned in a perfect score of 15 in the regionals, meaning their top five runners took the top five spots in the race.
The Morgantown High girls nearly equaled the feat in winning its regional title.
The Mohigans — also winners of the last three state championships — had five of the top nine finishers and scored 23 points.
Both schools will be shooting for a four-peat at next week’s state championship meet at Cabell Midland.
University High’s group was led by Ryan Blohm, who won the individual title and was followed by teammates Drew Zundell, Jacob West, Ethan Conroy and Tyler Umbright.
Of that group, only Blohm is a senior.
No individual times were available on the boys’ side, but Morgantown High also advanced to the state meet as a team with a third-place finish. The Mohigans finished with 90 points and were led by Quinn Mudry (14th) and Zach Workman (15th).
For the MHS girls, Irene Riggs, who is committed to Stanford next season, won the individual title with a time of 16:56.96, nearly two minutes ahead of teammate Madeline Gump (18:39.05).
Amelia Summers was fifth (18:53.62), Anna Lester was sixth (18:54.65) and Sophie Renner was ninth (19:42.48).
University High also qualified as a team by taking second place with 65 points.
The Hawks were led by Claire von Boettic, who was third in a time of 18:46.26, while teammate Adelyn Tager was seventh with a time of 19:15.14.
