CLEAR FORK, W.Va. — Greenbrier West Cross Country had plenty to celebrate Saturday, Sept. 26, as the Cavaliers competed in the Westside Invitational at Westside High School in Clear Fork.
All three Greenbrier West runners continued to show improvement in the 5,000-meter varsity races, with the day highlighted by two personal-best performances, a season best and a top three finish. Senior Jesse Walkup led the Cavaliers with an outstanding race, crossing the finish line in 18:17.1 to place third overall. The performance earned Walkup a new personal best and continued a strong senior campaign for the veteran Cavalier runner. Walkup has been a steady presence for Greenbrier West throughout his high school cross country career, and Saturday’s performance showed there are still milestones to be reached as he works through the final weeks of his senior season.
Fellow senior Dominic Mandeville continued making significant strides in his return to competition, finishing 29th overall with a season-best time of 21:18.4. Mandeville opened his season Sept. 16 at Big Ditch Lake with a time of 24:59, his first cross country race since returning from knee surgery. Just 10 days later at Westside, he had lowered his 5K time by 3 minutes, 40.6 seconds–an encouraging progression as he continues rebuilding throughout his senior season.
On the girls’ side, freshman Kaylee Walkup added another strong performance for Greenbrier West.
Walkup crossed the finish line in 28:34.7, placing ninth overall and recording a new personal best. The freshman has continued to improve during her first high school season. After running 31:25 at Big Ditch Lake earlier this month, Walkup has already taken nearly three minutes off her 5K time.
While Greenbrier West has competed with a small roster this season, the Cavaliers have continued to make their presence known through consistent improvement. Saturday’s results gave the team plenty to build on, with Jesse Walkup earning a podium finish, Kaylee Walkup securing a top 10 finish and Dominic Mandeville continuing to cut substantial time from the clock.
Looking ahead to PikeView, the Cavaliers will return to action Saturday, Oct. 3, at the PikeView Invitational. The course tour is scheduled to begin at approximately 8 a.m., followed by the girls’ 5K at 9:30 a.m. and the boys’ 5K at 10:30 a.m. Greenbrier West will also welcome a new runner to the course. Julian Turpin is expected to make his cross country debut at PikeView, joining Jesse Walkup, Mandeville and Kaylee Walkup and bringing the Cavaliers’ growing squad to four runners.
The Cavaliers invite family, friends, classmates and the entire Greenbrier West community to make the trip, line the course and cheer them on. Greenbrier West may have one of the smaller squads on the course, but don’t mistake small numbers for a small presence. They may be a small group –but, man, do you know when the Cavaliers are there.
With two seniors continuing to push through their final season, a freshman finding her stride and a new teammate preparing for his first race, the Cavaliers head to PikeView with plenty to cheer for — and they’d love to hear some Greenbrier West blue-and-gold noise waiting for them along the course.
Story submitted by: Brittany Mandeville
