SHS boys, girls cross country teams advance to state championships
Published 6:26 pm Monday, November 11, 2024
Pictured following the awards ceremony on Nov. 6 are state-bound varsity members of Smithfield High School’s cross country teams. Bottom row, from left are freshman Evelyn Porter, freshman Ashlyn White, junior Rachel Morgan, sophomore Kylee Engstrom, junior Yasmeen Fann, senior Caitlyn Cena, senior Kadence DiStefano, junior Grace Dodson, sophomore Oneka Aierdi, junior Emma Hattemer, freshman Julianna Jones and senior Madelyn Berry. Top row, from left, are Assistant Coach Eric Berge, junior Ethan Caggiano, freshman Brennen Thomspon, freshman Logan Greer, freshman Caleb Greer, freshman Cooper West, junior Ewan Kucha, sophomore Noah Owens, junior Maximo Duffee, freshman Rowan Black, junior Nate Miller, freshman Zachary Canady and Head Coach Steve Sheppard. (Submitted photo)
Madelyn "MadDog" Berry focuses on finishing strong as she pulls away from the third-place runner with just less than a half-mile left in the Girls Regional Championship 5K (3.1 mi) Race on Nov. 6 at Windsor Castle Park. Berry finished a strong second place overall, marking this her best regional finish ever, having previously finished as high as fifth. (Submitted photo)
Logan Greer battles for position with competitors at the 1-mile marker during the Boys Regional Championship 5K (3.1 mi) race on Nov. 6. Greer went on to finish as the second-fastest Packer runner in 10th place overall, behind only his twin brother Caleb, who came in 7th overall. (Submitted photo)
For the first time in more than 40 years Smithfield High School’s boys and girls varsity cross country teams both qualified for the Virginia High School League state championships in the same season.
Both teams will travel to the Oaklands Historic House and Gardens Plantation in Leesburg on Nov. 16 for the Class 4A VHSL State Championships.
At the Regional 4A Championship qualifier meet, held Nov. 6 at Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield, the boys team finished in second place behind Jamestown High School while the girls team finished third behind Jamestown and Warhill high schools. The region consists of teams from the Bay Rivers, Southeastern, eastern and Peninsula districts, all from schools with enrollments of 1,000 to 1,250 students.
In addition to Smithfield, Jamestown and Warhill, the top runners from Hampton, Phoebus, Manor, Churchland, Gloucester and Denbigh high schools also competed. The top three overall teams and the top five individual runners from Smithfield’s boys and girls teams qualified for the state championship.
Leading the Lady Packers is senior tri-captain Madelyn Berry, a three-time state qualifier. Rounding out the top seven are freshman Jules Jones, sophomore One Aierdi, freshman Ashlyn White, freshman Evelyn Porter, sophomore Kylee Engstrom and junior Rachel Morgan. Other senior tri-captains Kadence DiStefano and Caitlyn Cena helped lead the Lady Packers to the fastest average time in school history.
Berry finished in second place overall in the girls varsity division while Smithfield’s freshmen twins Caleb and Logan Greer led the Packer boys, finishing seventh and 10th, respectively, in the top 10 for the boys varsity division.
The Greer twins provided a one-two punch for Smithfield, flip-flopping back and forth between being first- and second-fastest runners for most of the season.
SHS cross country is led by Coaches Steve Sheppard and Eric Berge.
Rounding out the boys top seven are junior co-captain Ewan Kucha, freshman Rowan Black, freshman Brennen Thompson, freshman Zachary Canady and junior Ethan Caggianno. Junior co-captain Maximo Duffee’s leadership has also been influential to the boys team’s rise to the state championship.
This year marks the second in a row that the Lady Packers have qualified for the state meet. They made it on a tie-breaker against Gloucester in 2023. This season, the girls made it without a tie-breaker match, besting the next team by 68 points.
The year also marks the first time s Ince 2019 that the boys team has advanced as a team to the state championship. The boys team’s runner-up finish at this year’s regional championship is the highest that SHS has ever finished in Class 4.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a corrected headline. It is the cross country team, not the track team, that advanced to the VHSL championships.
