by Jamie Harris
The Berkeley Springs High School Cross Country teams competed in the Coach Charlie Kuh Invitational, held at Keyser High School this past Saturday, October 5, showing tremendous improvement and achieving multiple personal and season records.
On the girls’ side, Bella Shoemaker led the way with a strong 10th-place finish, clocking a time of 22:59.64 to earn medalist honors. Close behind, Kayleigh Coulter placed 13th with a time of 23:39.58, while Isabelle Bingaman secured 15th place, finishing in 23:30.56. Charity Brown (26:07.11) and Eva Sealey (30:00.91) rounded out the team, helping the girls secure a solid 5th-place team finish.


The boys’ team also put forth a strong effort, finishing 8th overall. LJ Sealey had the top performance for the boys, placing 11th with a time of 18:09.35. Josh Walls followed in 21st place, crossing the line in 19:26.85. Haven Ailor (21:36.38), Liam Stewart (22:03.53), Jake Risinger (22:39.31), and Zander Clark (27:17.45) completed the lineup for the boys.
Head Coach Ian Helmick expressed his pride in the team’s performance. “Every runner is showing great improvement. All of the training we have been doing is starting to pay off,” said Helmick. Notably, eight runners set personal records (PRs), and three others achieved season records (SRs) at the meet.
Looking ahead, the teams will compete in the PVC Championships at Tucker County on Tuesday, October 15, followed by Regionals in Hampshire on October 24.
Berkeley Springs Cross Country is gaining momentum as the season progresses, with expectations high for the upcoming championship meets.