Cross country season preview: Question marks and must-see meets for Pisgah and Tuscola

Aug. 11—Last season was a historic one for Tuscola girls' cross country team. The Lady Mountaineers finished second to West Henderson at conference, with Eva Rinker finishing in fifth place, Alexis Stevenson in sixth, Luci Snyder-Lowe 10th and Selah Hill 11th. The girls followed up the conference meet with a fourth-place finish at regionals and a fifth-place finish at the state championship. Unfortunately, Tuscola lost Rinker, Hill and Faith Dougherty to graduation, as well as Stevenson, who chose not to run this season.

On the Tuscola boys' side, Noah Clancy and Jordan Lombard anchored a boys' team that did not field enough runners to score as a team. At the conference meet, Clancy had a top-10 finish while Lombard claimed 16th place. Regionals were not as easy, but both boys secured top-37 finishes.

Pisgah's up-and-coming girls' team finished in sixth place at the conference meet in 2022, with sophomore Caroline Henson being the top finisher in 25th place. The team secured a 21st-place finish at regionals as Henson led the charge and finished 70th. The Lady Bears did not qualify for state.

The Pisgah boys, meanwhile, earned fifth place at the conference meet behind the legs of top sophomore runner Daniel Sayblack, who finished in 8th place. The Bears took 13th in the region, with Sayblack earning 16th place. The boys did not qualify for state, but Sayblack did individually. Despite a rough sickness on the day of the race, Sayblack gutted out a 117th-place finish.

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Question Marks:

Will Daniel Sayblack make his mark at state this year?: Daniel Sayblack, now a junior, may be the best male runner in the county, and ran his way to state as a sophomore in 2022. Dogged with sickness, Sayblack gutted it out and finished 117th, but it was obvious he was not satisfied. With another offseason under his belt and a chip on his shoulder, can Sayblack make his mark at state this year?

Can Tuscola replicate Rinker's output?: Tuscola cross country, outdoor track and field and indoor track field have banked on consistently stellar performances from Eva Rinker for the past four years. Now that she is running for West Virginia University, can the Mountaineers replace her output? While it may be difficult for any one girl to do it, Tuscola does field a slew of talented young ladies who could surprise everyone with their collective results.

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Biggest Challenge:

Putting a dent in a tough conference: The Lady Bears cross country team was young last season, anchored by strong performances from sophomore Carolina Henson, and finished 21st at regionals. Can the girls put a stronger performance together this season and crack the top 10 teams in the West? If so, it could provide a threat to Tuscola's dominance over the in-county girls' races.

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Tuscola must find boys to run: Tuscola didn't have enough boys running on the team last year to receive a team score, but Clancey returns and could be the catalyst for a young group of new runners to emerge. If head coach Kevin FitzGerald can get the guys on the team, it could signal brighter days for Tuscola boys' cross country.

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Bold Predictions:

Pisgah boys crack top 10 at regionals: The Bears ran to a 13th-place finish at regionals last season, but a healthy Sayblack and a slew of young runners could give the Bears the gusto they need to make a run at the top 10 this season. Could they place high enough to qualify for state? That remains to be seen.

Tuscola girls qualify for state: Losing Rinker is a tough pill to swallow, but Setveneson's departure loses Tuscola its top two runners from last season. But Tuscola has the top middle school runner, Julia Wells, in its ranks, along with returners Snyder-Lowe and Hill. All in all, this should be a team that makes a splash at regionals and could very well qualify for state.

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Runners to Watch:

Daniel Sayblack (Pisgah, Jr.): Arguably one of the best athletes in Haywood County, Sayblack dominated the competition last season but had a disappointing performance at state thanks to a sickness. If early reports are correct, Sayblack is hyper-focused on replicating and improving on his sophomore campaign. He could be a contender for a state championship this season.

Caroline Henson (Pisgah, Jr.): Although the Pisgah girls' team did not qualify for state, the team secured a 21st-place finish at regionals thanks to a charge by Henson. Consistently a top performer in 2022, Henson should improve as a junior this year.

Luci Snyder-Lowe (Tuscola, Jr.): Last year's No. 3 runner will look to step up this year in the absence of the team's top two runners (Rinker graduated, and Stephenson decided not to run). Snyder-Lowe was 10th at conference and 18th at regionals (the sixth-best underclassman). If she can anchor a talented girls' squad, the team could go far at regionals and beyond.

Noah Clancy (Tuscola, Jr.): Clancy had a top-10 finish at the Mountain 7 Conference meet in 2022 and has been competing in triathlons throughout the summer. He'll anchor the boys' team this season and will look to make a splash in the conference race.

Julia Wells (Tuscola, Fr.): Wells did not lose a meet last fall as an 8th grader at Waynesville Middle School. The timing of her rise to Tuscola and the departure of some of the Lady Mountaineers' top two runners presents a prime opportunity for Wells to be a difference-maker early on.

Must-See Meets:

"Black Bear Invitational" (Wed., Sep. 13, at Pisgah Baseball Complex in Canton): Both Bears squads finished fifth at last year's home meet, but you can rest assured they'll be looking to defend their house as they invite rivals Tuscola to Canton. Sayblack finished 7th out of 68 runners last year, but a betting man would put money down on him winning the race this time around.

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"Tuscola Invitational" (Wed., Oct. 11, at the IP Sports Complex in Canton): Although Tuscola is forced to host its home meet in Canton because they don't have a dedicated home track, you can bet the Mounties will look to shine at the Tuscola Invitational. Noah Clancy finished 7th last time around, two spots behind Pisgah's Sayblack. This year's race could be a battle between them for first place. The girls, meanwhile, will look to repeat last season's performance when they took five of the top six spots, including first through third places. Snyder-Lowe could be crowned champion at the race's completion.

"Mountain 7 Conference Meet" (Tues., Oct. 17, at T.C. Roberson High School): Tuscola's girls finished second to West Henderson at conference last season. But can they replicate that success again, having lost their top two runners? And Sayblack carried the Pisgah boys to a fifth-place finish in 2022. Can he top his 8th place result and put the Bears on the podium?

Keep track of everything related to Pisgah and Tuscola athletics through The Mountaineer's social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/mountaineerinfo), Twitter (@mountaineersprt) and Instagram (@themountaineersports).

"There are three big things with the schedule: overall experience, making sure that they're getting on different terrain so that they have enough experience to peak at the end, but also making sure that I don't burn them out; Making sure I don't just throw them into the fire at the beginning and make them believe they can do what I'm asking them to do; Try to get them on the championship courses as much as I can." -Joe Sayblack, Pisgah cross country head coach

"One thing that we will definitely look at (as a goal) is improvement week after week. Cross country is a great sport to look at that quantitatively because we're looking at times and distances. Not even necessarily in the competitions, but in workouts, too. Maybe a kid had a bad race, but we can see that they're improving in their workout times." -Joe Sayblack, Pisgah cross country head coach

"Last year we had seven seniors graduate. It really cleared us out. It was literally half the team. I pushed a hard recruiting program. It's paid off because we have seven freshman on the roster at this point. They've been committed all summer. When we have our first race, they'll be ready to perform." — Joe Sayblack, Pisgah cross country head coach {related_content_uuid}b6f68fc6-58c7-41b3-9e1c-d0f8d12a8a2e{/related_content_uuid}

"Here I am with four guys again. Running is hard and a lot of kids don't want to put in that kind of work. Then you have competing interests like soccer and football. There are some very talented runners on the football team that are sitting on the sideline. I take who comes in and we make them as good as we can get them." — Kevin FitzGerald, Tuscola cross country head coach {related_content_uuid}6779f25a-a77f-42f0-a627-83456de244ed{/related_content_uuid}

"All three (freshmen) have running experience already. Julia Wells and Emma Clancy were very successful middle school cross country runners... {span}Natalie Jimenez {/span}has a positive outlook and is willing to work hard. Losing someone like Eva (Rinker) is a big deal, but when you have three like that coming in the door, that's not a bad thing." -Kevin FitzGerald, Tuscola cross country head coach {related_content_uuid}9fc6e2cb-6d71-4600-962a-6768d99e85dd{/related_content_uuid}

"This team this year can be the best team this school has ever seen because they are a tight group. They've spent a lot of time together through middle and high school. If they stay healthy, I don't see any reason why they can't be one of the four teams that advances to the state meet." -Kevin FitzGerald, Tuscola cross country head coach {related_content_uuid}57d2bf0e-6d07-4947-a48d-eb4e5c29075e{/related_content_uuid}