Oct 20, 2017 By Adam Brewer, For The Greene County Messenger 6 min read

Success and West Greene have gone hand in hand the last couple of years.

The softball team is coming off back-to-back section and the WPIAL championships, as well as the school’s first team PIAA title last spring with a 9-8 win over Williams Valley at Penn State University in the finals.

Both basketball teams have made the postseason the last two seasons, with the girls’ squad winning the school’s first section title since 1999-2000 and advancing to the PIAA playoffs for the first time ever.

The football team qualified for its first playoff berth since 1993 last Friday.

But another squad at West Greene this fall is grabbing a lot of headlines, as the cross country team is adding more accomplishments and historic moments to the school’s ever-expanding trophy case.

There are 12 members of the Lady Pioneers cross country team this season, and they have compiled a 9-1 overall record in Division II, Section 3.

West Greene is a Class A team, but competes with Class AA squads within the section.

“We were hoping for this type of success this year,” WG cross country coach Marcia Sonneborn said. “At first during the early part of the summer, we were a little worried if we would have the numbers to field a team. Some of the kids were on the softball team and their season didn’t end until mid-summer. Once they took a couple of weeks off, they started training with us for the season.

“We also talked to a lot of eighth graders last year and talked about our program. Me and Rick (Sonneborn, assistant coach) are always recruiting kids and trying to get them to go out for cross country. We wanted to spread the word across the whole entire school. The kids we got this year have been fantastic. They are dedicated and are also excellent students in the classroom.”

Sonneborn has been with the program since its inception at West Greene in 2010.

“My daughter Mikayla ran track and started expressing interest in cross country her junior year,” Sonneborn said. “From there we went to the school board and asked if she could run as an independent. After that other kids had interest in the sport and we started a club team in 2011. In 2014, we had our first varsity team and this year we are happy to fill out a complete team that can compete in the section.”

Mikayla had a solid career at West Greene and after high school went on to continue her academic and athletes career at Tulane University. Mikayla graduated from Tulane last summer and still holds several records on the cross county, indoor track and outdoor track teams at the Division I program.

“Mikayla had a great career here and I was glad I was involved with it,” coach Sonneborn said. “When we went to a club team they needed a sponsor, so I said I would do it. Now I’m a varsity coach and the program is growing every year. This is such a great sport and these kids put in so much hard work.”

In 2017, West Greene defeated the likes of Belle Vernon, Avella, Chartiers-Houston, California, Burgettstown, Waynesburg Central, McGuffey, Washington and Fort Cherry in section play. The Lady Pioneers’ only loss was to Brownsville, the section champion.

The Lady Pioneers started their 2017 campaign off with a bang, becoming the first team in school history to score at the Red, White & Blue Classic in Schenley Park in Pittsburgh on Sept. 9.

West Greene placed sixth in Class A, placed ninth out of 27 Class A/AA teams and was the highest ranked public school in Class A. The team had six girls that ran under 23 minutes.

On Sept. 23, the Lady Pioneers grabbed the top mark for Class A schools at the A.J. Everhart Invitational on the campus of Penn State Fayette.

West Greene is captained by senior Rachel Jones.

“Rachel is probably our most improved runner over the years,” Sonneborn said. “She is such a hard-working kid and a great leader for us. She started with us when she was a sophomore and has always brought the same dedication every season.”

The Lady Pioneers are also anchored by juniors Ashley Cumberledge, Madison Lampe and McKenna Lampe. Both Lampe sisters qualified for the PIAA championships last season after qualifying with ninth- (McKenna) and 18th-place (Madison) finishes in the WPIAL championships.

“We can run about six strong,” Sonneborn said. “Those three in particular have been having good years and are trading first place finishes with each other. All three are positive examples for the younger kids and they are leaders. They show great work ethic during training and they never complain about anything. They work hard and they love the sport.”

Other runners on the cross country team are senior Rory McGowan and freshmen Amber Black, Elizabeth Brudnock, Danielle Fox, Dakota Filby, Sydney Gilbert, Morgan Mooney and Jersey Wise.

Despite not having a qualifying team, there are two boys that run for West Greene and they are Colton Anderson and Walker Lee. Recently, Anderson broke his own school-record with a time of 20:15 and placed fifth in a section match-up versus Fort Cherry and Washington on Oct. 4.

West Greene now will have its sights set on the WPIAL Championships on Oct. 26 at the Coopers Lake Campgrounds in Slippery Rock.

“It’s in their hands now,” Sonneborn explained. “We know it’s not an easy road to get there and the competition is going to be tough there, but this group has great potential. I think it’s going to be a battle of wills and the kids will be ready for it. Since there are so many teams in Class A, they are going to take the top four teams to states. We are focusing on team and individual goals that day.

“We told the kids at the beginning of the season, it’s up to them to make their mark and to make history at West Greene.”