Gateway’s Kairell McCoy eyes strong finish to high school cross country career

By: Michael Love
Sunday, September 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Kairell McCoy ran competitive cross country meets for the first time while in middle school and has taken steps up the ladder ever since.

Now the Gateway senior is hoping his final varsity season is his best yet.

As a veteran on a young Gators team, McCoy wants to make his mark and be an example for the other runners hoping to learn and improve with some of the top races on the fall schedule.

“I feel I have to be more ready mentally for each race. I know I am ready physically,” said McCoy, who took advantage of many of the Gateway optional training sessions over the summer.

“The younger runners are really doing well and are getting faster.”

McCoy kicked off his season Aug. 31 at the annual Gateway Invitational at Boyce Park.

Running as the lone Gateway representative in the varsity boys race, McCoy placed 34th in a time of 19 minutes, 45.51 seconds.

“It started out pretty good, just slightly slower than I wanted,” McCoy said.

“At the beginning and the middle part, I was tripping over on the side hill, and that slowed me down just a bit. I ran better towards the end of the race.”

Brent Regus, in his first season as head coach after several seasons as an assistant to longtime Gators mentor Tom LaBuff, said McCoy is running well right now despite his slower-than-hoped race at the Gateway Invite.

“Kairell’s on track to have a good season, and I know he will show that soon enough,” Regus said.

“He is ready to build on his experience from the past couple of seasons. He continues to learn how to run effectively.”

McCoy capped his junior season at the WPIAL championships where he placed 110th in a time of 18:31.8.

He said he’s confident that he can move up at this year’s WPIAL meet and also lower his time.

Others from the Gateway boys team ran in the Gateway Invite junior varsity race.

Junior Robert Kennedy, also a member of the Gateway track and field team, is running cross country for the first time this season. He led the Gateway boys in the JV race with a seventh-place finish in a time of 20:32.25.

“That was a great run for him in the JV race,” Regus said.

Kennedy also is a former Gators soccer player.

“It’s been great to have him on the team, and he’s been making great strides,” Regus said.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him. He has big goals for the season.”

Freshman Tyler Lamantia took 26th in the JV race, while returning varsity runner, sophomore Isaac Sha, placed 29th.

“Tyler has really good potential,” Regus said.

Also representing the Gators at Boyce were juniors Abdulwasay Syed and Ryan Cruce.

Both Sha and Syed joined McCoy on the course at WPIALs, and Regus said they come back fueled by the experience from several big meets last year.

Regus also expects to see good things from freshman Evan Pelc this season.

“We’re a young team with a lot of potential,” Regus said.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how they all work to improve themselves this year and also set themselves up for the next couple of years.”

On the girls’ side, Piper Munyon made a splash in her varsity debut at the Gateway Invite. Running against some of the top competitors in the WPIAL from the likes of West Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Norwin, Quaker Valley and Riverview, Munyon completed the Boyce Park course in 22:29.32 for seventh overall.

This year, Munyon will pull double duty as her main sport is soccer. Regus said there will be some conflicts where she will not be able to run in a meet, but those, hopefully, will be minimal.

“She was really excited to get out there and run and compete (at the Gateway Invite),” Regus said.

“It was such a good field of runners (at the Gateway Invite). We could see what she had to offer when she would attend optional practices over the summer. She has a lot of talent.”

Sophomore Jai’Anna Mahoney, also running cross country for the first time, competed in the JV race at the Gateway Invite and placed 27th.

“She gives us a lot in terms of her work ethic and attitude,” Regus said.

“She is getting there. She is getting that experience and coming along nicely. She ran for us in track in the spring in the (3,200 run). There is potential there. She’s always ready to work.”

Gateway’s youthful team was set to compete at the annual Red, White & Blue Invitational on Saturday at White Oak Park.

Regus said he hoped to see time improvements from the Gators runners entered including several in the freshman race.

“That is always been a good test for our runners no matter what race they’re in,” Regus said.

“They will get a chance to see where they are at this point early in the season.”

Gateway’s next test will be Friday at the annual Kiski Area Invitational at 11 a.m. at Northmoreland Park.

Gators runners will compete at the A.J. Everhart Invitational in Uniontown on Sept. 28 before the Section 4-3A championship meet back at Northmoreland Park on Oct. 2.

The Gateway boys will run full in the team competition. Regus said the girls will not have enough runners to be eligible for team a team section record but will be in line for individual place finishes.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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