Warlassies gallop to Western Highlands Conference championship
Owen leads the pack with individual winner and Six Runners in the Top 10
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 24, 2026
Six Warlassies—from left to right, Amelia Pospishil, Evelyn Brown, Carlee Grace Stewart, Aleah Myers, Lilly Cacawa and Mollie Ferguson—earned all-conference recognition, Oct. 22, as Owen raced to its second consecutive Western Highlands Conference Girls Cross Country Championship. Courtesy photo
Forty-six distance runners representing six Western Highlands Conference programs gathered, Oct. 22, in Madison County to determine a champion, as the final stride of Owen junior Carlee Grace Stewart ended with an individual title.
Five more Warlassies passed the finish line over the next three minutes and five seconds, as the team placed a total of six runners in the top 10, on the way to its second straight WHC Cross Country Championship.
Stewart wrapped up her first-place finish with a time of 26:37.16, outpacing Sophia Junge, of Polk, by nearly 4.5 seconds. Owen freshman Amelia Pospishil clinched fifth place in 28:15.8, followed closely by fellow freshman Lilly Cacawa, whose 28:26.64 performance captured sixth. Freshman Mollie Ferguson and junior Evelyn Brown secured the seventh and eighth positions, with respective times of 28:33.12 and 28:33.83, before sophomore Aleah Myers rounded out the top 10 in 29:42.49.
Stewart’s championship earned her the title of 2026 WHC Female Runner of the Year, while each of the Owen runners who placed in the top 10 received all-conference honors.
The Warlassies placed two more runners—Leah Vanderpuy and Chesna Van Der Walt—in the top 20. Freshman Annie Graeber, junior Indigo Word, freshman Fiona Scarbrough, juniors Willow Glenn Stewart and Ruby Sudnik each secured finishes within the top 40.
“I was really proud of them,” said Warlassies head coach Kate Dost, in her 15th year with the team. “On paper, or on the screen, we were favored to win, but you have to actually do it. That course was incredibly tough, in the sense the terrain was more like a hike than a race, but they pushed through it.”
The victory marked the first individual conference championship for Stewart, who finished fourth in the WHC meet last season.
“I was really excited because I ran really hard the whole race,” Stewart said. “It was a tough experience, because we didn’t have a lot of experience with hills like the ones on that course, but I got through it by telling myself to keep going to certain points I could see ahead.”
Owen cross country runners practice, Oct. 23, on the trails in Camp Rockmont, as the team prepares to compete in the NCHSAA 3A West Regional Cross Country meet. Photo by Fred McCormick
Owen, which reclaimed the conference title last season after relinquishing it in 2024, has won three championships in the past four years.
“We had some really strong juniors coming into this season, but we also picked up nine freshmen,” Dost said. “I knew at least four of the freshmen, who I had watched and supported when they ran at the middle school. We had a big junior crew, big freshman crew and a couple of sophomores, but we knew we were poised to do pretty well.”
Brown, the team captain with top 10 performances in Owen’s 2025 and 2026 championships, credits the supportive culture of the program for its success.
“The past two years we had really great captains. They were the most phenomenal and supportive people, and the kinds of people I want to be when I get older,” she said. “I have just tried to step up and set the kinds of examples they set. And, the girls on this team have all been really fun to run with and be around.”
The roster of 18 runners demonstrated consistent improvement throughout the regular season, according to the head coach, who will take seven and an alternate to the Tryon International Equestrian Center for the NCHSAA 3A West Regional Meet, Saturday, Oct. 31.
“One thing about this team is they like being around each other, and I like being around them,” Dost said. “So much of this sport is pushing through suffering until you get into shape, and these girls have been great at getting each other through that and making it as enjoyable as possible.”
Owen junior Carlee Grace Stewart leads cross country teammates around Lake Eden, nearly 24 hours after the Warlassies won their second straight Western Highlands Conference Girls Cross Country Championship. Photo by Fred McCormick
The group celebrated its conference championship, the following afternoon, with a 5-mile run through the scenic setting of nearby Camp Rockmont.
“I don’t think any of us really wanted to run that 5 miles,” Brown said, as the runners gathered at the track in Warhorse Stadium. “But, the reason we won conference is because we’ve been so dedicated since day one, showing up and putting in the effort that was required to win. We all want to win for each other.”
The reigning individual conference champion, who posted her personal record in the 2025 regional meet, hopes to set a new standard.
“My goal is to finish in the top 10,” Stewart said. “I’m going to focus on placement, and I plan to push myself pretty hard. I would really like to set a new PR, which I think will put me up there.”
The coach is encouraging the runners to enjoy the experience.
“We’re going to have a team dinner next week, and I think they’re going to go out together tomorrow morning,” Dost said. “They’ve done the work, finished strong, and now we want to relax and avoid injuries until regionals. Once we get there, I want them to go out and give it the kind of effort they have been giving all year.”