Ripley’s runner Starcher takes skills to Stanford
RIPLEY, W.Va. (BVM) — Nestled among the Appalachian foothills of the Ohio River sits the small town of Ripley. The town of just over 3,200 people is the home of Tori Starcher, an elite runner in both cross country and track and field. Starcher has made a name for herself in the state, having won numerous state titles over the past three years in both sports and becoming one of the top performers in the country as well.
Last spring, Starcher had her most dominating season to date, helping Ripley High School win the state championship for the second straight season, the first time the school had ever won back-to-back state titles. During the Class AAA state championships at the University of Charleston Stadium in May 2019, Starcher established three new state records. She finished the 800-meter race in 2:08.49 and the 1,600-meter race in 4:49.14. Starcher also helped the Vikings win the 4×400-meter relay, setting the relay state record with a time of 4:01.64 while besting the team’s own record from the year prior.
“It was so exciting for our whole team,” Starcher said. “Going in the previous years we were kind of the top dogs. Going into this year we were top three. We weren’t expected to win. All the cards fell into place. When it came down to that relay I don’t think we were expected to win that either, but we knew what we were capable of. All of us had been running our PRs lately and I think we were all excited. We wanted to defend our title.”
Perhaps Starcher’s best performance came a month earlier during the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. It was Starcher’s second year performing at the competition, but she made this trip a memorable one by winning the meet’s mile event by finishing in 4:38.19. The finish established a new meet record in the event as well as a new state record and is the No. 9 fastest time for the mile in high school girls history.
“I don’t want to say I was shocked, but I was definitely really proud of it because I put a lot of work in and to see all the efforts I put in over the season come together in a really great race is really exciting,” Starcher said. “I wasn’t totally worrying about the time I just really wanted to compete. When the time came along with it, it was super exciting for me. It was definitely nice to see that kind of time.”
With her performances, Starcher was named the 2018-19 Gatorade West Virginia Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, her second consecutive year receiving the award and third Gatorade Athlete of the Year overall with her winning the West Virginia Girls Cross Country award in 2017-18. In January, Starcher received the Ray McCoy Award for females, which is presented annually to the state’s top performer of track and field or cross country by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Going into her senior year, Starcher was looking to build on her performances from the previous season. During her cross country season in the fall, it appeared Starcher would do just that, winning three meets including the Autumn Classic at St. Mary’s, the Chick-fil-a Invitational and the Ripley Covered Bridge Invitational. However, before the regional competition, a stress fracture cost her the rest of her promising season.
“I think the most difficult part was that I was losing my senior season,” Starcher said. “It was a bit frustrating knowing I was in good shape. I think the most frustrating part was I was coming off a good summer and was feeling pretty fit so I think that was the part that wasn’t great.”
Unfortunately, Starcher will not be able to complete her senior track season. Starcher has
recovered from her injury, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the state canceled its spring sports events including its track championships, ending Starcher’s prep career.
“I was looking forward to the rest of the season just trying to get back to the level I was,” Starcher said. “I’m a little bummed out about not being able to compete for a little bit, but it also gives me down time to not super rush back into training and re-injuring anything.”
Starcher will be able to continue her strong performances on the track at the collegiate level.
In November, Starcher signed her national letter of intent to Stanford University where she will participate in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field. Starcher, who has over a 4.0 GPA at Ripley, will study biology at the university with hopes of going to medical or graduate school in the future.
The Cardinal team had its best season last year since 2012 finishing third at the NCAA championships and won the conference title and NCAA West Region championships. The first official visit Starcher made, Stanford won her over immediately.
“When I got there, all of the coaches and the team were so welcoming,” Starcher said. “I honestly felt like I knew them before and that I was good friends with them. They just treated me so well. I loved the atmosphere and the campus, it was something really different from where I lived and I liked that a lot.”
In joining Stanford, Starcher will move across the country to California to a campus that has over five times the amount of students than the amount of people in Ripley, with a campus population of nearly 17,000. Starcher is not afraid of the size of the campus. In fact, she said she wanted to attend a bigger university. Distance isn’t a concern to her either, as she was searching for a place that was different from what she was used to.
“When I was going through my recruiting process, I wanted to go somewhere big,” Starcher said. “I enjoy being surrounded by people and having a lot of different cultures or diversity around me, I enjoy that and I find that really interesting. That was definitely something I was shooting for. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Starcher doesn’t want to put too much weight on her goals for freshman year, but she is hopeful to contribute to the team’s distance medley relay in her first year. To start, Starcher just wants to be there for her team.
“Hopefully (I will) help the team in cross country and track. I think the first year is definitely going to be contributing to the team and then as I get older maybe start looking more individually,” Starcher said.
Although the campus might be bigger than what Starcher may be used to, she is used to performing on a big stage. With a strong prep career and numerous records under her belt, Starcher should be able to add to her impressive resume with the Cardinal next fall.
