By Allen Hamrick
The fourth annual Buffalo Creek Run was held at Dundon on Saturday, September 12. Nine high schools and seven middle schools from around the state brought teams to compete. It was probably the largest race they have had in the four years it’s been run. Due to the Covid-19 colors, some schools were not able to attend.
This course, as you can imagine, is a true cross country course. Many of the events are just grass tracks with a little gravel and maybe some blacktop. Not this race; it was a race that has it all – mountainous terrain, dirt, mud, uphill, downhill, sand, water, and paths in the woods. All of those involved in the event put on an excellent race, and many of the people in attendance said they would definitely be back next year and bring other schools with them.
This race would be a tough one to win as the course tested some of the best runners in the state with the last 200 yards requiring the crossing of Buffalo Creek followed by a sprint to the finish line. The middle school competitors ran first, and as you would expect, the CCMS Mustangs have grown in strength and weren’t going to stand by and let the other teams win without a fight. The Mustang girls placed 4th in the competition with Shyenne Quinn being the lead runner for the Mustangs, placing 12th with a time of 17:05:.4. Not a bad finish at all. The boys’ team had some tough competition and finished 5th. Sawyer Dobbins was top runner for the Mustangs placing 2nd with a time of 12:14:.1. Congratulations to the girls for their 4th place and to the boys for their 5th place.
CCHS was up next, and their course was a little longer than the middle school run. The girls were up first, and with just two runners, it would be hard to compete for the team title but they did very well. Coming across the finish line first for Panther girls was Destiney Mullins with a time of 34:01:0 followed by Grace Holcomb with a time of 47:56:.2. The boys had some of the toughest runners in the state to compete against; it would not be an easy race. However, the boys showed true grit and placed 5th in the competition. Ritchie Triplett crossed the finish line first for the Panther team with a time of 23:05:.1.
Taking first place in the teams were: girls – Summersville Middle School, boys – Shady Spring Middle School. High school team winners were: girls- East Fairmont High, boys – also East Fairmont High. First place individuals were: middle school girls- Haley Johnson, Summersville Middle; middle school boys- Kellan Heffernan, Beckley Stratton Middle School. For the high school girls first place Sophie Schnore, East Fairmont High School, and high school boys first place was Ethan Board, Nicholas County High School.
This is a great race that will likely draw schools from all over the state next year. The coaching staffs, along with their army of volunteers, were on the scene early getting everything set, laying out the track, parking cars, and making sure the event went off without a hitch. It was a well oiled event with all the people involved making it a race that schools will want to come to in the future. Once again, congratulations to both the CCMS and the CCHS teams on their finishes.
