The Clay County Middle School Cross Country Team is winding down its season, preparing for the CWVAC Conference Meet on Saturday, Oct. 17. This meet was originally scheduled to take place at Ravenswood, West Virginia. However, as Jackson County is gold on this week’s school COVID-19 map, details relating to the meet time and location are currently unknown.
The team has worked hard this season. True to form, eighth grader Sawyer Dobbins has continued his cross country success medaling in every race in which he has competed. This includes a second-place finish at the Buffalo Creek Invitational in Clay, five seconds out of first after a near fall during the creek crossing portion of the race. Notably, Dobbins set a Clay County Middle School record for his time on this course. It also includes a third-place finish at the Calhoun County Invitational. Impressively, he set a school record for the fastest time in any race at this meet. In his next meet, a fifth place finish at the Shady Springs Invitational, Dobbins broke his own school record, running his fastest time yet at 11:39. Also having a solid year for the Mustangs are Shane Tracy and
Adrian Davison, each of whom medaled at the Wirt County Wetlands Invitational. They finished 17th and 20th, respectively. Rounding out the team, Daymian Pappas and Shane Quinn have each consistently improved their times in every race in which they have competed.
For the girls’ team, eighth grader Shyenne Quinn has also had a great season. She medaled in two races, placing 12th at Buffalo Creek and 13th at Wirt County. Similar to the boys’ team, teammates Brooklyn Burdette, Ashley Roberts, Ariel Dobbins, Jaylyn Holcomb, Jayda Pappas, Haleigh Quinn and Skiley Wilmoth’s times have all been getting faster every meet. Cross country is a unique sport in that a runner does not have to win a medal to achieve success. A runner achieves success by setting a new personal record in competition. These girls have consistently done so all season.
Coach Matt Stricker is pleased with his team’s hard work, dedication and improvement. He has high expectations for the Conference Meet on Saturday. Best of luck to the team!
