By Allen Hamrick
It was time to burn some sneakers Saturday, April 5, as the Mustang boys and girls competed at Roane County in the Walton Tiger Invitational. Twelve of the top middle school teams in the state competed in the event with the very tough Braxton, Ripley and Blennerhassett track teams in the house. It was a windy and rainy day, and runners were hit in the face with heavy wind gusts at one turn and rain in the other. Then the sun would pop out and spread some heat on the field as the humidity rose. However, the heavy rain held off for the most part, and the day went as planned.
As a team, the Mustang boys came in third overall closely behind first place Braxton. The Lady Mustangs came in seventh overall, as Point Pleasant came in first in the girls’ division.
Clay County Middle School had some outstanding performances with both the Lady Mustang and the Mustang teams. Tilyr Bird, Jackson Stricker, and Cole Boggs were top dogs in their events, with Tilyr taking first in the 100 meter hurdles, first in the long jump, second in the 200 meter hurdles and second in the high jump. Jackson Stricker took first in the pole vault and second in the 400 meter dash. For the Lady Mustangs’ team, Marissa Atha, who will one day take the distance run to world class levels, took second in the 2 mile and third in the 1 mile runs, and McKinley Mahan took second in the 800 meter run. The Mustang track teams are working hard to put CCMS track at the top of the food chain. Both teams will be back in action at the Elkview Middle Annual Invitational on April 10 th at UC Stadium in Charleston. Go Mustangs!
