By Allen Hamrick
This past Saturday was time for the Best of the Best competition in Huntington, basically the state tournament for middle school track teams. The CCMS track team sent eight to the competition and did very well. In the AA class there were 24 of the best middle school teams participating. For the CCMS team there were four boys and four girls, and of the group, two of the girls ended the event wearing gold which was no surprise. Both girls will be a force to reckon with as they grow in the next few years. Danae Stricker and running phenom Marissa Atha will eventually rule the track and will become household names.
It is a fact that when you compete with folks who are dead set on thumping your skills you will compete better yourself. All the team members that participated either ran the best they ever had or were close. Marissa took 5th place in both the 1600-meter and-3200-meter runs. Now, you may think that 5th place isn’t much of a finish but considering that Marissa is 5th in the entire state in these two events, that makes her an awesome runner. Make no mistake, she will put Clay track on the map.
Danae Stricker will also become one of the best female pole vaulters as she only gets better in the coming years. Danae placed 8th in the event hitting 6’6”. Doing this as a 7th grader makes this even more epic as she is number eight in the top ten of all the state. She also holds the school record in the 200-meter and 400-meter runs. These two athletes will no doubt have opportunity to be state champions in their events as the years roll by.
All of our track athletes do what they do without a track of their own having to travel to other schools to practice. This is what makes the track teams of the CCHS and CCMS schools truly special. Congratulations to Marissa and Danae for their top finishes and to the rest of the team consisting of Mason James, Silas Starcher, Sam Hubbard, Holden Reed, Tara Conley, and Lillian Goebel for qualifying for the event. The Mustang team has just one more as their season comes to a close.
