Cross country season is well underway at Clay County Middle School and Clay County High School. The teams opened the season at the Beckley Chick-Fil-A Invitational on August 24. For CCMS, in a field of 110 runners, Marissa Atha and McKinley Mahan medaled, placing 5th and 20th respectively. Tara Conley and Danae Stricker also put forth strong efforts. Jackson Stricker ran a solid race for the boys’ team. For the CCHS girls, Cheyanne Taylor was the highest finisher, followed by Abigail Grandon, Ashley Roberts and Jaylyn Holcomb. Finally, for the high school boys’ team, Sawyer Dobbins medaled placing 7th in a field of 115 runners. The team also placed 7th overall with strong contributions from Kane Nida, Kaden Fitzwater, Trent Hinkle, Andrew Tanner, Isiah Woods and Evan Bass.
On August 31, the teams traveled to Cabell Midland High School to compete in the Midland XC Festival under the lights. This night race is consistently one of the most competitive meets on the schedule. Marissa Atha was the highest finisher for the CCMS girls placing 17thin a field of 173 athletes. Jackson Stricker ran for the middle school boys. For CCHS, top finishers were Sawyer Dobbins and Cheyanne Taylor.
This past Saturday, the teams competed at the Braxton County No Excuses Invitational at Holly Gray State Park in Sutton. This course is a challenging one, with the longest climb dubbed “kill hill.” For CCMS, Atha and Mahan again each earned medals placing 5th and 12th respectively. Cheyanne Taylor was top finisher for the high school girls. In the high school boys’ race, athletes from fifteen schools competed. CCHS earned third place overall, impressively placing three runners in the top 15 – Dobbins placed 6th, Nida came in 8th, and Fitzwater finished 14th. Hinkle, Tanner and Woods also substantially contributed to the team’s success.
Several meets are scheduled in the coming weeks. The teams travel to Doddridge County High School on September 17 and Little Beaver State Park on September 21. The following week they go to Lincoln County High School on September 25 and Pikeview High School on September 28. Based on their continued improvement and success so far, the coaches expect great results.