Pendleton County’s harriers have had a busy September thus far, racing in meets on the fifth, eighth, and also last Saturday.
The Wildcats traveled first to the Buckhannon-Upshur Invitational where they competed against the host school, East Fairmont, Robert C. Byrd, Tucker County, North Marion, and winner Lincoln.
Competitors use a five kilometer stretch of the Upshur County Trail system as their course. It has a number of hills that extend through thickly forested areas. On the day of the meet, the morning started off with fog and mist, but warmed into a day in the low to mid-80s.
Like golf or baseball, cross country venues adapt to the surrounding environment and do not have standardized challenges and obstacles. Terrain and weather can both have an impact on runners’ performances.
Callie Dunn placed 27th in the meet with a 29:29.5, followed by Carly Kimble at 30:32.9 coming in 31st place. Shayne Clutter placed 34th and ran for a 31:57.3. Makayla Turner timed at 37:39.3 at 40th and Allison Reuss placed 42nd and finished with a time of 38:19.8.
Three days later, the squad made the trip to Broadford Park, Maryland, to compete with Keyser, Mountain Ridge, Southern, Bishop Walsh, Fort Hill, Hampshire, and East Hardy. Runners enjoyed dry conditions in the high 70s in relatively high elevations at about 2,500 feet.
Almost all of the Pendleton County runners improved their times over the first meet. Dunn placed 16th with a 26:02, an improvement of three minutes. Kimble shaved a tenth of a second off, timing at 30:43 and taking 35th place. Clutter ran for a 31:39 and Daisy Hartman posted her first result, running for a 58:32.
Last Saturday came the 33rd Frankfort Invitational, one of the bigger meets of the fall. Competing in Short Gap was the host team, Washington, Berkeley Springs, Northern, Allegany, Bishop Walsh, and Spring Mills.
The Frankfort course also has a number of moderate hills with some steep inclines to provide a challenge. Most of the track runs through lightly to moderately wooded areas as it extends around the school complex.
Four runners competed on that day. Kimble placed 29th and ran for a time of 27:29.6, improving by three minutes over the first two competitions. Clutter also shaved more than three minutes off of her previous times with a finish of 27:47.2. Reuss ran for a 35:44.8, a little more than two minutes better than her run at Buckhannon-Upshur.
Their next meet on Sept. 26 takes the Wildcats to the 18th Paul Clovis Invitational. This event is run at Hampshire High School and traverses a more difficult course than most other events. Runners are greeted by steep grades both up and downhill.
