EHS cross country boys claim Buccaneer Invitational
BUCKHANNON — The Elkins Tigers boys cross country team took top honors at the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneer Invitational Tuesday evening.
The Tigers sprinted to the front of the pack early, controlling the top four positions through the first mile.
The Tigers would continue to dominate through the latter stages of the race, as senior Mason Clark claimed the individual championship, finishing first in 18:17.
Read Schumacher took the runner-up spot in 19:05, with Adam Yokum fourth in 19:24, Jacob Lewis 10th in 19:58, and James Smoak 13th in 20:14, to all earn podium spots.
Other EHS finishers included Antony Dong 30th in 23:04, Tyler Chewning 33rd in 24:00, Kyle Murphy 40th in 25:01, Austin Whetsell 45th in 25:32, Elijah Jones 49th in 26:38, Jasper Clark 50th in 26:47, Anson Simms 53rd in 28:21, and Travis Jones 56th in 30:16.
“It’s always great to pick up a win at an invitational, especially now that we have our complete boys team together,” said coach Matt Lewis.
“We ran well despite the heat, but we still have to work on our finishes,” Lewis added.
Elkins scored 28 points in the win to outdistance runner-up Lewis County with 58.
Buckhannon-Upshur was third with 60, followed by Webster with 81, Liberty with 136 and Greater Beckley Christian with 141, while Richwood was incomplete.
Elkins continued racking up the hardware as Lexie Morici dominated the girls field, taking the individual championship by a phenomenal 46 seconds.
Taylor Maynard finished 10th in 23:51, and Addie Berdine 12th in 24:04 to both earn podium honors, while Kaeli Ricottilli finished 16th in 25:07 to just miss podium honors.
“Our girls all had extremely strong races today,” said Lewis. “Lexie really killed it out there and does an incredible job running from the front.”
Fairmont Senior took the team title with 41 points, followed by Lewis County 61, Buckhannon-Upshur 82, Liberty 8, and Richwood 86.
The Tigers return to action Saturday at the Bearcat Invitational hosted by Grafton, beginning at 9 a.m.