PHILIPPI – Jordan Gillum ran third for the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers and the team took runner-up honors at the 2021 Big 10 Conference Cross Country Championships Thursday morning at Philip Barbour High School.

Gillum clocked a time of 18:43.55 and with his finish earned All-Conference First Team honors.

The Bucs took second place with 86 points as East Fairmont won the team title with 42.

“I was honestly a little surprised to see them pull off second,” remarked Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Taylor Stacy. “Collectively, this is probably the best performance the team has put together all year. From top to bottom, we had great races all the way around.”

The Bucs had two other top 20 finishes as Reis Leonard placed 15th with a time of 19:43.27 and Jack Waggy ran 17th with a time of 19:57.91. Both runners earned All-Conference Second Team honors.

Rounding out the B-U scoring were Logan Wyatt placing 24th with a time of 20:25.45 and Brycen Allen placing 31st with a time of 21:01.92.

Charlie Smoak of Elkins won the individual title with a time of 18:20.89 while Bridgeport’s Bailey DeMoss was second, in front of Gillum, with a time of 18:30.80.

The Bucs will return to action next Thursday, Oct. 21, running in the Region I Championships at Preston High School.

“I think this race will serve as a great confidence booster rolling into regionals next week,” concluded Stacy. “Next week at regionals is when it really matters. Today was a great accomplishment for the team though and they should be proud of themselves.”