All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Eight B-UMS track athletes headed to the “Best of the Best: WV Middle School State Meet”

Eight Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School track athletes qualified for the inaugural Best of the Best: WV Middle School State Meet in Huntington after standout performances and school record-breaking achievements during a successful season.

TENNERTON — After a long, strenuous season for the Buckhannon-Upshur Middle boys and girls track teams, the hard work is paying off. Eight boys and girls are headed to Huntington for the state’s first ever “Best of the Best: WV Middle School Invitational” at Huntington High School. The middle school boys team finished third in the Mid-Mountain 10 Conference meet on Monday night, while the girls team finished fifth in the regular season wrap-up.

Headed to Huntington for the boys team are Sabastian Rosencrance in the 100-meter hurdles with a season best time of 16.28 seconds and the shuttle hurdles team of Kyler Baisden, Kadeen Edwards, Bentley Jones, and Rosencrance with a best time of 40.96 seconds.

On the girls side, individual qualifiers included Ella Whitehair, who qualified for the 800 and 3200-meter races with season bests of 2:27.90 and 12:04.26 respectively. Hayden Anderson qualified in the high jump with a height of 4’8”. Anderson and Whitehair also make up half of the qualifying girls 4×400 meter relay with Audrey Johnston and Lily Lewis rounding out the team. Their season best time was 4:45.22.

“It has been an incredible season for our young runners this year,” said girl’s head coachJustin Bowers. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the willingness of these athletes to show up every day, work hard, and then watch the results pay off. To be taking eight of them to the first Middle School state meet is a big deal.”

Whitehair also completes her middle school track career by breaking two more school records in the 800-meter (2:27.90) and 1600-meter (12.04.26) races. She already holds the 1600-meter record from the 2024 season with a time of 5:38.74. “Ella is a picture of what it means to grow,” said Bowers. “We set some very clear goals over the past couple of years and she’s walking out of Middle School with three very difficult school records to her name. The 800 record was nearly 40 years old. Her dedication and coachableness have led to some great success.”

The Best of the Best: WV Middle School Invitational will kickoff Friday with field events beginning at 4:30 pm and running events at 5 p.m.

(Courtesy of Justin Bowers)

Share this story:

Local Businesses

RECENT Stories

WVWC Volleyball

Wesleyan volleyball team upset at home by Frostburg State in MEC play

Wesleyan fell in straight sets to Frostburg State, 23–25, 16–25, 25–27, dropping to 13–7 (5–3 MEC) despite strong performances from MacKenna Halfin and solid defense.

Football Bucs rally for late lead but ultimately fall to Lincoln, 35-32

Buckhannon-Upshur rallied to lead 32-28 on Dawson Tenney’s 28-yard TD but Lincoln answered late as AJ Bart’s touchdown pass to Colton Edwards sealed a 35-32 comeback victory.

November’s free Lunch ’N Learn to focus on small-business finance

A Lunch ’N Learn on small-business finance will be held Nov. 18, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. at UCDA’s Idea Center featuring speakers from SBDC, First MicroLoan of WV, and Be A Friend Tax Services.

Make a difference with dinner: Every Sam’s Pizza order on Nov. 1 helps fight pancreatic cancer

Sam’s Pizza will donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for every order on Nov. 1, 2025, designated Sam’s Pizza Day for PanCAN. The proclamation honors Bob Nolte, father of Upshur County Commission President Sam Nolte, and aims to raise awareness and funds.

WVWC, WVSOM continue partnership with Go D.O. Early Scholars Program

West Virginia Wesleyan College and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine celebrated their Go D.O. Early Scholars partnership as the program’s first WVWC graduates began medical school at WVSOM, offering guaranteed admission and no MCAT for qualifying students.

Football Bucs look to rebound against Lincoln Friday night

Buckhannon-Upshur seeks to bounce back from a 34-31 loss as they visit 3-4 Lincoln Friday, with Coach Sloan Baisden stressing recovery, expanded offensive support for QB Dawson Tenney and defensive focus on Lincoln QB A.J. Bart.

Carpenter Crunch Time Week 9: So just who was the best football coach at B-U?

Sports columnist Duane Carpenter ranks Buckhannon-Upshur’s top five football coaches—topping Granville Zopp, Joe Michael, Jack Pack, Mike Michael and Eddie Vincent—then recaps weekly game picks, standings and reader contest results.

#1 Auto Sales to kick off year two of “Jam the Van!” a Christmas clothing and toy drive for local kids

#1 Auto Sales launches the second annual “Jam the Van” drive Oct. 20–Dec. 6, collecting new clothing, toys and diapers for the Salvation Army Angel Tree while inviting donors to decorate a van.

Soccer ‘Cats earn 2-2 draw with West Liberty

West Virginia Wesleyan rallied twice to earn a 2–2 draw with West Liberty at Culpepper Stadium, with Erik Rostoen scoring early and Aidan Clayton equalizing in the 74th minute.