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

Swim Bucs head into Saturday’s conference championship meet coming off strong final performance at home

Lillian Fetty in the 200-yard freestyle (Brian Bergstrom / My Buckhannon)

BUCKHANNON — The Buckhannon-Upshur High School boys and girls swim teams will head into the Big 10 Conference Championships on Saturday with the current at their backs after winning 10 events in their final home meet of the season.

The B-U squads swept both the 200-yard medley relay and 200 free relay in last Saturday’s home quad against Elkins, Fairmont Senior and Doddridge County. The boys squad of Preston Bennett, Reis Leonard, Carter Zuliani and Owen Caynor won the medley relay with a time of 1:48.19 and the free relay in 1:35.07. For the B-U girls, Rylee Yardley, Alayna Whitehair, Cadence Vincent and Lillian Fetty took first in the medley relay in 2:02.68 and won the free relay in 1:51.81.

Vincent also collected gold medals in the 100-yard fly (57.49) and 50 free, where her time of 23.56 was nearly five seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Whitehair also swam to a pair of individual wins in the 100 free (58.93) and 100 back (1:05.48).

Other top-six finishers for the Lady Bucs included Yardley in the 100 breast (second place, 1:28.70) and 200 free (third place, 2:27.88), Fetty in the 500 free (third place, 6:29.67) and 200 free (fifth place, 2:34.77), Chloe Blonn in the 100 free (fourth place, 1:10.25) and the 50 free (sixth place, 31.55), Sammie Shay in the 100 breast (fourth place, 1:36.12) and Savannah Lashmit in the 100 back (sixth place, 1:37.22).

For the Buccaneer boys, Bennett won the 100-yard breast (1:03.31) and placed second in the 50 free (22.73). Leonard also swam to an individual win in the 100 free (54.37), just beating his teammate, Zuliani (55.67). Zuliani finished third in the 50 free (23.60), while Caynor finished sixth in that event (25.80). Rounding out the individual finishers for B-U were Leonard and Caynor in the 100 breast, where they finished second (1:06.78) and fourth (1:17.07), respectively.

The B-U swim teams will head to Bridgeport on Saturday for the Big 10 Championships and will then prep for the regional meet next week.

See photos from Saturday’s home meet here: https://www.mybuckhannon.com/b-uhs-swimming-photo-gallery-2022-23.

Share this story:

Local Businesses

RECENT Stories

Westfall reaches 1,000-point milestone as Bucs roll past Wheeling Park, 67-57

Senior Jerin Westfall scored a game-high 34 points, reached the 1,000-point career mark, and hauled in 15 rebounds as Buckhannon-Upshur defeated Wheeling Park 67-57.

Strawberry Festival Queen Kourtney Jones crowned 2026 WV Association of Fairs and Festivals Queen

Wesleyan nursing student and 2025 Strawberry Festival Queen Kourtney Jones was crowned the 2026 West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Queen on Jan. 10 in Charleston. She’ll serve as the statewide ambassador for fairs and festivals throughout 2026.

Skinner delivers hopeful State of the City on Buckhannon’s 210th anniversary

Mayor Robbie Skinner marked Buckhannon’s 210th anniversary with an optimistic State of the City address highlighting progress across city departments. He emphasized major infrastructure work, including a $47 million water treatment project, and looked ahead to continued improvements and the 84th WV Strawberry Festival.

Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner’s full 2026 State of the City address

In remarks delivered Jan. 15, 2026, Mayor Robbie Skinner marks Buckhannon’s 210th anniversary and outlines the city’s progress in 2025. He highlights major water, sewer, street, engineering, police and fire initiatives—plus what’s ahead for 2026.

Larry Dale VanGilder

Larry Dale VanGilder, 77, a French Creek native, Army veteran and former mine security guard who loved hunting, fishing, sci‑fi and his pets, died January 15, 2026, and will be memorialized by family and military honors.

Local Rotary club expands soft-plastics recycling drop-off sites in Upshur County

The Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur has added more drop-off locations for its soft-plastics recycling project, keeping thousands of pounds out of local landfills. The effort helps fund balers and inclusive playground equipment made from recycled materials.

WVWC Center for Community Engagement & Leadership Development to host Community Labs on fundraising, marketing

WVWC’s Center for Community Engagement & Leadership Development is hosting free Community Labs to help local nonprofits, mission-driven groups, and businesses strengthen fundraising and marketing.

Upshur County Board of Education Agenda: January 20, 2026

The Upshur County Board of Education will hold a meeting January 20, 2026, and this notice outlines the agenda for that session.

Upshur County Convention & Visitors Bureau seeking executive director

Upshur County Convention & Visitors Bureau is hiring an executive director to lead tourism development, marketing and community engagement.