WEST UNION – The Buckhannon-Upshur track and field Buccaneers had a strong debut in their 2024 season taking runner-up honors at the eight-team Doddridge County Season Opener last Friday.
The Bucs amassed 111 points for their second-place finish despite not entering three of the events.
Doddridge County won their own meet with 166.5 points while East Fairmont was behind the Bucs in third place with 109 points.
The Bucs won five events and tied or broke three new meet records.
Individually, Malaki Williams tied a seven-year mark set in the high jump by clearing 6-02 to claim first place.
The 4×110-meter relay team tied a nine-year old mark set by B-U in 2014 as Chase Hackett, Wyatt Morris, Timothy Snyder and Ian Strader placed first with a time of 1:03.20.
Setting a new meet record and claiming first place was the 4×200-meter relay foursome of Hackett, Bryson Johnston, Williams and Strader with a time of 1:34.22, breaking the old mark of 1:35.04 set in 2004 by University.
Hackett continued his impressive meet winning the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.77 while the 4×800-meter relay squad of Alex Sappey, Camdin Carpenter, Owen Cutright and Joey Nolte picked up the other first with a time of 9:01.22.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Johnston, Snyder, Luke Yardley and Drake Davis claimed runner-up honors for the Bucs with a time of 46.42 in their event as did Dirk Riley in the discus throw with a heave of 149-00.
The Bucs had eight other top five finishes — the 4×400-meter relay team of Nolte, Cutright, Williams and Strader placing fourth (3:49.68), Cutright placing fourth in the 800-meter run (2:15.70), Strader placing fourth in the high jump (5-06), Zuliani placing fourth in the shot put (45-00) and the discus throw (124-03), Carpenter taking fifth in the 800-meter run (2:16.76), Davis running fifth in the 100-meter dash (11.64), and Nolte taking fifth in the 1600-meter run (4:59.96).
The other Bucs scoring were Sappey placing sixth in the 800-meter run (2:17.84), Morris placing sixth in the 300-meter hurdles (46.29), Johnson taking eighth in the 100-meter dash (12.03), and Snyder running eighth in the 200-meter dash (24.35).
The Bucs were slated to host their mid-week meet on Tuesday. They will run again April 9 at Robert C. Byrd.
