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

Wesleyan’s Niland named MEC Runner of the Week

West Virginia Wesleyan’s Kent Niland and Glenville State’s Natalie Barr were named MEC Cross Country Runners of the Week after strong showings at the Carnegie Mellon Invite, with Niland posting Wesleyan’s second-fastest 8K and Barr breaking her school 5K record.

BRIDGEPORT — The Mountain East Conference announced Monday the winners of this week’s Cross Country Runner of the Week awards. The weekly awards are presented by The Health Plan.

West Virginia Wesleyan’s Kent Niland and Glenville State’s Natalie Barr are this week’s MEC Cross Country honorees.

Niland, a junior from Keyser, West Virginia, finished seventh out of 100 runners at the Carnegie Mellon Invite. He had the second-best time of any MEC runner at the event, shaving 1:40 from his time on the same course a year ago. His time was the second-fastest 8K time in school history.

Barr, a junior from Canvas, West Virginia, captured weekly Cross Country honors for the second consecutive week. She finished first in the Carnegie Mellon Invite, finishing in front of more than 40 fellow MEC runeners at the event. Barr’s time of 17:06.70 broke her own school record in the 5K, giving her the individual win in a field of 183 runners.

2025 MEC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
9/8: Harry Witt, Charleston
9/15: Jordan Thomas, Davis & Elkins
9/22: Donovan Tanouye, Fairmont State
9/29: Hugo Hewitt, Charleston
10/6: Jordan Thomas, Davis & Elkins
10/13: Kent Niland, W.Va. Wesleyan
 
2025 MEC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
9/8: Cassondra O’Connor, Point Park
9/15: Cassondra O’Connor, Point Park & Emily Wishart, Frostburg State
9/22: Megan Mitchell, Fairmont State
9/29: Lauren Twyman, Davis & Elkins
10/6: Natalie Barr, Glenville State
10/13: Natalie Barr, Glenville State

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