It is just the second meet of the year and veteran Coach Jon Griffith is not dismayed with the showing of his boys and girls cross country teams. However, he is dismayed by another issue created by COVID-19.

 

During Saturday’s Bearcat Invitational held at West Taylor Elementary School, one of the key components that has allowed Bridgeport to build a successful program was not involved. And that was participation of the junior varsity program.

 

“It is a shame that the jayvee kids didn’t get the opportunity to run.  It’s not the fault of the meet organizers,” said Griffith. “It’s just a by-product of the times we are living in.  I just feel bad for the kids missing out.”

 

For the varsity team that did participate, there was good news.  Bridgeport’s boys’ team finished third in the field of 13 teams. The girls came in fifth in a field of 15 teams.

 

The boys finished with 83 points, which was off the mark of defending Class AA state champion Fairmont Senior’s total of 48 and just behind runner-up East Fairmont. The Bees finished with 78 points.

 

“The boys ran well again this week.  We had a 1 minute and 3 second gap between our first and fourth runner.  Our fifth runner was just 23 seconds behind our fourth, and our number six was only another 3 seconds back,” said Griffith. “That is the kind of pack running we always strive for in our teams.

 

“Now we just have to keep moving the entire pack to faster and faster times,” Griffith continued. “As their training progresses through the competition season and we approach the end we believe they will continue to improve significantly.” 

 

Brennan Cropp paced the Tribe with an eight-place finish and a time of 17 minutes, 16 seconds.

 

“Brennan Cropp is only a sophomore, but he ran a very good race.  I believe that time, 17:16, was a personal record of about 30 seconds for him.  We feel he has tremendous potential,” said Griffith.

 

The other top finishers included Landon Burns (12^th, 17:40), Cole Bracken (18^th, 18:05), Sam Dodson (18:19), and Treyton Miller (18:42). There were 97 runners competing.

 

“Sam Dodson continues to impress as a freshman.  His time of 18:19 is very good for only his second high school race,” Griffith said.

 

BHS ran the event without Bailey DeMoss. DeMoss continues to rehab to make it back this season.

 

For the girls, the Fairmont Senior (the defending champs on that side of the ledger as well), won with 81 points. Preston was second at 99, Philip Barbour third with 109, East Fairmont in fourth at 116, and the Indians’ fifth-place total was 160.

 

“Fifth out of 15 full teams is not a bad showing.  We are capable of better though,” said Griffith. “We are still very inexperienced this year having lost so many seniors last year.  The leadership is coming along, as are our performances as the new girls learn more about cross country and gain confidence in their abilities.”

 

Mira Blount and Emerson Grafton proved to the Tribe’s one-two punch. Blount finished fifth with a time of 20 minutes, 34 seconds, while Grafton was right behind in sixth place with a time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds.

 

“Mira ran a great race.  After the year off, at Wheeling (the season-opening meet) she was excited and went out a little too strong.  This time around she ran a much smarter race and her final time and place showed it.  She beat several girls that were ranked ahead of her,” said Griffith. “Emerson also had a very good race.  She was a little beat up from having so many soccer games this past week, but still managed to put together a very strong showing.”

 

After that, the gap between the next finishers was large. Charli Grafton was 43^rd (23:15), Maci Cook was 49^th (23:38), and Ally Bender finished 57^th (24:04). Those runners rounded out the top five finishers.

 

“Our other three soccer girls, Charli Grafton, Maci Cook, and Ally Bender, continue to improve and are learning to use their athleticism to run strong cross country races,” said Griffith.

 

One of Bridgeport’s dual fall sport athletes, Caroline Deniker, did not race said Griffith. He said Deniker participated in a volleyball tournament.

 

Bridgeport is off this week. However, the team will look to return Oct. 3 at the Ritchie County Invitational at North Bend State Park. The meet, which takes place in the Cokeley Recreation Area, begins at 9:30 a.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the boys starting the event beside East Fairmont, while Brennan Cropp is shown in the second photo. In the third picture, Mira Blount is shown running with the pack, while Emerson Grafton is shown below. Photos by Ben Queen Photography.