Saturday, October 9, 1999 -- Cameron
Wild & Wet 5K Cross Country Open Race

[Coverage/Recap] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Results]

What goes up must come down

The first running of the Wild & Wet 5K Cross Country Race get underway on a cool and cloudy Saturday morning. The open class runners got the honor of initiating the race course with a 8:30 AM start. As a light drizzle occasionally sprinkled down, the competitors attacked a mostly flat course that contained one good hill and several stream crossings. To complete the entire 5K distance everyone had the fun of conquering the hill twice. The first time was early in the race with the second time, run in the opposite direction, near the end.

Trying to keep the feet dry

Although a single hill may not seem too difficult, more than one competitor reported that it was "harder than it looks!" One person in the field that didn't seem too concerned running up and down was West Liberty State College cross country runner Jody Morgan. Morgan jumped into the lead early and raced through the course in 18:04 to take the win. He thought the hills were "not too bad." However he did give credit to his coach, Stu Rynkievich, when he said after the race, "He always makes us train on hills, but we are called the West Liberty Hill Toppers."

Corrin Evans is lookin' good as she races on her eleventh birthday

Making sure that Morgan didn't get away too easy, Craig Nething (18:53) did a good job of chasing for most of the race. Nething couldn't close the gap, but his hard pursuit landed him a second overall finish. Joining Nething, a WV Wesleyan XC runner, was another Wesleyan XC runner in Missy Wood. Wood took overall female honors with a time of 23:16. After the race, both Nething and Wood agreed that it was a fun course, "A lot of fun!"

Many more participants of all ages enjoyed in the fun. Even the venerable Terry Whitecotton, a race walker from Wheeling, shook the dust off his running shoes for a race around the course. And when the open race finished, it was time for the teams from 14 schools to take to the course.

The high school boys get their first test on the new Wild & Wet 5K course

All the fun of running through the gorgeous fields and forests outside of Cameron was made possible by the hard work of David Evans. It is certain that he couldn't do it all himself and many helpful volunteers worked to get him through the growing pains involved in organizing this inaugural event. We also give a special thanks to Charlie Anderson who graciously allowed the use of his beautiful property for the racing venue.