Saturday, October 16, 1999 -- Buckhannon
Bobcat Classic Open 5K
(The photos are from both the Open 5K & the Collegiate XC Races!)
Story & photos by Julie Bertsch

[Coverage] [Results] Pics: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6]

Good friends stick together!

There was a beautiful October sky on Saturday for the Bobcat Classic. Hosted by Wesleyan College, this was an open 5K run that had quite an audience hanging around for the Collegiate XC Races that were scheduled afterwards. The course was challenging, with some steep uphills, slippery downhills, and exciting trails that had runners winding in and out of the woods. The run was mostly on grass, and the morning dew made for some tricky footing in spots.

Volunteers and some of the college coaches make sure that every racer knew which way to go, pointing them in the right direction. At 10:00 a.m. over 30 runners took off in the blinding sun as the college cross-country teams did their warm-ups.

Nick McGinnis & Luke Ferderspiel battle it out for 3rd

Getting ahead from the very start was Niles Vantchook, who kept a steady, fast pace, tearing up the terrain as he went! Coming back strong from injury and winning the Lubeck VFD 5 Mile Run, Jared Smith (in his favorite green attire), kicked it in strong at the end, but still finished behind Vantchook with a time of 18:04. Vantchook went home as the Overall Winner with a great time of 17:57.

The race for 3rd place was an exciting battle between Nick McGinnis and Luke Federspiel! The high-steppin' foot race between the two started about 60 yards from the finish line. Nick McGinnis really turned on the juice on the last footbridge to finish just one second ahead of Luke Federspiel with a time of 18:55. It was an amazing display of speed in the end from both runners.

Beth Godden kicks it in

A well known face in the Buckhannon area, and finishing in the top 3 of the Overall Women's category in many races, Sara Walker was happy to see some former team mates from the Wesleyan College XC Team. She was also happy to finish 9th Overall in the race! Walker took 1st for the women with a time of 20:05. "I think I should have run a better race today. I've trained hard for this course." said Walker, "It's good to be back though, I want to run it again already!"

Running a strong race of her own was Beth Godden (21:40), who stayed ahead of Dee Waters (21:56), to take 2nd for the Women. Waters finished 3rd Overall in the Women's category, respectively.

Tough Teams running the challenging XC course

After the 5K Race was over, the many spectators and runners from the 5K gathered around to watch the Men's & Women's Collegiate XC Races. As a special treat, WVOutside stayed and took pictures of both the Men's & Women's Collegiate Races. Be sure to check them out!

What an exciting day of racing it was! Special thanks goes out to Wesleyan XC Coach, Jesse Skiles for a wonderful job. If you would like to know the results of the Collegiate Men's & Women's Races then please e-mail Jesse Skiles at skiles_j@wvwc.edu or check the Wesleyan College Cross Country Site.