Conway High Cross Country team just held their annual home meet, the Wampus Cat Invitational which was held on Saturday, September 2 at Lake Beaverfork at 8 am.

The Varsity girls ran first at 8 am. They are a very young team, as they are composed of two seniors, one junior, three sophomores, and even a freshman, Ellie O’ Neal who has finished as the leading team runner in every meet. At Beaverfork, O’Neal finished 5th overall with a time of 20:03 and got her personal best in the 5k. Another runner who got a personal best was senior Abby Allison who finished as the second-best girl runner for every meet this year. She got a new best 5k time of 21:19. The girls say they’re learning more than just running though. “Don’t think you can’t do something until you try it,” Allison said. Overall, the senior girls finished 5th out of nine teams at the race and are looking to improve throughout the season.

The Senior High Boys have improved with every meet this year. A relatively young team as well, the team includes four seniors, four juniors, and two sophomores. Senior John Wofford has been Conway’s best runner so far this season as he has finished top 20 in three out of four meets. Wofford is the team leader, but also acknowledges the hard work required to be successful in the sport. “You gotta work, consistently do long runs and you have to stay committed,” he said. Wofford finished 4th overall at the Wampus Cat Invitational. Another runner who finished well was senior Isaiah Strack who got a new personal best from 20:51 down to 19:42. Every Varsity Boy ran a personal record at the home meet, which led to the Varsity Boys finishing 3rd out of 10 teams.

Overall the Conway Cross Country program is in a hopeful spot right now as they keep showing improvement and try to get better finishes at meets in order to place well at State and Conference meets. The Varsity Boys and Girls will run at the Bryant Invitational at Bryant Saturday starting at 8:30 am.