Elkins Hosts First Track and Field Meet Since 2018

Mya+completing+the+4x8+for+Elkins.

Madison Taylor

Mya completing the 4×8 for Elkins.

For the first time since 2018, debuting their newly remodeled track, Elkins hosted a home track and field meet on Friday, April 14th.

For 84 years, Elkins had played football at Wimer Stadium, but due to safety reasons, it was condemned in 2020. Following this decision, Elkins decided to renovate their soccer field and track. The renovation included 3 phases. The first phase was to add beachers which intended to hold over 2,000 Elkins fans. The new stadium comes just short of the max attendance for Wimer. After the 2021 football season, the administration gave the ‘OK’ for phases two and three. In these stages, turf was added to the soccer field and the track was resurfaced. The completion of these phases allowed the Tigers to host their most recent track and field meet, the Irwin Invitational.

The Irwin Invitational honors former EHS coach and teacher is Robert Irwin. During his coaching, he led the Tigers to 11 Big 10 conference titles. Irwin was also inducted into the Randolph County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Other participants of Friday’s track meet include Tygarts Valley, Petersburg, Braxton County, Phillip Barbour, Tucker County, and Pendleton County. The girl Tigers managed to claim the 4th place title. However, the boys came out on top with a first-place win.