Susie Comer Biography

Pennsboro High / (Class of 1979) / Ritchie County, WV

Classification: A

Specialty: Distance

West Virginia University / Morgantown, WV

Susie Comer is a former West Virginia high school track & field distance runner. She attended Pennsboro High School located in Ritchie County, West Virginia.

While at Pennsboro High, Comer was a four-time West Virginia prep champion and five-time all-state selection in track.

In 1978, Comer set state records for all-classes combined in the 1-mile and 2-mile runs. Then in 1979, Comer again set records in these events. She was holder of four records at the same time and was considered the best West Virginia female runner of the 1970’s.

Comer didn’t get to compete in cross country in high school, because it was only offered at that time to the boys. It wasn’t until 1980, that the first Girl’s State Cross Country Meet for individuals was held with all-classes being combined.

In 1978, Comer was the top West Virginia woman finisher at the Charleston Distance Run, which is America’s only 15-mile race.

Susie Comer signed a track grant-in-aid with West Virginia University. She was one of the first women athlete’s in WVU history to receive a full-paid athletic scholarship in track.

High School:

Susie Comer, a 5-foot-1, 95-pound dynamo, was a pioneer for girl’s track at Pennsboro High School in the 1970's. She began running to get in shape for basketball, but the basketball coach was impressed with her speed and stamina, and suggested she run track.

Since Pennsboro had no track team, she was literally a one-woman team for the Cardinals.

She modestly credits her brother Rick, who at the time was a basketball and track coach at Nitro Junior High School, with laying out a schedule mixed with long, slow jogs and more demanding sprint work.

Susie would make before and after school runs, while sister Karen would ride the school bus carrying Susie’s clothes and books. She would keep a running log starting on January 1st, while putting in more than eight hundred miles in less than four months. She would often be seen running the streets of Ritchie County with her Dalmatian, Bandit.

Susie would travel to Parkersburg, run in track meets held by the Big Reds, and sometimes travel with them to track meets.

Susie’s toughest competitor was Wendy Anderson of Parkersburg High School, who reigned supreme in the girl’s scholastic mile, while Comer was just a sophomore.

[Sophomore Year]

At the 1977 All-Girls Class West Virginia State Track Meet, Parkersburg repeated as champs, and Dupont’s Cynthia Shelton was a triple winner. PHS was trailing Charleston by a point going into the mile relay, but their third-place finish in that event sealed the victory, 41 to 36, respectively.

Parkersburg’s Wendy Anderson ran a record-setting performance in the 1-mile run with a mark of 5:17.3. She broke the previous record that was held by Triadelphia’s Brenda Charpenning, who ran 5:30.5 back in 1975. Pennsboro’s Susie Comer would finish nearly 13 seconds back to take second with a time of 5:28.3.

Dupont’s Cynthia Shelton won high point honors with 30 points.

This was the last meet at old Laidley Field. The meet would move to Huntington for two years, while Kanawha County began construction on a new 19,000 seat Laidley.

[Junior Year]

Susie would reverse the roles during a practice meet at the beginning of their junior seasons and she never looked back.

Her determination and ability to self-coach would pay off. A rigorous off-season training schedule, which included almost daily five-mile runs from her home to Pennsboro High, helped improve her stamina.

At the 1978 All-Girls Class West Virginia State Track Meet, Charleston High’s Mountain Lions produced a Title. They ended Parkersburg’s three-peat attempt behind strong relays and an amazing 18’-6” Long Jump from Rose Robinson.

Pennsboro’s Susie Comer went on to set state records in the 1-mile and 2-mile runs, Dupont’s Cynthia Shelton won high point honors with 28 points.

Susie logged an undefeated junior season, highlighted by state meet records of 5:09.2 in the mile and 11:22.4 in the two-mile, which was a new event in 1978 for scholastic girls.

[Senior Year]

At the 1979 West Virginia State Track Meet, competing in the first season of the “AA” division, Magnolia rolled to a 20-point victory. Beth Parsons led the Blue Eagles with victories in the 440- and 880-yard dashes. Pennsboro’s Susie Comer dominated in the distance events as she had when all-classes competed together. Comer again set records in these runs, posting times of 5:16.7 in the mile run and 11:46.4 in the two-mile run. And since her records in 1978 still stood, she was then holder of four records at the same time.

Magnolia’s Beth Parson won high point honors with 24 points.

Comer would participate in the last West Virginia State Track Meet that used yards. In 1980, the metric era began, becoming the first year of the metric distances in high school track. It was also the first state meet at the new Laidley Field.

Although Comer was a state meet champion in the high school mile and two-mile and the top West Virginia woman finisher in the 1978 Charleston Distance Run, she treasured two awards in her trophy room. They are a trophy for Athlete of the Year in 1976-77 at Pennsboro High School and the 1978 Everett Ankron Award given by her school in recognition of academic and athletic achievement. She maintained a 3.4 grade average as one of forty-two seniors in Pennsboro’s class of 1979.

During the late 70’s, she was considered West Virginia’s greatest female track athlete. In fact, Rat Thom who was then a veteran track official for fifty years, called Susie the greatest distance runner to participate in West Virginia track in all his years.

She was voted the number two outstanding amateur athlete in West Virginia two years in a row, and on both occasions, Garnett Edwards was number one. The next year, Susie was a freshman at WVU, while Edwards was a senior.

[College]

Comer’s performance landed her attention from West Virginia University, and she attended school there on a scholarship. Her success continued there as she earned 12 letters and set individual school records.

As a freshman at WVU, she was named the Outstanding Athlete of the 1979-80 Women’s Cross Country and Indoor Track teams.

Susie holds the Mountaineer track record for 3,000 meters with a time of 9:47.34 (1981).

On Saturday June 11th, 2011, Comer was enshrined in a banquet into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class at the Grand Pointe Conference and Reception Center in Vienna, WV.

A final thought, although Susie Comer never achieved a sub-5:00, she was a pioneer in the sport. She paved the way for generations to come. It wouldn’t be until twenty-seven years, eleven months later before the first sub-5:00 1600m would be achieved. On May 13th, 2006, at the Erickson All-Sports Invitational, Kaylyn Christopher of Preston High broke the state record by running 4:58.18.

Since 2006, seven West Virginia high school girls have gone on to run under sub-5:00 outdoors.

The current girl's state record is 4:42.19 by Amelia Paladino of University High, set on March 16th, 2014 at the New Balance Nationals Indoor at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York, NY.

When observing RunWV’s 1600 Meters All-Class All-Time Top Ten List, one would notice that after thirty-eight years a 5:07 still puts you in an elite class.

[Note: RunWV converted Comers 1-mile and 2-mile to 1600m and 3200m times.]

[Personal]

Susie is the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Comer. She has three siblings: brother Rick and sisters Linda and Karen. She is married to Chris Mullins.

Feedback from Susie Comer Mullins:

“I wanted to thank you for the biography you wrote about me. I just came across it yesterday when a friend shared it. I still run every day with a Dalmatian, minus the speed workouts. I don't race anymore, but I am very grateful for the advantages running brought to me. My relationship with the lord was greatly strengthened through running, most importantly. I met my husband of 31 years, and my education gave me the opportunity to give back. I'm a first-grade teacher at Ft. Knox, Ky. My husband is retired from the Army, so I have moved all over the world and still been able to teach to military children. It was fun to look back and remember those early days and see my faithful dog. Thank you for being a coach, and for reminding me to keep giving back.”

Here is a YouTube video of Susie Comer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KxVUTx3MPQ

Susie Comer biography compiled by Mike McMillion (Last updated 5/4/18)