Class AAA Girls
4x800 Meter Relay
As expected, Preston took off from the field, leading nearly the entire race.
They truly established their lead during the second leg, courtesy of Kaylyn
Christopher's 2:20 split. Karly Hamric closed the deal with a
2:21 anchor leg to take the 14 second win in State Meet Record Time.
Morgantown was a little stronger than George Washington down the stretch, pulling
out to a 3 second advantage. Parkersburg South held onto 4th. Elkins used a
2:20 anchor leg from Heather Saffel to move from 8th to 5th on the final
two laps, just nipping Jefferson at the line. Also of note in this event was
North Marion's Keri Bland churning out a 2:17 anchor leg. At the end
of the weekend, Preston's time would rank them #2 All-Time and # 1 in Class AAA.
RunWV's Current Score: 4 of 6.
High Jump
Hedgesville's Natasha Redman had been steady all year long with a series
of 5'4 jumps. She produced another at the State Meet and was the only competitor
to do so. Robert C. Byrd's Lauren DeMarco was the only other jumper to
top 5'2. Four other jumpers cleared 5'0 to round out the scoring for the event.
East Fairmont's Natalie White won the tie-breaker for the group to take
3rd. Pre-meet favorite Kendall McCaugherty of Bridgeport grabbed 4th.
Bridgeport's Jenna Fogg and Preston's Stephanie Kisner tied for
5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 8 of 12.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The Shuttles were greeted by the rain, which can wreak havoc on this event.
Class AAA girls held up well in the weather. John Marshall ran a solid
1:07.49, just enough to hold off Hurricane and a hard-charging Kristen
Loughry by 0.16. Hedgesville was just over a half second back in taking
a very solid 3rd. Parkersburg nipped Preston by just 0.04 for 4th, and Bridgeport
snared the final spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 14 of 18.
Pole Vault
Only six people managed to clear the opening height. As expected, Capital's
Jennifer Hansen soared far above the field winning the event by a full
2 feet. The vault was the # 2 All-Time performance, second only to her own
12'0 vault a year ago. University's Anna Burdette and Parkersburg's
Jessie Boggs each cleared 9'6 in taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Robert C. Byrd's Lauren DeMarco wrapped up a good opening day by taking
4th with her 9'0 vault. A pair of freshmen, Parkersburg's Caitlin Meeks
and George Washington's Brittay Pratt each cleared 8'6 to take 5th and
6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 18 of 24.
3200 Meter Run
This was a beautifully run tactical race that saw a pack of 4 together through
five laps. On the 6th lap, Morgantown's Maria Dalzot started to pull
away, generating a 2 second gap on North Marion's Keri Bland and a 4
second gap on teammate Claire Berryman. Lap 7 saw Dalzot's lead increase
to 4 seconds on Bland and 9 seconds on Berryman. Bland was able to close the
gap a little on the final lap, but Dalzot was not to be denied. Dalzot covered
the opening mile in 5:52 and came back with a 5:26...a serious negative split.
Bland went out in 5:52 and came back in 5:28. Berryman pretty easily held on
to 3rd with her splits of 5:52 and 5:39. Nicholas' Hannah Henderson
was very strong in the second half and worked her way up to a surprisingly
easy 4th place finish. Parkersburg South's Allison Teter was part of the
early pack and held on to 5th place by about a half-step of Jefferson's
Brooke Boening. In all, 8 girls ran under 12:00 with Huntington's Molly
Stevens and Morgantown's Emma Berry cracking the barrier along with
the 6 placers. Dalzot's time landed her as the 10th best state meet performance
in the 3200 for any class and 7th best in Class AAA.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 30.
Shot Put
The top 3 finished within 10 inches of each other, with each going over 36'.
Cabell Midland's Ashley Morrow took a 4.5" victory over Capital's
Fawn Washington. Martinsburg's Ashley Winston was the other
thrower to top 36'. Cabell Midland's Megan Scites was the only other
thrower over 35'. Parkersburg's Megan Pratt was the only other thrower
over 34'. Cabell Midland's Tara Johnson edged Brooke's Terina Miller
for the final spot by 1/2" and gave Cabell Midland three placers in the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 36.
400 Meter Dash
Pre-meet favorite Chelsea Carrier of Buckhannon-Upshur took care of
business running away from the field and taking the event by nearly a second.
Preston's Karly Hamric charged past Ripley freshman Chelsea Knotts
just before the line to steal 2nd as the top 3 all came in at under 60 seconds.
North Marion's Keri Bland was solidly in 4th just over a second back.
Nitro's Jennifer Cooperrider was 5th. Jefferson's Amy Reynolds
sneaked in for a 6th place out of the 1st heat.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 42.
1600 Meter Run
Preston's Kaylyn Christopher completely took over on the 3rd lap and
stormed home in an outstanding 5:06.22, spotting her as the 3rd fastest State
Meet performer of all-time. Elkins' Heather Saffel went with Christopher
early and easily held on for 2nd. Nicholas' Hannah Henderson used another
strong finish to snag 3rd, just ahead of 3200 Champion Maria Dalzot of
Morgantown. Parkersburg South's Allison Teter ran a strong race to
finish 5th as the top 5 all ran 5:22 or better. Preston's Amber Riley,
coming off an injury that held her out for much of the season, slipped in for
6th in 5:28.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Buckhannon-Upshur's Chelsea Carrier was absolutely dominant, winning by
nearly two seconds despite having run the 400 earlier in the morning. She ended
the race as the # 6 all-time performer at the State Meet and # 3 in Class AAA.
John Marshall's Andrea Turner was an easy second finishing over a second
ahead of the third place finisher. Ripley's Logan Anderson edged
Parkersburg's Kathy Dent and Hedgesville's Amanda Hart in a tight
battle for 3rd that saw all three finish within 0.19. Jefferson's Meredith
Hankins grabbed 6th to round out the scoring.
RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 54.
Discus
Capital's Fawn Washington had been the strongest thrower in the field
throughout the season and came through with nearly a 10' victory. Martinsburg's
Ashley Winston took a surprising second with her toss of 109'8.
Washington's teammate Brittany Fink was less than a foot back in 3rd.
Parkersburg teammates Tara Lane and Kimberly Dent were the only
other throwers onver 100' in taking 4th and 5th. Cabell Midland's Ashley
Morrow rounded out the placers.
RunWV's Current Score: 48 of 60.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Hurrican'es kristen Loughry easily took the event, winning by 0.73.
Bridgeport's steady Sarah Abbate grabbed 2nd with Parkersburg South's
Miranda Echard and Musselman's Virginia Webber close behind.
Preston's Stephanie Kisner edged Fairmont Senior's Rachel Hibbs
for 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 51 of 66.
100 Meter Dash
Jefferson's Shardal Twyman missed out on the record but was still
dominant in running a 12.16 giving her the # 2 All-Time Performance.
Huntington's Denise Gregory looked strong in easily capturing 2nd
place. Brooke's Jamie Kocher was solidly in 3rd. Fairmont Senior
freshman Valerie Jasper edged Preston's Stephanie Pell and
St. Albans' Diara Harris for 4th. The 3 were separated by a mere 0.04.
RunWV's Current Score: 55 of 72.
Long Jump
This was expected to be a battle between Jefferson's Shardal Twyman
and Buckhannon-Upshur's Chelsea Carrier. Twyman's consistency had
given her the nod in the pre-meet predictions. She came through with another
strong leap and the battle never materialized. Twyman's leap oof 17'7.75 was
over a foot ahead of Carrier's top leap of the day. Cabell Midland's Robin
Rogers stretched just a little further than Ripley's Logan Anderson,
edging her by just 3/4 of an inch. Brooke's Jamie Kocher continued a
season of strong performances in taking 5th, and Capital's Crystal Dudley
slipped in for an unexpected 6th. The top 8 jumpers all topped 15'.
RunWV's Current Score: 60 of 78.
4x200 Meter Relay
Capital and Jefferson ran away from the competition in the fast heat to take
the top two spots. George Washington excelled from the 1st heat to snag 3rd.
Hurricane was a solid 4th. Cabell Midland chased George Washington in the first
heat and managed to steal a 5th place finish. John Marshall snared the final
spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 64 of 84.
4x100 Meter Relay
Jefferson impressively dominated the field. While they just missed going
under 50 seconds, they did have the 10th best All-Time performance. Huntington
reaped the benefit of the return of Laquita Wilburn, who we did not
anticipate running when making the predictions, to claim 2nd place pretty easily
from the 1st heat. South Charleston was a solid 3rd with St. Albans in 4th.
Brooke finished 5th and Wheeling Park 6th as places five through eight were
separated by only 0.08.
RunWV's Current Score: 68 of 90.
800 Meter Run
North Marion's Keri Bland led pretty much from start-to-finish in
duplicating her outstanding 4x800 effort, but she had to hold off a late charge
by Preston's Karly Hamric as both went under 2:18. Bland's time landed
her at the #6 All-Time Performer and #3 in Class AAA, while Hamric's time
put her as the #8 All-Time performer and #5 in Class AAA. Preston's Kaylyn
Christopher followed up her outstanding mile with the only other sub-2:20
effort in the field. Ripley's Chelsea Knotts edged Elkins' Heather
Saffel for 4th. Morgantown's Monica Chase rounded out the scoring.
RunWv's Current Score: 73 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
Jefferson's Shardal Twyman completed her sweep of her individual events
by taking the 200 title in 25.12, which was fast enough to show her as the 5th
best All-Time performer. Buckhannon-Upshur's Chelsea Carrier wasn't far
behind, finishing in 25.35, which was fast enough to be the 10th best Class AAA
performance of all time. Those two ran away from the field as the next competitor
was nearly a second back. Brooke's Nicole DeStefano was easily 3rd.
Bridgeport's Lauren Gilbert edged Preston's Stephanie Pell and
Capital's Crystal Dudley for 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 77 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
The team championship was going to come down to this event. Preston came into
the event with 52.5 points. Jefferson had 52. Capital was not out of it with
46, but would need both the other two teams to falter. I wish I had taken
better notes as to who was where after each leg. As it turned out, George
Washington was not going to be denied, turning in a 4:06.65, just missing out
on a top ten all-time performance but winning the event for the 2nd year in a
row. John Marshall, Jefferson, and Preston were going to battle it out on
the last leg, which meant that the title would be decided on the anchor leg
of the final event. Preston's Karly Hamric turned in a 59.5 anchor
leg to pull out 2nd place, just ahead of John Marshall by less than half a
second. John Marshall nipped Jefferson for 3rd by only 0.13. Morgantown and
Capital rounded out the scoring.
RunWV's Current Score: 83 of 108.
The final score of 83 of 108 means that 76.9 % of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved us wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed our predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Valerie Jasper, Fairmont Senior - 100 (not picked, got 4th)
Lauren Gilbert, Bridgeport - 200 (not picked, got 4th)
Hannah Henderson, Nicholas - 1600 (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Sarah Abbate, Bridgeport - 100 HH (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Miranda Echard, Parkersburg South - 100 HH (not picked, got 3rd)
Virginia Webber, Musselman - 100 HH (not picked, got 4th)
Logan Anderson, Ripley - 300 LH (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Kathy Dent, Parkersburg - 300 LH (not picked, got 4th)
Huntington -- 4x100 (not picked, got 2nd)
(Ciara Newsom, Clarissa Perkins, Laquita Wilburn, Denise Gregory)
Parkersburg South - 4x800 (not picked, got 4th)
(Allison Teter, Lindsey Devaughn, Kelsey Griffith, Tara Collins)
Natalie White, East Fairmont - High Jump (not picked, got 3rd)
Ashley Winson, Martinsburg - Discus (not picked, got 2nd)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class AAA Girls Parkersburg +13 Martinsburg +10 Nicholas + 8
Class AAA Boys
4x800 Meter Relay
Talk about starting the meet with a bang. A tight first leg saw a couple teams come
through right around 2:00. One those was Preston, but they dropped the baton, which
promptly rolled out to lane 5. With teams flying through the exchange zone, Preston
couldn't make the exchange for several seconds before finally making the connection.
After two legs, Martinsburg had taken the lead, coming through in 4:06 with Cabell
Midland close behind. Preston was 5 seconds back. The 3rd leg saw the places stay
about the same with Preston in 3rd place about 4 and half seconds behind Cabell Midland.
Knowing that Cabell Midland and Martinsburg both had anchor legs that might potentially
go under 2:00, you had to think that they were probably safe. After one lap, Eric
Ryan had cut the gap a little by opening in 54. Still, he was well back of the lead
pair. Then as they approached 600 meters in, he had suddenly closed up on the back of
the leaders. He held there as they entered the turn, and you had to expect him to
possibly fade. Then almost midway through the turn, he surged and made the pass. He
continued to drive to the finish and eventually pulled out to over a two second victory
for Preston. Ryan's split? 1:51.8. Cabell Midland held off Martinsburg for 2nd in
a tight finish that saw them finish a half-second apart. Wheeling Park edged East
Fairmont by 1 second for 4th. Jefferson rounded out the scoring in the event. The top
3 were all under 8:10, the top 5 were under 8:15, and all 6 placers were under 8:20.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6.
Pole Vault
We managed to get through the event with no ties. St. Albans Sophomore Jeremy James
came up with the title over Parkersburg South's Codi Norman as both cleared 13'6.
Nitro teammates Aaron Dunlap and Holden Eads finished 3rd and 4th,
respectively with both clearing 13'0. The top 3 vaulters return next season. Wheeling
Park's Justin Famosa and Hedgesville's Jared Sella both cleared 12'6 in
finishing in 5th and 6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 8 of 12.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
A tight battle down the stretch saw Cabell Midland's Darwan Pursoo outduel John
Marshall's Cody Jarrett to give Midland the title. Midland finished in 57.61
with John Marshall just 0.19 back. Bridgeport was not far back in 3rd. Buckhannon-Upshur
was a surprise taking 4th out of the 2nd heat. Parkersburg South was the last team to
finish in under 60 seconds in taking 5th. Wheeling Park took the final point.
RunWV's Current Score: 13 of 18.
Shot Put
As he had all season long, Robert C. Byrd's Travis Coleman dominated the competition
winning by over 5' with his toss of 55'5.50. North Marion's Ray Parrish took out
the frustration of not qualifying in the Discus by having a season best thow by over 3'
to take the surprise 2nd place finish. He was the only other thrower to top 50'.
Bridgeport's Sam Romano took 3rd by less than an inch over Martinsburg's Nate
Sowers. Parkersburg South's Bobby Morris grabbed 5th, and Cabell Midland's
Scottie Workman grabbed the last spot by less than 3".
RunWV's Current Score: 17 of 24.
3200 Meter Run
Only a pair of runners managed to go under 10:00. Cabell Midland's Eric Cooper
began to pull away on lap 5, eventually stretching to an over 8 second victory. He managed
to negative split with an opening mile of 4:52 and a closing mile of 4:50. University's
ailing Ryan Skotnicki held on for 2nd easily. Parkerburg's Landry Boggess
used a strong finish to pull away for 3rd. Preston's Bryan Hooton edged University's
Joseph Schaeffer for 4th. Hedgesville's John Windle closed very strong and
just nipped Parkersburg South's Ryan Johnson for the final point by 0.10.
RunWV's Current Score: 22 of 30.
Discus
While the Shot Put title was expected, the Discus title was a bit of a surprise for Robert
C. Byrd's Travis Coleman. Coleman took the title by a meager 5" over Buckhannon-
Upshur's Keith Branch. Martinsburg's Nate Sowers also threw over 150' in
taking 3rd. Parkersburg South's Bobby Morris edged Wheeling Park's Joe Dolan
by 3" for 4th. Buckhannon-Upshur's Ryan Godwin claimed 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 28 of 36.
400 Meter Dash
Jefferson's Josh Brown was the only runner to crack the 50 second barrier as he
won fairly easily, taking the event by 0.80. A late surge pulled Huntington's Gordon
Newsome into 2nd ahead of Parkersburg's Paul Merkel. Cabell Midland's
John Saunders was 4th as the last runner to come in under 51 seconds. Martinsburg's
D.J. Porter snared 5th from the 1st heat. East Fairmont's Shane Carpenter
rounded out the scoring.
RunWV's Current Score: 33 of 42.
1600 Meter Run
Preston's Eric Ryan sat out the 3200 Friday night after his 1:51.8 4x800 split to
preserve himself for the 1600. He had set his sites on the State Record in the event.
Ryan opened in 63 and came through the 800 in 2:10. If he was going to make a run at the
record, he'd have to pick it up. He took the 3rd lap in 64, bringing him through at a
mid 3:14. He'd have to run under 63 on the last lap to take the record. Since he had
closed in 59 in 2004, we didn't think this would be a problem. It wasn't. Ryan toured
the last lap in under 60 to finish in 4:14.03, a State Record, and the #3 All-Time State
Meet performance in the event. Two runners who ran an actual mile for the State Meet
had converted times that bettered Ryan's. Wheeling Park's Mike Wakim just held
off Cabell Midland's Eric Cooper by 0.02 for 2nd as both came in under 4:30.
Cooper's teammate Brandon Scarberry held a solid 4th. Hedgesville's Micahel
Bowers, like last year, slipped in for a surprise place in taking 5th. University's
Ryan Skotnicki was right on his Bowers' for 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 38 of 48.
Long Jump
A pair of jumpers topped 22' this year. Riverside's Sam Crosby had a season-best
jump by over a foot and a half to take the event by 1.25" over Parkersburg South's
Ryan Dawson. Jefferson's Carl Williams and Cabell Midland's Deron
Keeton topped 21' to take 3rd and 4th, respectively. Parkersburg South's Seth
Townsend was the only other jumper to exceed 20'. South Charleston Sophomore
Timmy Debar was the final placer in the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 43 of 54.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Cabell Midland's Darwan Pursoo edged out Bridgeport's Matt Wilson as both
were in the low 39's. No other competitor ran under 40. Hurricane's Scott Ransom
just missed going under in taking 3rd. When some people fall, they give up. Some don't
even get up. John Marshall's Cody Jarrett not only got up, but he ran his way back
into 4th place. Woodrow Wilson's Cassias Lewis scored a 5th place finish.
Bridgeport's Grant Burton snagged a surprise 6th from the 1st heat.
RunWV's Current Score: 48 of 60.
110 Meter High Hurdles
Cabell Midland's Darwan Pursoo finished off the hurdle double by taking the 110's.
His 14.86 was the only time under 15.00. John Marshall's Cody Jarrett was the
closest too him in 15.04. Capital's Daniel White edged Nitro's Holden Eads
by 0.03 for 3rd. Bridgeport's Matt Wilson finished 5th, with John Marshall's
Dan Vogel claimed the final spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 66.
100 Meter Dash
Huntington's Gordon Newsome finally claimed the title that had eluded him in prior
years. He broke open a tight race in the last 30 meters to win convincingly in 10.94.
Woodrow Wilson Freshman Marquel Ali scored a 2nd place finish. Cabell Midland's
John Saunders edged Preston's Seth Wheeler for 3rd by 0.02. A pair of
athletes who moved up from Class AA this year took the final two spots with Bridgeport's
Phillip McElfresh taking 5th and Lewis' Keith Weaver taking 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 57 of 72.
4x200 Meter Relay
Jefferson completely dominated this event, winning by 1.48 seconds and missing a top 10
All-Time performance by less than a quarter-second. Cabell Midland was easily 2nd, over
1.5 seconds ahead of 3rd place. Bridgeport, South Charleston, and Woodrow Wilson were
separated only by 0.25 in finishing 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively. Elkins nipped
Parkersburg South by 0.02 for the final spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 63 of 78.
High Jump
6 jumpers cleared 6'2, but none could clear 6'4. Parkersburg South's Seth Townsend
ended up taking the event. Martinsburg Sophomore Kevin Wesley finished 2nd and
Parkersburg South's Josh Gains ginished 3rd. There was a 3-way tie for 4th between
Bridgeport's Matt Wilson, John Marshall's Clint Wilson, and Parkersburg
South's Todd Offenberger.
RunWV's Current Score: 68 of 84.
4x100 Meter Relay
Jefferson again proved their sprint dominance by taking the 4x100 by 0.51. Bridgeport
edged Woodrow Wilson by 0.05 for 2nd. Cabell Midland edged Parkersburg by 0.04 for 4th.
Parkersburg South scored the final point.
RunWV's Current Score: 74 of 90.
800 Meter Run
Preston's Eric Ryan continued his stellar weekend, pulling away late to win by
nearly a second and a half. Ripley Sophomore Corey Waybright continued an outstanding
late season series by going under 1:58 to take 2nd. Elkins' Henrik Lange, by way
of Germany, finished 3rd. Martinsburg's Mike Jones was the final competitor to go
under 2:00. Cabell Midland's Sean Beckett just missed the mark in finishing 5th.
Preston's Josh Mullenax edged Cabell Midland's Brandon Scarberry by 0.03
for 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 79 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
Jefferson's Josh Brown topped his 400 win off with a win in the 200, taking the event
by 0.31. Huntington's Gordon Newsome used a late burst to snag a narrow 2nd place
finish over Preston's Seth Wheeler. 0.06 separated 4th through 7th (there was one
scratch). Cabell Midland's Deron Keeton edged Woodrow Wilson's Deon Staunton
for 4th by 0.02. Lewis' Sean Heater and Martinsburg's D.J. Porter had the
same time, but Heater won the spot when the time was broken down to the thousandths place.
RunWV's Current Score: 82 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
Preston edged Martinsburg by 0.60 and Cabell Midland by 0.76 behind Eric Ryan's 49.5
anchor leg. Jefferson was a strong 4th coming out of the 1st heat. Parkersburg South was
easily 5th. Brooke claimed the final point of the meet.
RunWV's Current Score: 88 of 108.
The final score of 88 of 108 means that 81.5 % of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved us wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed our predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Seth Wheeler, Preston -- 100 M (not picked, got 4th)
Seth Wheeler, Preston -- 200 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Mike Wakim, Wheeling Park -- 1600 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Landry Boggess, Parkersburg -- 3200 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Bridgeport -- 4x200 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Alex McElfresh, Wesley Eades, Phillip McElfresh, Jeff Weimer)
Wheeling Park -- 4x800 M (not picked, got 4th)
(Mike Wakim, Will Voeglin, Sean Flanagan, Matt Keding)
Buckhannon-Upshur - Shuttle Hurdles (not picked, goth 4th)
(Michael Ware, Craig Lampinen, Andrew Carrier, Kyle Kelley)
Sam Crosby, Riverside -- Long Jump (picked 6th, got 1st)
Kevin Wesley, Martinsburg -- High Jump (not picked, got 2nd)
Ray Parrish, North Marion -- Shot Put (not picked, got 2nd)
Sam Romano, Bridgeport -- Shot Put (not picked, got 3rd)
Aaron Dunlap, Nitro -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 3rd)
Holden Eads, Nitro -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class AAA Boys Nitro +13 Huntington + 8 North Marion + 8 Parkersburg + 7 Woodrow Wilson + 7