Class AAA Boys
100 Meter Dash
Capital's Malcolm Fletcher repeated as champion, handily defeating the field
in 10.95. Hurricane's Dakota Williams came on late and surged into 2nd in 11.16.
A very tight race for 3rd saw Spring Mills' Elian Lamar get the spot at 11.30.
South Charleston's Bruce Williams and Capital's Breece Hoff both ran 11.32
in taking 4th and 5th, respectively. Hurricane's Nate Barham ran 11.39 for 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 4 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Hurricane's Dakota Williams took the lead coming out of the turn and buried the
field down the stretch, finishing in 21.86 to win by over 0.6 seconds. Brooke's Ethan
Secrist pulled away for the 2nd spot in 22.48 and then held off Parkersburg South's
Dominic Collins, who finished 3rd in 22.56. Spring Mills' Elian Lamar
edged Parkersburg's Tyler Moler for 4th, 22.74 to 22.77. Ripley's Steven
Carte took the last spot in 22.95. One of my predicted placers qualified 5th but
scratched from the finals due to injury.
RunWV's Current Score: 8 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Morgantown's Alajuan Robinson barrelled down the stretch to move into the lead
and take the win in 48.97. Greenbrier East's Scott Soucier led the bulk of the
race and held on for 2nd in 49.78. Morgantown's Timothy Johnson was 3rd in
51.14. Spring Mills' Jacob Michael was 4th in 51.29. Martinsburg's Josh
Barnes was 5th in 51.64, with Huntington's Richard Edwards recording the
same time in the 1st heat for 6th. One of my predicted placers got gunned down for a false start.
RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 18.
800 Meter Run
It was Parkersburg's Anthony Bradford getting out of the gate quickly, but he
had been overtaken by the 200 meter mark Woodrow Wilson's Miles Kominsky and
Riverside's Trevor Carson. At the line, it was Kominsky in the lead at 57 seconds
with Carson right on his tail. Parkersburg's Iam Domenick was in 3rd at 58
with Spring Mill's Kobe O'Niel right there with him in 4th. Preston's Trey
Smith-Tatham was in 5th, still at 58 seconds. Bradford was in 6th at 59 seconds.
Coming out of the turn Smith-Tatham moved into 4th ahead of O'Niel and Hurricane's
Chase Basham moved into 6th. Right before the 600 meter mark, Carson moved into
the lead. Kominsky was in 2nd, Domenick in 3rd, Smith-Tatham in 4th, O'Niel in 5th,
and Basham in 6th. Carson led through the turn, but Kominsky pulled beside him and
made the pass at about 720 meters and pulled away for the win in 1:57.13. Carson held
2nd in 1:58.06. O'Niel had fallen back to 6th coming out of the turn but closed really
well to slip into 3rd just before the line in 1:58.79. Domenick was 4th in 1:58.82.
Wheeling Park's Michael Harriman was 11th at 400 and was still 7th at 700 meters
but kicked his way to 5th in 1:59.70. Basham held onto the final spot in 2:01.01.
RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
Woodrow Wilson's Ryan Vaught took the early lead, but it was Parkersburg's Ian
Domenick in the lead at the end of lap at 1:03 with Vaught matching that time. Woodrow
Wilson's Mile Kominsky was in 3rd at 1:04. I think it was Parkersburg's Benjamin
Lake in 4th at 1:04 with Hurricane's Wyatt Hanshaw right there with him in
5th. I think it was George Washington's Jacob Birurakis in 6th, also at 1:04.
On lap 2, Domenick moved to the lead on the backstretch and carried that lead to the
line at 2:13. Things were really bunched up, though, Birurakis up to 2nd, Kominsky
in 3rd, Preston's Ward Ries up to 4th, Preston's Cole Friend in 5th, and
Vaught in 6th and the entire group at 2:13, along with 2 others. There were 14 within
about 1.5 seconds of the lead. Things started to stretch out a little on the 3rd lap
as Domenick picked up the pace a little. He continued to lead, coming through at 3:20
with Kominsky was in 2nd at 3:21. Friend had moved up to 3rd, also at 3:21. Birurakis
was in 4th at 3:23. Ries was in 5th with the same time, and Hanshaw was in 6th at also
at 3:23. On the final lap, Domenick and Kominsky began to pull away from Friend. At
1400 meters, it was clear that it was a 2 man race with Domenick continuing to lead.
Kominsky made a run coming off the turn, pulling just about even with Dominick with about
60 meters to go, but Domenick fended it off, and got back away for the win in 4:21.68
to Kominsky's 4:22.51. Morgantown's Andrew Christy used a sub-60 second final lap
to move from 10th to 3rd in 4:25.03. Wheeling Park's Michael Harriman also used
a big last lap to move from 8th to 4th in 4:26.18. Just as a point of interest, at
the end of lap 1, Christy was in next-to-last and Harriman was in last. Friend held
on for 5th in 4:26.76. Hanshaw nipped Birurakis for the final spot 4:27.18 to 4:27.57.
RunWV's Current Score: 19 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
The field went out reasonably, which allowed pretty much everyone to be in conact. It was
one of the Hurricane guys who bolted to the early lead. I'm going to guess it was
Justin Belcher. He continued to lead through the line at 1:08. Wheeling Park's
Ronnie Saunders was in 2nd, also at 1:08. George Washington's Jacob Birurakis
was in 3rd with Woodrow Wilson's Ryan Vaught in 4th. Morgantown's Mikale Virji
was in 5th, and Parkersburg's Benjamin Lake was in 6th, each at 1:09. I'm really
just guessing at a couple of those. Things stayed pretty bunched up on the 2nd lap with
only one more person losing contact with the pack. Belcher continued to lead at 2:22 with
Vaught in 2nd at the same time. Saunders was in 3rd at 2:23. Birurakis was in 4th,
Lake in 5th, and Preston's Cole Friend in 6th, matching that 2:23. There was still
a large pack through the 3rd lap, but it was starting to shrink. Belcher continued to
lead, coming through at 3:37. Preston's Ward Ries had moved into the 2nd spot,
also at 3:37. Vaught was in 3rd with Saunders 4th, Birurakis 5th, and Friend 6th, all
matching that 3:37. At the midway mark, we still had a big pack, but it had diminished
to 8 athletes, and one of those was starting to lose contact. Belcher held the slightest
of leads at the line over Ries with both passing at 4:51. Friend was up to 3rd, also at
4:51. Vaught was in 4th at 4:52 with Lake 5th and Birurakis 6th matching that time.
On lap 5, Ries moved to the lead about halfway through and carried that lead to the
line, even opening a small gap, coming through in 6:04. Friend just slipped into 2nd
before the line at 6:05 with Belcher matching that time in 3rd. Birurakis was in 4th
with Vaught 5th and Lake 6th, with the clock still at 6:05. The pack was down to 7 now.
On the 6th lap, Ries continued to lead and stretching that gap just a bit, coming through
in 7:17. Friend was in 2nd at 7:19. Saunders, who had been lingering at the back of
the pack, had moved up to 3rd in 7:20. Birurakis was in 4th at 7:21 with Vaught matching
that time in 5th. Lake was in 6th at 7:22. On lap 7, Ries continued to slightly stretch
his lead, coming through in 8:29. Friend was in 2nd at 8:32 with Saunders and Birurakis
matching that time with the three going in a straight line across the line. Vaught
was in 5th at 8:37 and Lake in 6th at 8:39. On the final lap, with about 280 to go, Ries
had stretched his lead to over 20 meters. Coming out the final turn, Ries seemed to have
things well in hand, but Saunders was putting on a strong kick, but Ries was able to
hold it for the win in 9:38.91 to Saunders' 9:39.57. Friend got away from Birurakis
for 3rd, finishing in 9:42.78. Birurakis was 4th in 9:44.36. Vaught was 5th in 9:49.52.
Lake took the final spot in 9:52.15.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 36.
110 Meter High Hurdles
We had a really close battle between Brooke's Ethan Secrist and Huntington's
Dezmon Bradshaw with Secrist able to squeeze out the close victory by being just
a little faster from the final hurdle to the finish line. He went 14.92 to Bradshaw's
14.95. These two ended up over 3/4 of a second ahead of rest of the field. Parkersburg
South's Chris Elschlager and Haden McConnell scored the next two spots
at 15.74 and 15.77, respectively. Washington's Cortez Jenkins led the first
half of the race and was in 3rd late but got passed by the Parkersburg South duo after
the final hurdle and ended up 5th in 15.83. Martinsburg's Chelo Teneval took
the final spot in 15.95.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 42.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Washington's Cortez Jenkins got out really well and ran away from the field to
win it by over a second in 38.72. Huntington's Dezmon Bradshaw closed well for
2nd in 39.74. Ripley's Samuel Pierson was solidly in 3rd at 40.33. Cabell
Midland's Stevie Ball edged Martinsburg's Chelo Teneval for 4th, 40.82
and 40.86, respectively. Capital's Karrington Hill scored the final position
from the 1st heat in 41.54.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
The Spring Mills foursome of Ryan Dunleavy, Anthony Harris, Daquan May, and Elian
Lamar held off Capital for the win in 42.81, which is the 9th Best All-Time State
Meet Performanceand the 9th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance.
Capital just missed joining that list while going under 43 seconds with their 42.92.
Hurricane was 3rd in 43.44. Martinsburg was 4th in 43.77. Hedgesville scored 5th from
the 1st heat in 43.82. Parkersburg South took the final spot in 44.17.
RunWV's Current Score: 38 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
The Capital group of Perry Davis, Breece Hoff, Jon'Tavese Brown, and Malcolm Fletcher
had the event well in hand by the end of the 2nd leg, and they never looked back as they
blew away the field by 1.5 seconds with a 1:28.59. That was strong enough to be the
7th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 7th Best All-Time Class AAA
State Meet Performance. Spring Mills was an easy 2nd in 1:30.09. Huntington was
3rd in 1:31.20. Musselman took the 4th spot in 1:31.64. Martinsburg was 5th in 1:32.56.
Ripley was 6th in 1:32.74.
RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
It looked like it was Huntington in the lead at the 1st exchange in about 52.7. I think
Greenbrier East was in 2nd, Martinsburg in 3rd, Jefferson in 4th, Spring Mills in 5th,
and maybe Morgantown in 6th. Jefferson got an excellent 2nd leg from Jefferey Gaskins
to move into the lead at 1:44.0. Huntington was in 2nd at 1:45. I think Spring Mills
was in 3rd at 1:46. Martinsburg was in 4th and Parkersburg in 5th with Greenbrier East
in the 6th position. Jefferson retained the lead through the 3rd leg at 2:36.6. Spring
Mills was in a close 2nd at 2:37. Huntington was in 3rd at 2:38. Parkersburg was in 4th
at 2:40. Martinsburg was in 5th at 2:41, and Greenbrier East was in 6th at 2:42. But
on the final leg it was Spring Mills' Kobe O'Niel making the pass on the backstretch
and pulling away in the homestretch with a 50.2 leg to win it by over 2 seconds with a
3:27.35 for the foursome of Rohan Parchment, Anthony Harris, Josh Weise, and Kobe
O'Niel. Jefferson held on for 2nd in 3:29.73. Greenbrier East got a 49.4 leg from
Scott Soucier to move from 6th to 3rd in 3:32.13 taking that last spot late.
Musselman snagged 4th from the 1st heat with an excellent run in 3:32.46. Huntington
was 5th in 3:32.95. Martinsburg took the final spot in 3:33.26.
RunWV's Current Score: 48 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
Parkersburg got things off to a rousing start with a 1:57.4 opening leg from Ian
Domenick. Hurricane was in 2nd, having gotten a sub-2:00 leg from Chase Basham.
Preston was in 3rd at 2:02, trailed closely by Spring Mills, also at 2:02. Cabell Midland
was in 5th at 2:03, and Wheeling Park in 6th, also at 2:03. On the 2nd leg, Parkersburg
extended their lead while continuing to be on sub-8:00 pace, coming through in 3:58.3.
Hurricane remained in 2nd at 4:03. George Washington had moved up to 3rd in 4:08 with
Morgantown up to 4th in 4:09. Spring Mills was in 5th at 4:11 with Wheeling Park matching
that time in 6th. Parkersburg continued to hold a substantial lead after 3 legs, coming
though in 6:01.8. Hurricane remained in 2nd at 6:07. Morgantown was up to 3rd in 6:11.
Preston got a sub-2:00 leg from Ward Ries to move into 4th at 6:12. Wheeling
Park was up to 5th in 6:14. George Washington was in 6th at 6:17. We had some flyers
on the anchor legs, but no one could catch Parkersburg as they rolled to the win by
over 6 seconds in 8:02.41 for the foursome of Ian Domenick, Benjamin Lake, Will Lemaster,
and Anthony Bradford. Morgantown got a 1:56.9 leg from Andrew Christy to snag
the 2nd spot in 8:09.13. Hurricane held the 3rd spot in 8:10.77. wheeling Park got
a 1:57.4 leg from Michael Harriman to move into 4th in 8:11.30. Preston held
the 5th spot in 8:12.60 on a sub-2:00 leg from Cole Friend. Spring Mills got
a 1:57.5 leg (taking the 1st lap in about 53) from Kobe O'Niel to move back into 6th in 8:16.07.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The Parkersburg South unit of Dominic Collins, Corey Beverage, Haden McConnell, and
Chris Elschlager got out quickly and were never threatened in taking the win by just
over a second in 56.98. Hedgesville was an easy 2nd in 57.99. Huntington was 3rd in 58.97.
Woodrow Wilson was 4th in 59.75. Martinsburg scored 5th from the 2nd heat in 59.97.
Spring Mills took the final position in 1:00.17.
RunWV's Current Score: 57 of 78.
High Jump
Hurricane's Jalen Snyder was the only jumper to clear 6'4. Parkersburg South's
Dominic Collins was the only other one to clear 6'2. The rest of the placers
cleared 6'0 with Hedgesville's Oliver French taking 3rd, Cabell Midland's Ty
Sturm taking 4th, and Hedgesville's Aron Harmison, St. Albans' Steven Eaton,
and Spring Valley's Andrew Ball getting the tie for 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 63 of 84.
Pole Vault
St. Albans' Steven Eaton cleared 14'0 to win it by a foot. Parkersburg South's
Nate Santiago was the only other vaulter to clear 13'0 in taking 2nd. Washington's
Chase Duckworth was the only other one to clear 12'6 in taking 3rd. Jefferson's
Nicholas Roush and Ripley's Evan King cleared 12'0 in taking 4th and 5th,
respectively. Ripley's Drew Swisher took the final spot with an 11'6 vault as
only 7 vaulters cleared the 11'0 opening height.
RunWV's Current Score: 68 of 90.
Long Jump
Hurricane's Jalen Snyder had a pair of jumps of 22'3.50 to win the event. Jefferson's
Jefferey Gaskins sailed 21'9.75 for 2nd. South Charleston's Daishaun Ford
went 21'0.25 on his 1st attempt and didn't even take his finals attempts to take 3rd.
Parkersburg South's Chris Elschlager went 20'10.50 for 4th. Morgantown's Gabriel
Stover was 5th with a 20'7.50. Hedgesville's Oliver French got the 6th position
with a 20'6.75.
RunWV's Current Score: 72 of 96.
Shot Put
Huntington's Darnell Wright threw it 54'01.50 on his 2nd attempt and no one was
able to come within a foot of it. Wheeling Park's Jermain Snodgrass put his 2nd
throw out there 53'0.25, his best throw of the day by over 3 1/2 feet for 2nd. Cabell
Midland's Corey Beverage threw 52'10 for 3rd. Spring Valley's Doug Nester
was the last one over 50' with his 50'10.50. Huntington's Anson Fykes threw
49'6 on his 1st attempt for 5th. Hampshire's John Hicks threw 48'7.25 was 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 77 of 102.
Discus
Hampshire's John Hicks sent his 2nd attempt 172'11 (and had two others over 171')
to win the event by a whopping 24'7. It also gave him the 10th Best All-Time State
Meet Performance and the 6th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance.
Cabell Midland's Gavin Beverage was 2nd in 148'4, just ahead of St. Albans' Ashton
Grounds' 148'1. Martinsburg's Michael Berlo was the last one over 140' with
his throw of 142'6. Spring Valley's Doug Nester threw 139'1 for 5th with
Parkersburg South's Nathan Rockhold going 138'5 for the final spot. No one
else was over 130'.
RunWV's Current Score: 82 of 108.
The final score of 82 of 108 means that 75.9% of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed my predictions by 3 or more places and deserve special mention.
Elian Lamar, Spring Mills -- 100 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Elian Lamar, Spring Mills -- 200 M (not picked, got 4th)
Alajuan Robinson, Morgantown -- 400 M (picked 5th, got 1st)
Timothy Johnson, Morgantown -- 400 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Jacob Michael, Spring Mills -- 400 M (not picked, got 4th)
Kobe O'Niel, Spring Mills -- 800 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Andrew Christy, Morgantown -- 1600 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Ronnie Saunders, Wheeling Park -- 3200 M (not picked, got 2nd)
Haden McConnell, Parkersburg South -- 110 HH (not picked, got 4th)
Musselman -- 4x400 M (not picked, got 4th)
(Jacob Northcraft, Zed Maher, Seth Tyson, Robert Glover)
Wheeling Park -- 4x800 M (not picked, got 4th)
(Vincent DiProsperis, Cullen Powell, Ronnie Saunders, Michael Harriman)
Woodrow Wilson -- Shuttle (not picked, got 4th)
(Michah Hancock, Logan Cook, Kelshawn Richardson, Julius Stuart-Velez)
Oliver French, Hedgesville -- High Jump (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Nicholas Roush, Jefferson -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 4th)
Daishaun Ford, South Charleston -- Long Jump (not picked, got 3rd)
Jermain Snodgrass, Wheeling Park -- Shot Put (picked 5th, got 2nd)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class AAA Boys Morgantown +18 Wheeling Park +15 Spring Mills +13 Parkersburg South +12 Jefferson + 9