Class A Boys
100 Meter Dash
Wheeling Central's Lorenzo Ferrera got out well and pulled away for the strong win in 10.86. That gives him the 3rd
Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Clay-Battelle's Zac Hall ran a really strong 2nd in 11.10, and his
trials time of 11.04 is the 7th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Buffalo got a solid 3-4 finish from
Bradley Harris in 11.46 and Cole Whittington in 11.49. No one else was under 11.60.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 8.
200 Meter Dash
Wheeling Central's Lorenzo Ferrera had a small lead coming out of the turn and pulled away in the straight, finishing
in 22.69 and winning by over 0.4 seconds. Buffalo got a 2-3 finish from Bradley Harris in 23.14 and Cole Whittington
in 23.31 with Whittington moving into that spot in the final 50 meters. Tygarts Valley's Nathaniel Hulver in 23.42
and Ravenswood's Wyatt Milhoan in 23.47 joined them under 23.50.
RunWV's Current Score: 11 of 16.
400 Meter Dash
It was a close one coming out of the turn with a trio of guys just about even, but in the last 50, it was James Monroe's
Braydie Carr surging to the line to win in 50.77. Wheeling Central's Jonathan White scored 2nd in 51.27 in
a close finish over Wirt's Joseph Liveo in 51.36 and Doddridge's Jerod Trent in 51.48. This was a strong event
this year with 9 guys going 52.50 or better. Buffalo's Bradley Harris scored 5th in 52.09. I didn't have him placing
in this event, guessing that they would scratch him and load the 4x100. I guessed wrong.
RunWV's Current Score: 17 of 24.
800 Meter Run
Wheeling Central's Aidan Scott led the field out of the break, but Buffalo's Nick Pitchford stormed up the inside
to take the lead at about 150 meters. Scott would retake the lead at about 320 meters. Pitchford would respond and the two
were in a dead heat at the line with Pitchford having maybe the slightest of advantages with both at 60 seconds. Greenbrier
West's Matthew Thomas was in 3rd also at 60. I think it was Charleston Catholic's Hunter Perry and Will Barton
holding the next two spots and Doddridge's Gunner Kimball in 6th with each at 61 seconds. Paw Paw's Donovan Tanouye
was in 7th with Ritchie's Alex Owens and Sherman's A.J. Skeens holding the next 3 spots also at 61. Pitchford
went for the pass coming out of the turn, but Scott fended him off. While those two battled on the backstretch, Thomas and
Skeens closed up on them. Pitchford got the lead at about 580 meters and led into the turn. Skeens was moving into 2nd coming
into the turn. Thomas would try to make a move halfway through the turn. Coming out of the turn, it was close with 4 in
contention, but Pitchford would pull away down the stretch to take the win in 2:01.37. Skeens had a little stumbled with
about 50 meters to go but recovered and held on for 2nd in 2:02.34. Scott would hold off Thomas for 3rd in 2:02.70 with
Thomas at 2:02.84. Ritchie's Alex Owens came up to 5th in 2:03.42 with Kimball holding 6th in 2:04.65. Buffalo's
Jackson Mallett closed well to take 7th in 2:05.31 with St. Marys' Reece Westfall snagging the 8th spot in
the last 20 meters and finishing in 2:06.56.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 32.
1600 Meter Run
Ritchie's Dylan Malolepsey went out very quickly and led the field out of the break. He would turn the 1st lap in 1:03.
I think it was Charleston Catholic's Hunter Perry in 2nd at 1:06 with that time matched by Sherman's A.J. Skeens,
Magnolia's Landen Davis, and Doddridge's Carter Sias. Buffalo's Nick Pitchford was in 6th in 1:07 with
that matched by Wahama's Josiah Lloyd and Williamstown's Zach Cannon. The whole field was out fairly aggressively
as everyone came through at 1:09 or better. Malolepsey continued to lead through 2 laps,
coming through in 2:17. Perry was still in 2nd at 2:19 with Skeens in 3rd, Sias in 4th, and Cannon in 5th also at that time.
In 6th at 2:20 was Davis with that time matched by Pitchford in 7th and Wheeling Central's Aidan Scott in 8th. The pack
finally caught up to Malolepsey at about 1000 meters. Pitchford pulled just about even, but Malolepsey responded to hold the
lead. He maintained the lead through the line, coming through in 3:31. Pitchford was in 2nd, Scott in 3rd, Skeens in 4th,
and Perry in 5th with the same time. Cannon was in 6th, Buffalo's Patrick Reilly was up to 7th and Sias was in 8th
with each at 3:32. Malolepsey held the lead and even extended it a bit through the turn. Pitchford finally made the pass with
just over 200 meters to go. Scott followed by, and then Skeens. Pitchford and Scott dueled down the stretch, and it was
Pitchford who was able to pull away in the last 50 meters for the win in 4:31.94. Scott would hold 2nd in 4:33.31 with Skeens
in 3rd in 4:34.55. Reilly used a big finish to snag 4th right before the line to finish in 4:36.97. Malolepsey held on for
5th in 4:37.07 in a gutsy effort. Davis closed really well to move from 9th to 6th in 4:37.53, just getting by Cannon, who
finished 7th in 4:37.69 and Perry, who was 8th in 4:38.14. One of my predicted placers scratched the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 30 of 40.
3200 Meter Run
Magnolia's Landen Davis led the field out of the break. The pace was passive allowing for a pretty cohesive group.
At the end of lap 1, it was Davis in the front, Buffalo's Patrick Reilly in 2nd, Webster's Austin Wright in 3rd,
Williamstown's Zach Cannon in 4th, and Williamstown's Julian Johnson in 5th with all at 1:13. Tyler Consolidated's
Amos Kimble was in 6th with Buffalo's Jackson Mallett in 7th, and Wheeling Central's Aidan Scott in 8th
at 1:14. After 2 laps, Reilly had moved into the lead at 2:29 with Davis in 2nd and Cannon in 3rd with the same time. Doddridge's
Carter Sias was in 4th with Scott in 5th, and Mallett in 6th at 2:30. Johnson was in 7th and Notre Dame's Evan
McElwayne in 8th at 2:31. There were still 12 in the main pack, but it was starting to string out a little. Lap 3 saw
some guys drop off the back of the pack. Reilly continued to lead that pack at 3:46 with Davis in 2nd, Cannon in 3rd, and
Sias in 4th also at 3:46. Scott was 5th at 3:47 with Williamstown's Chase Trembly in 6th, Mallett in 7th, and Johnson
in 8th at the same time. The pack was down to 10. At the midpoint, Davis had moved into the lead at 5:04 with Cannon matching
that in 2nd. Sias was in 3rd at 5:05 with Reilly matching that in 4th. Scott was in 5th at 5:06 with Mallett matching that
in 6th. Trembly and Johnson were in 7th and 8th at 5:07. The pack was down to 9 with one more only about 5 meters off the
back. Davis continued to lead through 5 laps at 6:23. Cannon was in 2nd, Sias in 3rd, Reilly in 4th, Scott in 5th, Johnson
in 6th, and Mallett in 7th, all matching that time as this front 7 was separated by about 2 meters. McElwayne had moved back
into 8th but was off the back of that pack at 6:26, but with an even larger gap on 9th. At the end of lap 6, Cannon moved
into the lead at 7:41 with Davis matching that time. Sias was in 3rd at 7:42 with Johnson, Reilly, and Scott matching that.
Mallett was in 7th at 7:43 as we stil had less than 5 meters between 1st and 7th. McElwayne remained in 8th at 7:47. Midway
through lap 7, Sias assumed the lead, but just before the line Cannon took back over as they came through in 8:59. Sias was
in 2nd, Reilly was in 3rd, and Scott was in 4th, also at 8:59. Johnson was in 5th and Davis in 6th at 9:00, and Mallett was
in 7th at 9:01. McElwayne was solidly in that 8th spot at 9:09. On the last lap, Cannon accelerated into the turn and opened
about a 6 meter gap with about 300 meters to go. Reilly responded, and then Scott moved into 2nd. Scott pulled even with
Cannon with about 220 to go and took the lead shortly thereafter. He was able to tuck in front of Cannon with about 180 to
go. Cannon started to respond and accelerate again, and with 150 to go, Scott led by about half a stride. They were about even
coming out of the turn and in an all out sprint for the finish. Cannon moved to the lead with about 80 meters to go, and pulled
away to win by 2 seconds with a brilliant kick over that last 150 and took the win in 9:58.83. He covered the last lap in 59.3
seconds. Scott held the 2nd spot in 10:00.84. Johnson closed well to take 3rd in 10:02.65. Davis made 2 passes in the last 70
meters to snag 4th in 10:03.06 with Sias in 5th at 10:03.45 and Reilly in 6th at 10:04.37. Mallett easily held the 7th spot in
10:11.95 with McElwayne in the 8th position in 10:26.38.
RunWV's Current Score: 37 of 48.
110 Meter High Hurdles
St. Mary's Braden Hashman got out well and sped away from the field, taking the flight in 14.63 to set a new State
Meet Record and the Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Wood County Christian's Brayden Wise
ran a really strong 2nd in 15.03. Greenbrier West's Isaac Agee was a quick 3rd in 15.45. Buffalo's Gunner Fertig
joined them under 16 seconds with a 15.99 for 4th. One of my predicted placers qualified for finals but got hit with a false start.
RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 56.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
St. Marys' Braden Hashman led from the gun in taking the win in 40.41. Ritchie's Bruce Moyer outdueled Wood
County Christian's Brayden Hashman for 2nd 40.93 to 41.16. Doddridge's Seth Richards snagged 4th from the 1st
heat with an excellent 41.88 run. St. Marys' Peyton Girard was the only other one to go under 43 seconds with a 42.67.
RunWV's Current Score: 50 of 64.
4x100 Meter Relay
Wheeling Central's group of Cannon Goddard, Dominic Gianangeli, Riley Watkins, and Lorenzo Ferrera scored the come-from-behind
win with an excellent anchor leg form Ferrera to pull them from 3rd (or at worst a dead heat for 2nd) to the win in
44.26. That gives that group the 3rd Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Trinity Christian ran extremely
well for 2nd, scoring a 44.38, which gives their group of Joshua Jorge, Brock Shuba, Kyle Knight, and Levi Teets a
tie for the 6th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. East Hardy was a strong 3rd in 44.82 as those three were
well ahead of the field. Dodridge, Clay-Battelle, and Williamstown came in under 46 seconds in taking 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 57 of 72.
4x200 Meter Relay
Wheeling Central's unit of Jonathan White, Riley Watkins, Dominic Gianangeli, and Lorenzo Ferrera scored the win in
1:32.77 with Ferrera again bringing them from behind for the win. Buffalo scored 2nd place from the first heat with a 1:33.36
after a lineup change from their Regional. Ritchie fought past Trinity Christian for 3rd 1:33.69 to 1:33.87. Trinity Christian
was in the lead and might have won...at the very least they would have been 2nd...but a really bad handoff cost them. East Hardy
was a strong 5th in 1:34.06 with only Doddridge able to join them under 1:35 with a 1:34.82.
RunWV's Current Score: 63 of 80.
4x400 Meter Relay
St. Marys was the 1st to exchange with Ritchie in 2nd and Williamstown and Trinity Christian fighting for 3rd. At the break,
it was St. Marys, Ritchie, Trinity, Williamstown. Ritchie took the lead late in the 2nd leg and led at 1:48. St. Marys was
in 2nd at 1:49. Trinity was in 3rd with Ravenswood 4th and Wheeling Central 5th. Ritchie extended their lead on leg 3, coming
through at 2:41. St. Marys was in 2nd at 2:44. Wheeling Central and Trinity were together at 2:45. Pocahontas was in 5th
at 2:46. Ravenswood was in 6th at 2:47. On the final leg, Ritchie continued to distance themselves from the field, taking the win
by nearly 4 seconds with the foursome of Heath Knight, Dylan Malolepsey, Zayden Hardbarger, and Alex Owens the win in
3:33.98. Wheeling Central moved from 4th to 2nd in the last 120 meters, finishing in 3:37.73. Pocahontas got a 51.1 anchor
leg from Max O'Ganian to take 3rd in 3:38.20. They crossed pretty much simultaneously with Trinity Christian, but Trinity
got hit with a DQ for impedement on one of the exchanges. The elevated St. Marys to 4th in 3:39.36 with Ravenswood 5th in 3:39.98.
Buffalo ran away with Heat 1 and scored a 6th place in 3:41.09. Doddridge was 7th in 3:42.96, and Williamstown was 8th in 3:43.40.
One of my predicted placers was hit with a DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 70 of 88.
4x800 Meter Relay
Buffalo led the field through the first leg in 2:03 with Doddridge close behind in 2:04. Ritchie was in 3rd in 2:06 with
Williamstown in 4th in 2:07. Charleston Catholic was in 5th in 2:11 with Magnolia 6th and Ravenswood in 7th in 2:12. I thin
it was East Hardy in 8th. Buffalo led through leg 2 in 4:09 with Williamstown up to 2nd in 4:10. Doddridge was in 3rd in
4:17. Charleston Catholic was up to 4th in 4:18. St. Marys was in 5th in 4:20, and Ritchie was in 6th at 4:21. I'm not sure
who was in 7th and 8th at this point. Leg 3 saw Williamstown close up and run with Buffalo, but Buffalo got back away in the
late stages of the leg to stretch it back out to 3 seconds at 6:17. Williamstown was in 2nd at 6:20. Charleston Catholic had
risen to 3rd at 6:30. Doddridge had a slight lead over St. Marys for 4th with both at 6:30. Ritchie was in 6th at 6:33. I
think Magnolia was in 7th at 6:41, and I think Ravenswood was in 8th at 6:43. Buffalo was not challenged in the final leg
as they pulled away for the nearly 11 second second win. The 8:16.37 gives the unit of Patrick Reilly, Nick Pitchford, Dylan
Blackshire, and Jackson Mallett the 8th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Williamstown easily held
the 2nd spot in 8:27.45. Charleston Catholic held the 3rd position in 8:34.04 with Doddridge pulling away for 4th in 8:36.68.
Ritchie came back up for 5th in 8:42.45. St. Marys barely held off Magnolia at the line for 6th, 8:44.45 to 8:44.46. East
Hardy came back up to 8th in 8:55.29.
RunWV's Current Score: 77 of 96.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The St. Marys group of Peyton Girard, Brayden Hall, Jake Delancey, and Braden Hashman ran away from the field over the
final 2 legs to finish in 59.82, winning by almost 2 seconds. Doddridge held off Ritchie for 2nd, 1:01.74 to 1:01.88. No
one else was under 1:03. Wheeling Central went 1:03.30 for 4th with Tygarts Valley and East Hardy also under 1:04.
RunWV's Current Score: 84 of 104.
High Jump
Magnolia's Dubale Greathouse cleared 6'4 on his 2nd attempt to snag the win. He had to clear it for the win because
Buffalo's Cole Whittington had sailed through cleanly through 6'2 to take 2nd. Williamstown's Colton Hesson
cleared everything on his 2nd attempt, including 6'2 for 3rd. Webster's Peyton Amost did a lot of missing, but cleared
3 heights on his 3rd attempt, including 6'2 for 4th. Buffalo's Gunner Fertig and Doddridge's Jacob Dehaven
each cleared 6'0 in taking 5th and 6th, respectively. Once again, I guessed a move incorrectly. I took Whittington out of
this and put him on Buffalo's 4x100. They didn't do that. Good call.
RunWV's Current Score: 90 of 112.
Pole Vault
Buffalo's Gunner Fertig went through 13'0 without a miss to take the win. Tyler Consolidated's Sage Landis
also cleared 13'0 to take 2nd. Ritchie's Kodi Camp was the only other vaulter to clear 12'0. That clearance elevated
him from 5th to 3rd. Richwood's Aiden Miller and Wahama's Matthew Barr each went through 11'6 without a miss
to tie for 4th. Doddridge's Seth Richards and John Devinney also cleared 11'0 in taking the next two spots.
RunWV's Current Score: 97 of 120.
Long Jump
Trinity Christian's Chase Livendgood stole the event on his final jump, going 21'0.25 to take the win. Ritchie's
Bruce Moyer was the only other jumper over 20' with his 20'5.75. Valley Wetzel's Triston Bates and Gavin Derby
each had their best jump on their opening attempt to take the next 2 spots. Paw Paw's Donovan Tanouye went 19'10 on
his final jump for 5th. Webster's Peyton Amos went 19'6.50 for 6th with Richwood's Aiden Miller also exceeded
19'0 in taking 7th. This was a good year for me in picking long jump as this is the 3rd set out of 4 so far in which I was 8 for 8.
RunWV's Current Score: 105 of 128.
Shot Put
East Hardy's Miles Kidwell got the close win with his 53'7.75 toss. That gives him the 5th Best All-Time Class A
State Meet Performance. Right behind him with a 53'4 toss was Wahama's Rowen Gerlach the 6th Best All-Time Class
A State Meet Performance. Ritchie's Austin Bartlett grabbed the 3rd spot during finals with a 48'6.50 put. Williamstown's
Aiden Corbett sent one 47'10 for 4th. Doddridge's Braden Murphy went 46'3.50 for 5th. Paw Paw's Dalton
Kasekamp and Petersburg's Josh Biggs each topped 45' in taking the next 2 spots.
RunWV's Current Score: 112 of 136.
Discus
Wahama's Rowen Gerlach saved his best for last. He was already in the lead, but his final throw of 148'5 was his
best to repeat as champion. Ritchie's Austin Bartlett scored 2nd with a 143'5. Magnolia's Matthew Anderson
also had his best throw on his final attempt for 3rd with a 140'2. Doddridge's Adam Burnside threw 136'1 for 4th.
Tyler Consolidated's Tristen Tuttle threw 135'0 on his final attempt to go from 7th to 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 119 of 144.
The final score of 119 of 144 means that 82.6% of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed the predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Christian Erlandson, Wood County Christian -- 100 M (not picked, got 5th)
Wyatt Milhoan, Ravenswood -- 100 M (not picked, got 6th).
Nathaniel Hulver, Tygarts Valley -- 200 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Jonathan White, Wheeling Central -- 400 M (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Bradley Harris, Buffalo -- 400 M (not picked, got 5th)
Matthew Thomas, Greenbrier West -- 800 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Dylan Malolepsey, Ritchie -- 1600 M (not picked, got 5th)
Landen Davis, Magnolia -- 3200 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Malachi Stewart, Williamstown -- 300 IH (not picked, got 6th)
East Hardy -- 4x100 Meter Relay (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Mason Miller, Austin Wilkins, Mason Hamilton, Evan Hamilton)
Pocahontas -- 4x400 Meter Relay (picked 7th, got 3rd)
(Ryan Halterman, Brycen Carroll, Mason Solliday, Max O'Ganian)
Ravenswood -- 4x400 Meter Relay (picked 8th, got 5th)
(Brandon Haynes, Thomas Nickerson, Logan Moore, Wyatt Milhoan)
Wheeling Central - Shuttle Hurdle Relay (picked 7th, got 4th)
(Riley Watkins, Jonathan White, Caleb Golden, Dominic Gianangeli)
Cole Whittington, Buffalo -- High Jump (not picked, got 2nd)
Aiden Miller, Richwood -- Pole Vault (not picked, tied for 4th)
Chase Livengood, Trinity Christian -- Long Jump (picked 4th, got 1st)
Braden Murphy, Doddridge -- Shot Put (not picked, got 5th)
Austin Bartlett, Ritchie -- Discus (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Jett Nestor, Williamstown -- Discus (not picked, got 6th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class A Boys Buffalo +10 Wheeling Central + 7 James Monroe + 7