Class AAA Girls
100 Meter Dash
Jefferson's Jazmyn Taylor was able to hold top speed longer than her competitors and got away for the win in 12.44.
Woodrow Wilson's Ama Ackon-Anna held close until very late to take 2nd in 12.51. Spring Valley's Haleigh Crum
used a late push to move into 3rd in 12.56. It looks to me like she was in 6th with about 30 meters to go. Wheeling Park's
Kaylee Davis also closed very well. She moved from 7th to 4th in that final 30 meters to finish in 12.67. Bridgeport's Giana Cox
and Spring Mills' Aleesha Johnson took the next two spots with both at 12.71. Martinsburg's Eva Craigie was
a very close 7th in 12.74. One of my predicted placers scratched the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 7 of 8.
200 Meter Dash
Woodrow Wilson's Ama Ackon-Annan led coming out of the turn and held a solid lead throughout, taking the win in 25.30.
Martinsburg's Eva Craigie closed very well in the last 50 to make up a gap and take the 2nd spot in 25.55. Spring
Valley's Haleigh Crum was a close 3rd in 25.61. Those three got well out on the field. Bridgeport's Giana Cox
scored 4th in 26.09 with Spring Mills' Aleesha Johnson 5th in 26.13. One of my predicted placers got hit with a false start.
RunWV's Current Score 13 of 16.
400 Meter Dash
Preston's Ella White moved to the front with about 60 meters to go and pulled away to win by nearly a full second in
58.22. South Charleston's Jayla Woods held close until late and easily held the 2nd spot in 59.22. Greenbrier East's
Annie Whited took the 3rd spot in 59.74. Ripley's Opal Huffman got out really well and held on for 4th in 59.81.
Bridgeport's Giana Cox was the last one in under 60 seconds in 59.90 for 5th. Two of my predicted placers, including
my predicted winner, scratched the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 18 of 24.
800 Meter Run
Jefferson's Hannah Phillips led the field out of the break, but she was quickly joined and then overtaken as Morgantown's
Jennifer O'Palko led the way at 200 meters. She'd hold that until just before the line when Phillips slipped just a
couple hundredths ahead of her. Both were still at 1:09. This was very, very tight through 1 lap. Those two were in the very
upper 1:09s, and the next 11 were in the 1:10s. Greenbrier East's Neena McClintic was in 3rd with Huntington's Laurel
Johnson in 4th, Parkersburg's Aubrey Lantz in 5th, University's Adelyn Tager in 6th, Preston's Ella
White in 7th, and Cabell Midland's Adalyn Cantrell in 8th. With O'Palko having the inside, she pulled back into
the lead with Phillips in 2nd and Tager shooting up to 3rd. Coming out of the turn with 300 meters to go, Phillips surged
back into the lead. With 200 to go, she had opened a small gap on the trailers with O'Palko in 2nd, Tager in 3rd, White in
4th, and Lantz in 5th. Those positions were very much in play as several were still very close. Phillips continued to pull
away over the final 200 to take the win by over 2.5 seconds with a 2:16.18. White moved into 3rd in the turn and into 2nd
down the stretch and hled that spot in 2:18.74. O'Palko was a very close 3rd in 2:19.03. Tager held the 4th spot in 2:19.65.
Johnson was closing in and took 5th in 2:20.11. McClintic re-took 6th late and finished in 2:20.80. Preston's Hallie
Simmons moved very well on the 2nd lap and came up to 7th in 2:20.95. Cantrell held the final spot in 2:21.66.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 32.
1600 Meter Run
The race went off very slowly with Jefferson's Hannah Phillips leading the field out of the break. By the end of lap
1, only 2 seconds separated 1st from 15th. The lead at the end of 1 lap was held by Phillips with a very high 1:18. Morgantown's
Jennifer O'Palko was in 2nd with Greenbrier East's Neena McClintic in 3rd, University's Abigail Rogers
in 4th, Buckhannon-Upshur's Samantha Shreve in 5th, Morgantown's Allison Hawkins in 6th, Morgantown's Maddie
Gump in 7th, and Ripley's Ellie Hosaflook in 8th with all at 1:19. Only 0.42 seconds separated 1st from 8th. 9th
through 11th were at 1:19 also. A big pack remained through 2 laps as the conservative pace continued. 10 still remained in
the main pack. Gump surged into the lead shortly before the end of the lap, crossing at 2:40. Rogers and McClintic were also
at 2:40 in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. O'Palko was in 4th at 2:41 with University's Adelyn Tager moving up to 5th,
Hawkins in 6th, Phillips in 7th, and Shreven in 8th, each also at 2:41 (as was 9th). Gump's move finally got the field
moving, and we started racing. There was a lot of movement on the backstretch of that lap, and Tager got to the turn first
to hold the inside spot. There were still 7 in the pack, but we now had a single-file line instead of a group. Tager led
at the bell at a very high 3:56. Phillips had followed Tager on her move and was in 2nd at 3:57. O'Palko was in 3rd,
McClintic in 4th, and Rogers in 5th with each also at 3:57. Hawkins was in 6th and Gump in 7th with both at 3:58. Shreve
was in 8th at 4:00. The front four opened a gap on the rest in the first turn of the final lap. Those four battled down
the backstretch with Tager and Phillips started to get away from O'Palko and McClintic. Phillips moved into the lead before
the turn and got enought to move to the inside. O'Palko started to get away from McClintic. Heading into the homestretch,
it was Phillips, Tager, O'Palko, and McClintic. Tager got up to Phillips's shoulder with about 25 meters to go, but Phillips
was able to fend her off and pull slightly back away to take the win in 5:06.53. Tager took the 2nd spot in 5:06.95. O'Palko
dropped off those two but easily held 3rd in 5:09.27. McClintic held the 4th spot in 5:12.41 with Rogers taking 5th in 5:13.82.
Preston's Hallie Simmons used a big last lap to move up to 6th in 5:15.29. Hawkins held the 7th spot in 5:16.05. Shreve
got the 8th spot in 5:16.98.
RunWV's Current Score: 31 of 40.
3200 Meter Run
Things went out reasonably with Buckhannon-Upshur's Samantha Shreve leading the field out of the break. She held that
lead through lap 1, coming through in 1:18. Morgantown's Maddie Gump was in 2nd and Hurricane's Ella Hardin was
in 3rd with both also at 1:18. Cabell Midland's Savannah Pritt was in 4th, with Morgantown's Allison Hawkins
in 5th, University's Claire von Boetticher in 6th, Morgantown's Maraid Johnson in 7th, and Ripley's Ellie
Hosaflook in 8th with all at 1:19. On lap 2, those 8 stayed together with Shreve still leading the way at 2:43. Gump
was in 2nd, Hardin in 3rd, Hawkins in 4th, Pritt in 5th, von Boetticher in 6th, and Johnson in 7th with each also at 2:43.
Hosafloook was on the back of that pack at 2:44. Only 0.8 seconds separated 1st from 8th. Lap 3 saw much of the same with
those 8 still in a pack. Shreve remained in the lead with Gump in 2nd, Hardin in 3rd, Hawkins in 4th, von Boetticher in 5th,
Johnson in 6th, Pritt in 7th, and Hosaflook in 8th with all at 4:08. Still only 0.72 seconds separated 1st from 8th. On lap
4, the pack dropped to 7. Shreve continued to lead at 5:33 with Gump in 2nd, Hawkins in 3rd, Hardin in 4th, von Boetticher
in 5th, and Johnson in 6th also at 5:33. Hosaflook was right on their heels in 7th, but the clock rolled over to 5:34. Pritt
was in 8th at 5:36 but was getting closed on. The front 7 stayed together on lap 5 with Shreve continuing to lead at 6:59.
Gump was still in 2nd with Hawkins still in 3rd, Hardin still in 4th, von Boetticher still in 5th, Johnson still in 6th,
and Hosaflook still in 7th with all at 6:59. University's Abigail Rogers had moved into the 8th spot at 7:05 and
opened a gap. 0.83 seconds between 1st and 7th after 5 laps. The group stayed together on
lap 6 but was starting to string out a bit, and some positions changed. Right at the end of the lap, Hosaflook made a move
to the front and generated a little gap, taking the line at 8:24. Gump was in 2nd and Shreve in 3rd also at 8:24. But we've
moved from 0.8 seconds from 1st to 7th to 0.86 between 1st and 3rd. Hawkins was in 4th with von Boetticher in 5th and Johnson
in 6th with each at 8:25. Hardin was in 7th at 8:26, and Rogers was in 8th at 8:36. It looks like the top 8 are pretty much
decided at this point, other than the order. Hosaflook continued her move on lap 7, taking control of the race and pushing
out to nearly a 2.5 second lead. Hosaflook took the bell at 9:42. Gump was in 2nd at 9:45 with Hawkins in 3rd at 9:46.
Shreve was in 4th at 9:48 with von Boetthicher in 5th at 9:49 and Johnson in 6th also at 9:49. Harding was in 7th at 9:58
and Rogers was in 8th at 10:07. On the final lap, Hosaflook's bold move got the lead out to over 3 seconds, and she was
still up by about 3 seconds heading into the final 100 meters. That's when Gump started putting on her final surge. Sensing
that Hosaflook was running out of gas, she really amped up the kick in the final 30 meters. Hosaflook sensed her coming and
took a peak back, but she was simply out of gas, and there was nothing she could do (I've been there...1990 4x800). Gump
made the pass with about 2 meters to go and stole the win in 11:01.35 to Hosaflook's 11:01.64. Hawkins held the 3rd spot in
11:08.09. Shreve got 4th in 11:10.36. Johnson moved up a spot to 5th in 11:13.38 with von Boetticher 6th in 11:14.46. Hardin
held the 7th spot in 11:23.38. Rogers took the final spot in 11:29.82.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.
100 Meter High Hurdles
This was a close one throughout, and Huntington's Mallori Dunn-Martin held speed the best over the final few hurdles
to take the win in 14.91. Teammate Milleah Johnson closed well to take the 2nd spot in 15.02. Parkersburg's Addison
Gherke fought for the lead early and held 3rd in 15.10. Only Washington's Ayla Kidd joined them under 15.50 with
a 15.42 for 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 46 of 56.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Huntington's Mallori Dunn-Martin moved to the front mid-way through the turn and moved away donw the stretch to take
the win by over a second in 45.28. Parkersburg's Addison Gherke made the pass into 2nd late and finished in 46.32
with Morgantown's Josie Johnson in 3rd in 46.64. Parkersburg's Daysha Hastings snagged 4th place from Heat 1
in 47.03, and Woodrow Wilson's Nevaiah Simmons was 5th in 47.30. No one else was was under 48.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 64.
4x100 Meter Relay
The Jefferson squad of Arayia Maiben, Imani Wood, Jayla Kidrick, and Jazmyn Taylor accomplished the tough task of taking
the win from Heat 1. They dominated that heat, winning it by over 2.7 seconds, and their 48.73 held up for the win. That also
stands as the 4th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 4th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance.
The Huntington crew of Audrey Flynn, Mallor Dunn-Martin, Milleah Johnson, and Siraye Harper won Heat 2 in 48.88, good
for 2nd and ties them for the 7th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and ties them for the 7th Best All-Time Class
AAA State Meet Performance. Musselman scored a strong 3rd in 49.21. Spring Valley was 4th in 49.49, and Woodrow Wilson
was 5th in 49.80. Only 2 teams ran under 50 in the Regional Meets. Spring Mills was 6th in 50.27 with Morgantown 7th in 50.34.
RunWV's Current Score: 60 of 72.
4x200 Meter Relay
The Jefferson crew of Arayia Maiben, Jayla Kidrick, Jazmyn Taylor, and Imani Wood scored the win in a State Meet Record
time of 1:43.11. That gives them the Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the Best All-Time Class AAA State
Meet Performance. Woodrow Wilson had the lead heading into the final exchange, but a bad pass crushed their momentum,
and they could not make up the ground. I can't say for sure that they would have won, but they would absolutely have cracked
that top 10 list, and probably no worse than 2nd. Huntington came up to 3rd in 1:45.20 with Musselman right behind them in
1:45.29. Wheeling Park was 5th in 1:46.87. No one else was under 1:48.
RunWV's Current Score: 66 of 80.
4x400 Meter Relay
Once again, we came into the 4x400 with the team title on the line. Jefferson was at 77, Morgantown was at 71, and Huntington
was at 69. Mathematically, all 3 had a chance to win. Realistically, it was just Jefferson and Morgantown. It looked to me
like Cabell Midland came through in the lead on the 1st exchange at 1:02. It's possible that Jefferson in lane 1 had the
lead. Morgantown and John Marshall were also at 1:02. Meanwhile in Heat 1, Huntington got out in 1:01, putting them in a virtual
lead. Greenbrier East was out in 1:02. Morgantown made the breakline first, but Jefferson held the inside. Morgantown made
the move into the lead late in leg 2, and crossed at 2:04 with Jefferson close behind, also at 2:04. Ripley had come up to
3rd at 2:05 with John Marshall and Wheeling Park at 2:06. In Heat 1, we had Huntington and Greenbrier East at 2:04 and Parkersburg
and University at 2:06. So through 2 legs, we have 4 teams at 2:04, 1 at 2:05 and 4 more at 2:06. Morgantown continued to
lead through leg 3, getting through at 3:05 despite a bad pass. Jefferson was in 2nd at 3:06, but that's probably a low 3:05
and a high 3:06. I have Ripley in 3rd at 3:07. While in Heat 1, Greenbrier East had moved to the front alone at 3:06. With
Morgantown in the lead, no one between them and Jefferson (except possibly Greenbrier East), the team title was almost assuredly
going to Jefferson. But Jefferson was not content with that. They had Hannah Phillips on the anchor leg, and she went
hunting. She made up the gap and made the pass with still over 200 meters to go and buried the final 200 to lead the unit of
Imani Wood, Jayla Kidrick, Faith Fogleson, and Hannah Phillips to the win by over 3 seconds in 4:03.95. That gives them
the 10th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 9th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. My video
didn't get Jefferson crossing the line at the final exchange, but I estimate Phillips' leg at 57.2. Ripley got a sub-60
anchor leg from Opal Huffman to move into the 2nd spot in 4:07.03. Morgantown took the 3rd spot in 4:08.76. Greenbrier
East took 4th from Heat 1 in 4:09.37. Bridgeport edged John Marshall for the 5th spot 4:11.60 to 4:11.72. Huntington got
7th from Heat 1 in 4:12.22. Cabell Midland got the final spot in 4:12.83.
RunWV's Current Score: 72 of 88.
4x800 Meter Relay
Cabell Midland got a better hand-off than Preston to squeeze across the line in 1st at the first exchange. I have them both
at 2:21. That would be Adalyn Cantrell and Hallie Simmons. I think it was Parkersburg in 3rd at 2:23. John Marshall
was in 4th at 2:25. I think it was George Washington in 5th, University in 6th. I'm not sure who was in 7th. I think it was
either Huntington or Greenbrier East. Morgantown was in 8th. University got a strong 2nd leg from Abigail Rogers to
move into the lead at 4:49. George Washington had moved into 2nd at 4:52 with Preston in 3rd at 4:52. Cabell Midland was in
4th at 4:53 and Parkersburg in 5th at 4:55. Morgantown was in 6th at 4:58. I think it was Huntington in 7th and George Washington
in 8th. Leg 3 saw University expand its lead at 7:15. With Adelyn Tager on the anchor, it was pretty much sown up.
Morgantown was in 2nd at 7:20. I think it was Preston in 3rd at 7:24 with Cabell Midland in 4th at 7:25 and Parkersburg in
5th at 7:26. I think it was Jefferson in 6th at 7:32 with George Washington matching that in 7th and Huntington 8th at 7:33.
There was a little shuffling on the final leg. Tager attacked the leg for University, trying to make a run at the State Meet
Record. She clocked a 2:14.8 on the leg, but they came up 0.16 seconds short. Painful, but excellent. The foursome of Haley
Kramer, Abigail Rogers, Helen Honecker, and Adelyn Tager put down a 9:30.72, which is the 2nd Best All-Time State Meet
Performance and the 2nd Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Morgantown got a 2:17 anchor leg from
Jennifer O'Palko to hold the 2nd spot in 9:37.76. Preston scored 3rd with a 9:45.59. Jefferson got a 2:15.5 anchor leg
from Hannah Phillips to move from a distant 6th up to 4th in 9:47.60. Parkersburg nipped Cabell Midland for 5th, 9:50.31
to 9:50.41. Huntington took the 7th spot in 9:55.06. George Washington held the final position in 10:06.66.
RunWV's Current Score: 79 of 96.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The Parkersburg unit of Daysha Hastings, Katie Rutherford, Claire Tatterson, and Addison Gherke got out to the quick lead
on an excellent opening leg from Hastings, and they never relinquished it, closing with a strong anchor leg from Gherke, taking
the line in 1:03.68. That gives them the 7th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 6th Best All-Time Class
AAA State Meet Performance. Huntington was a strong 2nd in 1:04.50. Morgantown was 3rd in 1:06.84. Parkersburg South
took 4th from Heat 3 in 1:07.16, just faster than Wheeling Park's 1:07.23 in 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 87 of 104.
High Jump
Parkersburg South's May Baruwa repeated as champion by jumping cleanly through 5'4. Parkersburg's Daysha Hastings
was the only other jumper to clear 5'4, doing so on her 2nd attempt. Woodrow Wilson's Somalia Nelson and Hampshire's
Hisely Keiter cleared 5'2 in taking 3rd and 4th, respectively. Morgantown's Emma Smith and Spring Valley's
Macie Maynard cleared 5'0 in taking 5th and 6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 94 of 112.
Pole Vault
Jefferson's Samantha Ogden vaulted cleanly through 10'0 and was the only one to do so to take the win. Cabell Midland's
Jordyn Taylor cleared 10'0 on her 1st attempt to move from 5th to 2nd. Morgantown's Harlyn Nelson cleared 10'0
on her 2nd attempt for 3rd. Hedgesville's Clover Stamat and Ripley's Mya Phalen vaulted cleanly through 9'6 to
tie for 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 101 of 120.
Long Jump
Jefferson's Jazmyn Taylor unleashed an 18'00.75 jump on her 5th attempt to move from 5th to 1st. That ties her for
the 8th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and ties her for the 7th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance.
Spring Valley's Haleigh Crum made things very interesting on her final attempt, recording an 18'00.50 jump to miss
snagging the title by just a quarter of an inch. That gives her the 10th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and
the 9th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Martinsburg's Eva Craigie dropped 5 jumps over 17' with
a top mark of 17'11.25 on her 5th attempt for 3rd. Hedgesville's Jadyn Macher sailed 17'7 on her 1st attempt to take
4th. Parkersburg South's Imani Prince went 17'2 for 5th. Riverside's Ava Ward popped a 17'00.25 jump on her
3rd attempt, her only jump over 16'0 in the competition, to take 6th. University's Paige Conrad just missed the mark with
a 16'11 jump for 7th.
RunWV's Current Score: 107 of 128.
Shot Put
Hampshire's Kaylie Hall put the pressure on the field by uncorking a 37'6 toss on her first attempt, and no one was
able to come close to matching it. University's Addison Kitzmiller was already in 2nd, but sealed the deal with a
36'6.75 on her final attempt. Woodrow Wilson's Cadence Reid popped a 36'4.25 on her 1st attempt (and didn't get within
2' of that on her remaining attempts) to take 3rd. Cabell Midland's Cameron Clary threw 35'10 for 4th. Only Huntington's
Mac Markun went further than 34'0 among the rest of the field with a 34'8 on her final attempt, which moved her from
9th to 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 114 of 136.
Discus
Riverside's Cianna Groom sent the discus 120'8 on her 3rd attempt and that stood up in the finals to take the win.
Cabell Midland's Cameron Clary threw 118'9 for 2nd. Teammate Ava Wortman threw 114'10 for 3rd. Bridgeport's
Lyza Halterman was the last to go over 110' with a 111'6 toss for 4th. Musselman's Alex Nguesta was the only
competitor to improve her mark from trials to finals when her 5th throw of 109'7 moved her from 9th to 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 121 of 144.
The final score of 121 of 144 means that 84.0% of the people picked to place did indeed place. That matches last year's performance. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceeded expectations by 3 or more places and deserve special mention.
Jazmyn Taylor, Jefferson -- 100 M (picked 6th, got 1st)
Aleesha Johnson, Spring Mills -- 100 M (not picked, got 6th)
Ama Ackon-Annan, Woodrow Wilson -- 200 M (picked 6th, got 1st)
Aleesha Johnson, Spring Mills -- 200 M (picked 8th, got 5th)
Jayla Woods, South Charleston -- 200 M (not picked, got 6th)
Jayla Woods, South Charleston -- 400 M (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Opal Huffman, Ripley -- 400 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Liza Westerman, George Washington -- 400 M (not picked, got 6th)
Ella White, Preston -- 800 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Hallie Simmons, Preston -- 1600 M (not picked, got 6th)
Ellie Hosaflook, Ripley -- 3200 M (picked 7th, got 2nd)
Maraid Johnson, Morgantown -- 3200 M (picked 8th, got 5th)
Ayla Kidd, Washington -- 100 HH (picked 8th, got 4th)
Daysha Hastings, Parkersburg -- 300 LH (picked 8th, got 4th)
Spring Valley -- 4x200 Meter Relay (not picked, got 6th)
(Sydney Turner, Avery Ellis, Savannah Davis, Macie Maynard)
Ripley -- 4x400 Meter Relay (picked 7th, got 2nd)
(Aubrey Cox, Kyndyll Butler, Ellie Hosaflook, Opal Huffman)
Somalia Nelson, Woodrow Wilson -- High Jump (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Hisely Keiter, Hampshire -- High Jump (not picked, got 4th)
Harlyn Nelson, Morgantown -- Pole Vault (picked 7th, got 3rd)
Clover Stamat, Hedgesville -- Pole Vault (picked 8th, tied for 4th)
Ava Cash, University -- Pole Vault (not picked, tied for 6th)
Ava Ward, Riverside -- Long Jump (not picked, got 6th)
Cadence Reid, Woodrow Wilson -- Shot Put (not picked, got 3rd)
Mac Markun, Huntington -- Shot Put (picked 8th, got 5th)
Ava Wortman, Cabell Midland -- Discus (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Lyza Halterman, Bridgeport -- Discus (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class AAA Girls Jefferson +16 Ripley +14.50 Preston +13 Parkersburg +12 Woodrow Wilson +11 South Charleston + 8 Riverside + 7