RunWV
Covering Cross Country and Track & Field in West Virginia
2020 Season Canceled
Today's (April 21st) declaration by Governor Jim Justice that students would
not be returning to the classroom this spring and the subsequent inevitable
declaration by the WVSSAC that there would be no 2020 Track Season immediately
brings to mind a quote often attributed to the great UCLA basketball coach John
Wooden: "Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out."
I never thought I would see a situation in which this
could happen. It's quite surreal. I feel badly for the Senior athletes, for the
teams that would have competed for championships, for the athletes that were aiming
at school or state records. There is one particular event that I feel robbed of
getting to see at the State Meet this year, and that is the Class AAA Girls
1600 Meter Run. We had the potential for all 6 placers to be under 5:00 (though
it's possible that one or two of them might not have competed in the event due to
its depth). Tori Starcher, Lea Hatcher, Athena Young, Madison Trippett, and Zoe Shetty
already had sub-5:00 clockings to their credit. Caroline Kirby had gone at least
5:05 (and had been under 11:00 in the 3200 over the winter) and Allie Martin had gone 5:07 last year.
However, the reality is that we won't ever get to see that race, or any other from
this season.
We now know how things worked out. It is up to you to determine how you
make the best of it.
And Even More Indoor Excellence
This year's indoor season is just the gift that keeps on giving. Today at Marshall,
we got a 2:15.71 in the 800 from Morgantown's Athena Young and a new entry into the
club that has gone sub-5:00 in the 1600 with University's Zoe Shetty sneaking under in
a 4:59.67. But the best of all was Morgantown's Lea Hatcher dropping a
10:13.81 in the 3200. To the best of my memory, that would be the 2nd best
WV HS time ever in the 3200.
More Indoor Excellence
The strong indoor performances just keep coming. This time, it was at the
University of Kentucky where the Morgantown duo of Athena Young and Lea Hatcher
picked up a pair of runner-up finishes. Young dropped a 10:24.17 in the 2 Mile
and Hatcher went 2:11.49 in the 800.
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Edwards Goes Sub-9:00
University's Josh Edwards went to the Spire Showcase this weekend, and placed 2nd
in the exception 3200 Meter Run field with a blistering 8:56.41. Morgantown's Athena
Young dropped a 4:50.83 in the 1600 Meter Run. Full WV Results in the News
& Notes Section.
Paladino Still Excelling
Former University standout Millie Paladino continues to roll out great times
in her post collegiate career, winning the Women's Mile at the Bruce Lehane
Scarlet & White Indoor Invitational at Boston University on 2/1 with a 4:36.52.
She currently competes for Ocean State Athletics.
Aaron Withrow and Tori Starcher Win Ray McCoy Awards
Winfield's Aaron Withrow has been named the male winner of the Ray
McCoy Award for the top Track & Field athlete in the State following
his Senior season that saw him win the 800, 1600, and 3200 Meter Runs
at the State Meet. Tori Starcher has been named the female winner of the Ray McCoy Award
for the top Track & Field athlete in the State following her Junior season
that saw her set two State Meet Records and aid in a 3rd while winning
the 800, 1600, and 3200 Meter Runs and also winning the Penn Relays and
setting a WV All-Time Best in the Mile Run (and converted 1600). More
details in the Track News Section.
Spencer, Edwards, Hatcher, and Young Open Indoor Strong
Weir's Sebastian Spencer opened his indoor season with a strong run at Ohio
State. His 6.84 in the finals is quite good. It's hard to reference as we
don't see a lot of 60 Meter times, but last year's HS All-Star, Matt Boling,
opened his freshman collegiate season with a 6.68. University's Josh Edwards
followed that by running a 9:12.23 at Youngstown State on January 18th. Also
at that meet, Morgantown's Lea Hatcher and Athena Young both went sub-5:00
in the 1600 with Hatcher going 4:55.43 and Young going 4:57.80.
Classification Changes
The new classifications have been announced for the next four years,
starting with the 2020 Fall seasons. There was a little movement.
Oak Hill, Lincoln County, and Bridgeport move up to Class AAA. James
Monroe, River View, Petersburg, and Man moved down to Class A. Alignments
are still to be determined.
A Team Manager Plea
Coaches - In your Team Manager setup, please use your school as your
Short Name rather than your mascot or your school abbreviation. For
example - I'll use Doddridge County High School - the short name should
be Doddridge, not Bulldogs or DCHS. Hy-Tek uses the Short Name in the
results listing. If you use mascots, a tri-meet between George Washington,
Parkersburg South, and Wheeling Park would have a results listing of nothing
but Patriots. If you use abbreviations, a meet between Hampshire, Hurricane,
and Huntington would have a results listing of nothing but HHS. So, please,
for my sanity, use your school name.
Also, please make sure the names of your athletes are spelled correctly
and that their grade levels are correct. .
Hy-Tek Team Manager Tips
This information is also in the top section of the News & Notes Section in
the Track Pages, but I thought I'd put it here as well. When setting up Team
Manager, please follow these guidelines to make results easy to read.
Team Abbr:
Use the 4 digit code assigned by the WVSSAC. i.e. 0026. You have to have it this way for the
Regional anyway.
Full Team Name:
The full name of your school: i.e. Doddridge County High School
Short Team Name:
A shorter name that still makes it obvious: i.e. Doddridge. The only teams I
can think of that need to do something slightly different would Lincoln County
(can't use "Lincoln" because there is also a Lincoln High that should use
Lincoln), and Valley Fayette, Valley Wetzel, Liberty Harrison, and Liberty
Raleigh who need to add just a little
to differentiate themselves. Do not use an abbreviation like DCHS or a mascot like Bulldogs.
Alternate Abbr:
The school abbreviation: i.e. DCHS.
Athlete Grade Levels:
Please make sure you have updated your grade levels from last year.
Contribution Season
As always, I'm accepting donations. Please view the Wall of Support for details. Every little bit helps
pay for the site expenses. What I'd ideally like to see happen is for each team to send $1 per athlete
per season ($1 for Track and $1 for Cross Country). That way no one is emptying their pockets much, but
the site is still well-supported.
Submitting Meet Results
I thought I'd put up a reminder about how to submit meet results. Our preferred
method to received results is via E-Mail. The best method is to send me a backup
copy of the meet if you're using Hy-Tek software. Then I can extract all the information
we want. Otherwise, you can E-Mail a text file, a Microsoft Word File, a Microsoft Excel
File, or an HTML file.
