A-AA Girls Individual Predictions

100 M	1. Pam Nettles		Richwood
	2. Kem Jones		Winfield
	3. Jennifer Povick	Sissonville
	4. Caroline Palmer	Wheeling Central
	5. Ambria Chambers	Ravenswood
	6. Apryl Frankland	Frankfort

Four of the runners we have in our top six have suffered through 
one sort of injury or another this year.  Nettles won this event 
in 1998 and has the all time AA-A record.  Her injuries this year
will keep her from challenging that but she should still improve 
on her 3rd place finish from last year.  Jones has also been 
injured and we weren't even sure she would make regionals.  Make
it she did and so well that we tabbed her second.  Povick could 
challenge for the top spot as well and those three are about .3 
seconds away from the rest of the field.  Palmer had a very good
regional and that made her look like a good second.  Chambers had
an injury fairly late in the season as well, but if healthly, 
should place because she looked great when we saw her run.  
Frankland won her region with a good clocking that was better than
anyone else not already placed above her.  Jamie Bragg, Sarah Keller 
and Amber Ellison could also easily drop into those last few spots.

200M	1. Kem Jones		Winfield
	2. Jennifer Povick	Sissonville
	3. Candy Lilly		Summers
	4. Apryl Frankland	Frankfort
	5. Brittany Haggerty	Tyler Consolidated
	6. Ambria Chambers	Ravenswood

Jones regional time was surprising considering her layoff due to 
the injury and if healthly, no one will probably be able to touch
her.  Povick is the only other runner under 27 and has a 26.2 hand
time, making it possible she could beat Jones.  Lilly is the only 
other runner under 27 this year and should hold on for third.  
Frankland is the only returning runner to have placed in this 
event last year (5th) and we like the fact that she has proven 
herself at the big meet.  Haggerty won fairly easily in her region
and should place if she runs that well at states.  Chambers is 
once again somewhat a mystery.  She is capable of going under 27 
but still seemed slowed at regions.  How well she does at state 
will depend on getting her mid season form back.  Ashley Craigo,
Alisha Hopkins and Sarah Kellar will be waiting if she can't get
back up to speed.
	
400M	1. Jennifer Povick	Sissonville
	2. Candy Lilly		Summers
	3. Sherri Flohr		Grafton
	4. Alicia Sanders	East Hardy
	5. Alicia Basinger	Wheeling Central
	6. Sarah Kellar		Webster

Povick has been dominant in the AA-A class this year and should 
win this event.  Lilly is the only other runner under 60 this year 
and can draw on last year's state meet experience (3rd).  Flohr
who might not run the event (be we're obviously guessing she will) 
is strong and should lead the next pack in.  Sanders of East Hardy
has the 3rd best time of the qualifers, but Flohr beat her in the
region.  Basinger won her region and is somewhat of a wild card.
Kellar had the best regional and best time of the remaining runners
but will have to hold of Melanie Hill, Ashley Craigo and Anna 
Dissen who placed 5th in last year's state meet.
	

800M	1. Jessica Taylor	Fayetteville
	2. Sherri Flohr		Grafton
	3. Megan Docherty	Grafton
	4. Theresa Melko	Bridgeport
	5. Missy Spangler	Ritchie
	6. Annie Schuerger	Charleston Catholic

Taylor has looked great all year long and has gone under 2:20.  She
is the 3 time defending champion in the event and has never been 
beaten at the state meet.  This is probably Flohr's best shot to 
beat her, but Taylor's 60.3 clocking in a 400 this year proves she
likely has the speed to hold Flohr off and they will repeat last year's 
1-2 finish.  Docherty has the states 3rd best time this year and
the regions third best time as well as well as being the only other 
returning placer in this event (5th in 2000).  Melko, who has the 
strange Shot/Disc/800 combo is strong and we'll give her the edge 
of Spangler who will have already ran a tough 1600.  Schuerger
is capable of climbing much further up the list, but the others have 
ran more times under 2:30 this year.  Melanie Gantzer and Loralee 
Hillyard are also very much in the mix in this event.

1600M	1. Jessica Taylor	Fayetteville
	2. Sherri Flohr		Grafton
	3. Missy Spangler	Ritchie
	4. Heather McDaniel	Grafton
	5. Erin Boggs		Braxton
	6. Lindsay Dawson	Winfield
	
Taylor, again the three time defending champion, has already ran 
under her state record this year and is easily the favorite in the
event but she must run will or Sherri Flohr will be waiting.  Again,
the pair went 1-2 last year.  McDaniel, Boggs and Spangler went 3-4-5
last year and are all in contention for those spots again.  Spangler 
has clocked a sub 5:30 this year so we gave her an edge over the two.
McDaniel has been a little banged up or we likely would have picked 
her for the 3rd spot.  Boggs is very consistent and could go higher.
The 6th spot is up for grabs, with Dawson coming on strong at the 
end of the year.  Hanna Robinson has also been running well and 
Carrie Bierkamp has the speed to mix it up with anyone from three 
on down.
	
3200M	1. Jessica Taylor	Fayetteville
	2. Sherri Flohr		Grafton
	3. Heather McDaniel	Grafton
	4. Erin Boggs		Braxton
	5. Missy Spangler	Ritchie
	6. Ann Chaney		Oak Glen

Our top five picks placed 1-3-2-5-4 last year.  Taylor has ran 15
seconds faster than any other competitor and should cruise in this
event.  Flohr has ran well as well and is 10 seconds ahead of anyone 
else.  If fully healthy, McDaniel could push for the two slot but 
she or Flohr may back off and conserve energy for other runs.  Boggs,
Spangler and McDaniel have all run similar times this year but McDaniel
has the potential to go much faster.  We gave Boggs the edge over 
Spangler due to her good regional time and the fact that Spangler will
have spent some energy trying to win the 4x800.  Chaney has good mile
speed and we picked her over other top contenders Barri Newberger, 
Amanda Cash and Marian Brooks.  
	
110H	1. Lori Coffman		Doddridge
	2. Ali Moore		Bridgeport
	3. Brandi Johns		Webster
	4. Ginny Keener		Grafton
	5. Jordan Walker	Doddridge
	6. Ambria Chambers	Ravenswood
 
Coffman shook off a mid season injury to start posting ome great times 
toward the end of the year.  She has the best regional time and top 
performance this season and is the top returning placer (4th) from
last season.  Moore made it through the Region II survivor series as
well and has come along way as well.  Brandi Johns matched Moore's regional
hand clocking of 15.9 and could contend as well.  Keener placed 5th
in last years meet and a win by her would not be a surprise either.
Walker has beaten everyone but Johns in this group this year but 
hasn't gone as fast as the rest have ran already this year and at 
regionals.  Chambers has also ran well against those on this list 
and if healthy could move up.  Sara Gurskey and Laura Ellis lurk just
off the list and could both place as well.  

300H	1. Jordan Walker	Doddridge
	2. Andrea Saucerman	Tygarts Valley
	3. Laura Ellis		Winfield
	4. Nicole White		Doddridge
	5. Candy Lilly		Summers
	6. Tessie Ezzo		Madonna
 
Walker's regional time was the best mark in the states this year and
she beat the other top contender Saucerman at that same regional.  
Ellis had an excellent regional to move her stock up.  White has 
been improving all season and has the states 4th best time under her
belt.  Lilly has great 400 speed, but there is only an hour between
the events at states and that could cost her.  Ezzo has a hand clocking
of 48.6, but has no other times under 50.  If she runs that again, 
she can move as high as second.  Again, Sara Gurskey is just off the 
list and it's hard to see her not placing in one hurdle event or the
other even though we didn't pick her.  
	
4x100	1. Winfield	
	2. Moorefield
	3. Bridgeport
	4. Tyler Consolidated
	5. Poca
	6. Wheeling Central

The return of Kem Jones has put Winfield in the drivers seat and they
won their region by over a second as well as having the best time 
in the state this year.  Moorefield beat Bridgeport in a great 
region II race and either could move past Winfield if they are even
a tick off.  Tyler did well at their regional and posted the states
4th best time this year.  Poca didn't have a great regional, but 
proved they could run at Gazettes.  Central's regional time helped
us round out our picks, but Doddridge and Weir are right there as well.

4x200	1. Winfield
	2. Moorefield
	3. Wheeling Central
	4. Doddridge
	5. Magnolia
	6. Weir

Winfield ran a great regional time to emerge as the favorite, but 
Moorefield is very fast as well.  Regionals proved to be very fast
everywhere as all the top contenders except Poca posted their best
time of the season.  The next four positions are almost interchangeable.
Central won their region and had the best time so we picked them 3rd. 
Doddridge was about .1 better than anyone else.  We gave Magnolia an
edge over Weir for the final spot due to better consistency throughout
the season but Weir's great history in the event points out that the 
school knows how to do a good relay so a big jump wouldn't be surprising.
Again, watch Poca.  They posted a great time at Gazettes but didn't win
their region.  If they as well as Gazettes, they too could go as high as 
third.  Tyler also has potential to place.	


4x400	1. Wheeling Central
	2. Magnolia
	3. Doddridge
	4. Grafton
	5. Charleston Catholic
	6. Webster
	
The top four teams in this event are a step away from anyone else.  
If Flohr happens to do the 4x4 instead of the open 400 then Grafton
becomes the favorite.  Central has a very good mix of youth and 
experience and the potential they have puts them a tick ahead of the
rest.  Magnolia also has a good stable of 400 runners with more 
upward potential than Doddridge and Grafton appear to have.  Doddridge
beat Grafton at regionals with the teams we guess they are going to
run at states.  Catholic has a good base of experienced runners and 
should hold off the next wave for 5th.  Webster has Kellar to lean 
on so we picked them over everyone else but Winfield, Ritchie and 
Berkely Springs could push for the last couple of postions as well.

***Special Note - The State Title will likely be on the line in 
this event with Doddridge and Grafton both easily capable of winning 
to getting 4th.  That would be a 6 point swing either way and should
make any fan want to stick around and see what transpires.***
	
4x800	1. Grafton
	2. Magnolia
	3. Ritchie
	4. Winfield
	5. Paden City
	6. Charleston Catholic

Grafton should be able to win this event without Flohr but will have
a hard fight on their hands from Magnolia.  Ritchie had the best regional
time and 3rd best time in the state this year.  Winfield could challenge 
them and can put together a very good team if they load up.  Paden 
City had an excellent regional to become a legimate contender in 
the event.  Charleston Catholic again has potential to place higher 
but has yet to run under 10:42 this year.  Wheeling Central and 
Bridgeport should vie for the last spot if Catholic doesn't bring 
their time down under 10:30.  

Shuttle	1. Doddridge
	2. Grafton
	3. Weir
	4. Bridgeport
	5. Tyler Consolidated
	6. Summers

Doddridge's top time is over two seconds better than anyone else and
they are the clear favorites in this event.  Grafton had a very good
regional time and will fight with Weir for the second spot.  Bridgeport
was given the edge over Tyler based on Top Performances and Summers
won their region and can likely go a little faster.  Paden City also
has a good shot to score in this event.  This year should be fun to 
watch as no less than 14 teams are solid enough to grab a spot.

H Jump	1. Mary Greene		Richwood
	2. Tiffany Sutton	Doddridge
	3. Blaine Spencer	Doddridge
	4. Ginny Keener		Grafton
	5. Jennifer Shiflett	Tygarts Valley
	6. Nikki Flora		Weir
	
Greene, the state record holder, has topped her state meet record 
during the year, but has to have a good day or Sutton will jump 
past her.  Sutton has at least 5 leaps of 5'4 and Greene only has 
two.  Spencer and Keener are very similar and tied at the regional.  
Spencer has a little better head to head record against Keener this
year so we gave her the edge.  Greene, Keener and Spencer all jumped
5'2 at the state meet last year with Keener's less misses giving her
2nd.  Greene tied for 5th and Spencer became the first girl to jump
5'2 and not place.  That won't happen again.  Shiflett has some 
very good ups, and if she gets her form and placement down could 
move up the list.  Flora is the only other jumper to clear greater 
than 5'0 this year so we picked her 6th.  Henley of Winfield is the
only other jumper to clear 5'0 this year and could contend for a 
spot if she is healthy.  

L Jump	1. Alisha Hopkins	Oak Hill
	2. Mary Greene		Richwood
	3. Alicia Sanders	East Hardy
	4. Shannon Gaskins	Notre Dame
	5. Jamie Bragg		Bridgeport
	6. Olivia Newsome	Summers

Hopkins is over a foot up on the rest of the field and could challege
the state record if she gets everything together.  Greene has placed 
in this event the last three years (as has Hopkins) and has the third
best leap among the qualifiers.  Sanders placed 3rd in the event last 
year and has jumped fairly well all season.  Gaskins just began to jump
and put in some very good jumps at poor jumping venues to suggest that
she might be able to go as high as second.  Bragg has the 2nd best jump
amoung the qualifiers but hasn't been as consistent.  Newsome has 
also notched a number of good leaps and became our pick for 6th.  A
few jumpers (such as Jessica Crouse and Tiffany Heinzman) notched
some very good leaps at regionals, but don't have a second jump to 
back up those marks.  Carla Ayers has gone 15'10 this year but barely
made it out of regionals.

P Vault	1. Lisa Davis		Doddridge
	2. Nicole White		Doddridge
	3. Angela Lowe		Grafton
	4. Karen Kellar		Doddridge
	5. Erica Young		Sissonville
	6. Blaine Cainfield	Williamstown

Doddridge picks up major points in this event every meet, but Grafton
has recently crashed the party.  Davis is the two time defending champion,
has the top mark and beat the others at regionals and is the favorite.
She has been fighting back problems all season and must stay healthy 
at the meet.  White has jumped 10' on a number of occassions so we
tabbed her 2nd although Lowe beat her at regionals.  Kellar tied for
3rd at this event last year and has been consistently at 9'.  Young
is the only other jumper over 8'6 but must jump well to get this 
spot.  Cainfield has multiple 8'6 jumps so we picked her over Maria
Malone of Grafton who has shown great improvement.  


Discus	1. Lucinda Huffman	Ritchie
	2. Theresa Melko	Bridgeport
	3. Judi Rose		Doddridge
	4. Jennifer Tant	Winfeild
	5. Jennifer Pettrey	Marsh Fork
	6. Kate Clark		Doddridge

Huffman, Melko and Rose have all thrown 14 feet further than anyone
else in the class this season.  None had a great regional to really
set themselves out from the rest.  Huffman is the defending champion
so we gave her the edge.  Melko (2nd last year) has also performed 
well at the state meet so we picked her 2nd.  Rose (5th last year)
could also win and beat Melko at the regionals.  Tant has ben very 
consistent and placed 6th in last years state meet so we gave her 
the edge over Pettrey who had the regionals top mark but aside from
two 112 foot throws, we only have one more over 100.  If she's on,
she could move way up the list.  Clark was given the edge over 
Sarah Bullough who is fighting injury.  Megan Allison and Shanda
Mason have also gone over 105' this year and are among a number of 
other competitors that could place.

Shot	1. Michelle McGinnis	Winfield
	2. Lucinda Huffman	Ritchie
	3. Alicia Dickson	St. Marys
	4. Theresa Melko	Bridgeport
	5. Lacey Hill		Bridgeport
	6. Brandi Brill		East Hardy
	
McGinnis (2nd last year) has some titanic tosses this year that put
her 3' ahead of the rest of the field.  Huffman  (4th last year) 
has the next best toss, but came up very short in regionals.  We'll assume Ritchie's great throwing
program will get her back on track if she's not injured.  Dickson, 
the 1999 champion placed 5th last year and had a very good regional
throw.  Melko is also in contention for as high as second.  Hill
placed 3rd at last year's meet but will likely have to throw much
farther to jump that high again.  Brill is the only other thrower
over 35' this year and only needs to get a good throw in to take the
last position.  It would be a surprise for anyone else to get in.
	
High Point Predicitons
T1.Jessica Taylor	Fayetteville	30	
T1.Sherri Flohr		Grafton		30
3. Jennifer Povick	Sissonville	24
4. Kem Jones		Winfield	23
T5.Lucinda Huffman	Ritchie		18
T5.Mary Greene		Richwood	18