The first year of the 3 Class System has been completed, and I call it a rousing success. The state meet had a number of outstanding performances and great races. There will be critics who look at the new set-up diluting the talent-pool, but that's not the case. As with all changes, it takes time and patience. The first few seasons of Cross Country after A-AA split from AAA were quite weak on the A-AA side with a couple teams dominating the action. I don't think many would argue that A-AA is weak any more. The WVSSAC needs to give the 3 Class System at least four years to develop, and if they do, they'll see increased participation at both the Class A and Class AA level. Increased participation will yield increased competition, and increased competition will yield better times. This is the best move for the growth of our sport.
Class A Girls
4x800 Meter Relay
Charleston Catholic was the pre-meet favorite until we saw Doddridge's
Jennie Spencer in the lineup as the anchor for the Bulldog team.
That maneuver meant that Doddridge would certainly contend with Charleston
Catholic. The opening leg of the race saw St. Marys open with a 2:28 and hold
a slight lead over Charleston Catholic, Cameron, Wheeling Central, and Doddridge,
who all came through right around 2:30. Things were still quite tight after the
second leg. Doddridge pulled slightly into the lead just before the handoff.
The third leg saw the race drop to a two-team battle. Charleston Catholic pulled
into the lead by a couple seconds, but Spencer managed a 2:26 anchor leg and
the Bulldogs cruised to a 7 second victory. Cameron barely held off Wheeling
Central for 3rd, with Williamstown and St. Marys closing out the places.
RunWV's Current Score: 6 of 6.
Discus
Pre-meet favorite Jennifer Pettry of Marsh Fork went into the finals
in 2nd place, but popped off a 118'8 in the finals to take the 7 inch victory
over Doddridge's Kate Clark. Molly Kiger and Megan Ueltschy
of Williamstown and Valley Wetzel, respectively, claimed 3rd and 4th as expected.
The 5th place finisher was Doddridge Freshman Kayla Todd. Midland Trail's
Vanessa Cogar claimed the final placing spot. RunWV's Current Score:
10 of 12.
Shot Put
There really wasn't much doubt who would win the event, and when Williamstown's
Molly Kiger started tossing the shot over 40 feet, everyone else was
trying for 2nd. Her toss of 40'11 establishes a record that could stand for
several years to come...except that Kiger will return next year. Marsh Fork's
Jennifer Pettry completed her season with a 2nd place finish, and
Valley Wetzel's Megan Ueltschy was just 3 inches off. Doddridge's
Kayla Todd and East Hardy's Katelyn Wilkins reversed their
regional finish in taking 4th and 5th. Cameron's Nicole Leach grabbed
the final spot. RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 18.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The Shuttle Hurdle Relay always produces something unexpected or strange,
and this year was no different. In the fastest of the four heats, a meet
worker stepped onto the track to adjust a hurdle that had been kicked by
the first leg of a team. As he walked across the middle of the track, he
stepped right into the path of the 2nd runner for Tygarts Valley creating
quite a collision. The meet worker went down, and the Tygarts Valley runner
managed to keep her feet and continue running. The girls from Tygarts Valley
are to be commended for their reaction to this event. Many athletes and
coaches would have gone ballistic. These girls didn't stomp and scream or
yell and cry. The simply finished their race and awaited the ruling that
would allow them to re-run. Their composure is to be commended and is a
tribute to them, their coaches, and their parents. Their time was good enough
to place them 5th, but they had the option to run again to better their place
since they were impeded. As the pre-meet favorite, the rightly elected to
run again. Unfortunately, they were not able to run a clean race and ended
up out of the places, but we salute the Shuttle Hurdle Relay for their composure
in a difficult situation. The girls from Buffalo ran an outstanding race
and a clean race and easily won the fastest heat by nearly a full second
over Wheeling Central. Buffalo should be a force to be reckoned with next year
as well as only Maggie Howard will be graduating. Doddridge came up
with their best time of the season to take 3rd place. St. Marys grabbed 4th,
and Greenbrier West edged Gilmer for 5th by 0.05. RunWV's Current Score:
20 of 24.
3200 Meter Run
The 3200 Meter Run is always among the favorite events for RunWV. The winner
of this event was never really in question. At the end of the 2nd lap, Doddridge's
Clara Grandt had established nearly a 10-second lead, a lead that was
growing steadily. Grandt was able to cruise the last mile and still stook a
34 second victory. The race for 2nd is the one that held our interest. In
the early stages of the race, there were a number of girls in position for
the spot. A pair from Charleston Catholic, Meghan Hughes and Lisa
Slack, a pair from St. Marys, Megan Taylor and Deidre Wilson,
a pair from Doddridge Valerie Hyde and Carrie Zickefoose, Kallen
Weaver of Wheeling Central, and Amanda Blankenship of Mount Hope.
As the laps wore on, the group started to break up, and with two laps to
go, the two from St. Marys and the two from Doddridge had separated themselves
from the rest, with Hughes just off the pace. The four entered the last lap
together, but the pair from St. Marys were stronger down the stretch and
took the 2nd and 3rd spots with Megan Taylor striding to the finish
4 seconds ahead of Deidre Wilson. Wilson in turn was able to gap
the Doddridge pair by 2 seconds for 3rd. Valerie Hye just edged
teammated Carrie Zickefoose by a quarter of a second for 4th.
Megan Hughes was back by about 4 seconds for 6th. RunWV's Current Score:
25 of 30.
400 Meter Dash
Saturday's competition opened with the first finals appearance of Fayetteville's
Jasmine Cotton. An impressive freshman easily gapped the field in
winning by over 2 seconds. She was the only runner in the field to go under
61 seconds, and she ran a 59.18. Erica Williams of Gilmer held an
easy 2nd, also over a full second ahead of the next runner. Charleston
Catholic's Katie Kern held off a late surge by Doddridge's Jennie
Spencer to take 3rd. Williamstown's Amanda Hescht grabbed 5th,
and Gilmer's Cate Powell barely edged Mercer Christian's Scarlett
Steele by 0.03 for 6th. RunWV's Current Score: 30 of 36.
1600 Meter Run
Doddridge's Clara Grandt again ran away from the field, this time
breaking away in the first lap before cruising to a 13 second win in 5:29.23.
Again the battle for 2nd was wide open and fun to watch. The next three
girls finished 3 seconds apart, with Charleston Catholic's Anna Fragale
proved to have the strongest finish in pulling away from Wheeling Central's
Bethany Sloane and Cameron's Hannah Robinson. Spots 5 through
9 were decided by 3.5 seconds, with Charleston Catholic's Meghan Hughes
taking home her 2nd medal by claiming 5th. Megan Taylor of St. Marys
used an excellent finishing stretch to overtake Wheeling Central's Megan
Cook and Doddridge's Valerie Hyde and Carrie Zickefoose for
the final spot. RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 42.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
The three primary contenders for this title were Buffalo's Lindsay Elkins,
Charleston Catholic's Katie Kern, and Doddridge's Jennie Spencer.
Elkins was given the pre-meet nod based on the fatigue factor that might be
caused by both Kern and Spencer running the 400 (they finished 3rd and 4th,
respectively, in the 400). The 400 proved not to be a factor as Kern once
again held off a charging Spencer to take the victory. Elkins came home
with a strong 3rd, well ahead of the remainder of the pack. Greenbrier
West's Jamie Winnings ran her first sub-50 time of the year to come
up and take 4th. St. Marys' Traci Bailey took 5th, with Paden City's
Jesse Natali claiming the final placing spot. RunWV's Current Score:
40 of 48.
Long Jump
We expected the battle to be between Gilmer's Erica Williams and
Midland Trail's Amanda Horrocks, and we were not disappointed.
Horrocks defended her title of a year ago, beating Williams by 3.75 inches.
St. Marys' Kesley Oldfield was just 0.25 inches back of Williams
in taking an impressive third, and Moorefield's Lauren Moyers was
just 0.25 inches behind that, giving Class A four jumpers over 15'6.
Williamstown's Katelin Gedon and Paden City's Jennifer Bowers
were surprise placers. RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 54.
High Jump
With a number of girls sporting 5'0 jumps, anything could happen in this
event. As the event drew near its conclusion, 4 girls had cleared the 5'0
barrier, but none had cleared 5'2. 3rd and 4th were decided on misses with
Midland Trail's Amanda Horrocks continuing her fine day with her 2nd
medal and Greenbrier West's Robin Hicks claiming 4th. 5th and 6th
had already been claimed with Parkersburg Catholic's Emily Rader and
Tygarts Valley's Monica Wamsley taking the spots. That left two
girls tied for first and meant a jump-off would take place. The two remaining
competitors would get one more shot at 5'2 and if neither cleared the bar
would be lowered. Doddridge's Niki Zickefoose soared over the bar on
her attempt and landed cleanly on the mat. Paden City's Erica Spencer
was unable to match the leap giving Zickefoose the title and Spencer the
runner-up spot. RunWV's Current Score: 48 of 60.
100 Meter Dash The question in this race was "would the 400 take enough out of Jasmine Cotton to put someone else in front?" Perhaps the question should have been "how good of a warmup does the 400 provide?" as both the 1st place spot and the 2nd place spot went to 400 runners. Fayetteville's Jasmine Cotton took home her second title, edging out Gilmer's Erica Williams by 0.06. The pair took 1st and 2nd in the 400 as well. Gilmer made the most of the event by placing Camai Roberson in 3rd. The next three spots were decided by hour hundredths of a second, with Wheeling Central's Stephanie Stoehr edging Moorefield's Meaghan Coby and Doddridge's Niki Zickefoose for the 4th spot. RunWV's Current Score: 54 of 66.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Moorefield's Lauren Moyers nipped Wheeling Central's Bethany Kerwood
by three hundredths of a second for the state title. Doddridge's Nicole
White was first out of the blocks and ran a strong 3rd. St. Marys'
Tracey Beck edged Buffalo's Lindsay Elkins by 0.03 for 5th. St. Marys
scored an extra place in this event when Traci Bailey took the 6th spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 59 of 72.
4x200 Meter Relay
The relays is the real place to see the difference between the smaller schools and
the larger schools. Class A schools have trouble finding the depth to create
exceptional relay teams. Moorefield was strong from start to finish as they
captured the 2nd title of the meet for the school. Greenbrier West was the only
other team to go under 1:55 in taking 2nd. Charleston Catholic, Wheeling Central,
Pendleton, and St. Marys rounded out the placers. RunWV's Current Score:
64 of 78.
4x100 Meter Relay
Gilmer came in as a resounding favorite, and having Camai Roberson on
the anchor leg gives them quite the closer. Gilmer dominated the field,
winning the event by over a second. Wheeling Central was an easy 2nd, and
Greenbrier West was an easy 3rd. 4th and 5th were separated by only 0.03
as Madonna edged Charleston Catholic. St. Marys rounded out the scoring.
RunWV's Current Score: 69 of 84.
Pole Vault
Pre-meet favorite Nicole White landed badly during warm-ups and was
unable to compete. With her absent, only 4 girls were able to clear the opening
height of 7'0. Williamstown's Kendall Queen was the only athlete in the
field to clear 8'6 giving her the title. Despite White's absence, Doddridge
raked in the points, with Chantel Simmons and Susanne Pinard
both clearing 8'0 to take 2nd and 3rd. Williamstown's Samantha Postlewaite
was the other competitor to clear a height, and her 7'0 vault gave her 4th
place. RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 90.
800 Meter Run
This race pitted pre-race favorite Jennie Spencer against Fayetteville
phenom Jasmine Cotton. Cotton had yet to be beaten in the event, but
Spencer had gone over 3 seconds faster than Cotton's best. The pace of the race
could dictate the winner. A slow pace would favor the finishing speed of
Cotton. A faster pace would likely favor Spencer. Strong winds accompanying
the passing storm added a level of difficulty to the race. The first lap
went through in 73 seconds with a pack still together. The second lap saw
Cotton and Spencer break away from the pack and the slower pace did favor Cotton
as she was able to pull away down the stretch. Paden City's Loralee Hillyard
came in strong to pull out 3rd place over Mercer Christian's Scarlett Steele.
Charleston Catholic's Anna Fragale just got past Doddridge's
Clara Grandt for 5th place, with everyone else being at least 2 seconds
back of the six placers. RunWV's Current Score 78 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
Again the question heading into the race was "how much did the prior event
take from Jasmine Cotton?" As we guessed, the 800 proved to be more draining
than the 400, and Gilmer's Camain Roberson took advantage to take the
200 title by nearly four tenths of a second. Gilmer's Erica Williams
nabbed 3rd and Doddridge's Niki Zickefoose grabbed 4th. Tucker's
Jessy Pifer took a surprising 5th, and Cate Powell gave Gilmer
3 placers in the event. RunWV's Current Score: 82 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
Charleston Catholic dominated the field in taking a 7 second victory over
Wheeling Central. Paden City brought their time down a few seconds to claim
3rd. Doddridge held off a finishing charge by Williamstown to take 4th,
and Cameron slipped into the field to take 6th. RunWV's Final Score: 87 of 108.
The final score of 87 of 108 means that 80.6 % of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved us wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed our predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Bethany Sloane, Wheeling Central -- 1600 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Bethany Kerwood, Wheeling Central -- 100 HH (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Paden City (Loralee Hillyard, Amber Mikes, Rebekah Pryor, Jesse Natali) -- 4x400 (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Doddridge (Clara Grandt, Carrie Zickefoose, Valerie Hyde, Jennie Spencer) -- 4x800 (picked 5th, got 1st)
Erica Spencer, Paden City -- High Jump (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Robin Hicks, Greenbrier West -- High Jump (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class A Girls Greenbrier West +17 Wheeling Central +12 Paden City +10
Class A Boys
4x800 Meter Relay
The opening leg of the 4x800 saw a standout run from Jeremy Rudolph
of East Hardy, who sparked his team with a 2:03 leg, and from Wayne Ritter
of Doddridge, who came through in 2:04. On the second leg, Doddridge surged
into the lead and was never really threatened after that. Williamstown worked
its way into second place during the second leg, and those two teams easily
gapped the rest of the field. Doddridge maintained a 5 to 6 second advantage
for the remainder of the relay, taking the meet's first event. The battle
for 3rd was very close with Charleston Catholic, Wheeling Central, East
Hardy, and Gilmer separated by only 4 seconds. RunWV's Current Score:
5 of 6.
Shot Put
Last season, Valley Wetzel's Travis Shreve put together a monstrous throw
to far exceed expectations in the discus. This season, he did so in the Shot Put.
Shreve's toss of 50'1 1/2 was the only throw over 49 feet, giving him a convincing
victory over a solid field. Pre-meet favorite Tony Flinn of Williamstown
threw 48'11 to give him a 5" edge over Doddridge's Tim Williams.
Tyrone Powell's 4th place finish establishes the Sophomore as Mount Hope's
next great shot putter. Bruce Whitlock of Pendleton and Seth Butler
of Gilmer rounded out the placers. RunWV's Current Score: 9 of 12.
Discus
Williamstown's Zach Hall was far and away the class of the field, winning
by nearly 25 feet with his toss of 164'11. Valley Wetzel's Travis Shreve
continued his strong meet with a 2nd place finish. St. Marys Sophomore Josh Burns
established himself as one to watch in the future with his 3rd place finish. Bishop
Donahue's Josiah Barton completed his career with a 4th place finish. Buffalo's
Patrick Hart and Mount Hope's Tyrone Powell completed the scoring.
RunWV's Current Score: 14 of 18.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Buffalo's boys match the tone set by their girls, giving them a sweep of the
event in the first ever Class A State Meet. The hurdle coaches at Buffalo are
doing something very right. Williamstown grabbed an easy 2nd. Wheeling Central
was the pre-meet favorite but stumbled repeatedly, but still managed to get
3rd, just ahead of Valley Fayette. South Harrison nipped St. Marys for 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 20 of 24.
Long Jump
Buffalo's Daniel Watson soared 20'8 1/4 in edging Union's Donnie
Robinson, who jumped 20'6 1/2, for 2nd. They were the only competitors
to exceed 20'. Gilmer's Jacob Lilly just missed the mark with his
jump of 19'11. Charleston Catholic's Drew Hines edged Greenbrier
West's Bryan Spitzer and Tucker's Cory Gsell for 4th. RunWV's
Current Score: 25 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
A tight race started to break open near the mile mark, with Sherman's Adam
Coon grabbing the lead and Wheeling Central's Alex Sacco and
Williamstown's Adam Raper trailing close behind. It had taken the bulk
of four laps to reel in the early leader, Nathan Rittenhouse of Pocahontas.
Coon continued to lead through 7 laps, and as the last lap began, Coon held a
two second advantage over Sacco and was five seconds up on Raper. Raper started
to make his move in the first turn and then really turned it on with 300 Meters
to go. Raper's scintillating 1:03 final lap took him from a 5 second deficit
to a 6 second victory. Sacco also ran a strong last lap to pull into the 2nd
spot, while Coon held on for 3rd. St. Marys Freshman Jesse Templeton
ran a season best time to take the 4th spot. Early leader Rittenhouse held
on for 5th, and Doddridge's Eric Thompson claimed the final point.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 36.
400 Meter Dash
Pre-meet favorite Ryan Jobes of Williamstown came through with the victory
in winning by over a half-second. Wheeling Central's Eric Belancic was
a solid 2nd, leading the third place finisher, Chris Neely of Meadow
Bridge, by almost nine tenths of a second. Doddridge's Wayne Ritter
grabbed 4th, followed by East Hardy's Jeremy Rudolph, who barely
edged out Gilmer's Travis Fisher for 5th. RunWV's Current Score:
33 of 42.
High Jump
Overwhelming favorite Eric Belancic received quite a scare, but managed
to come away with the victory over newcomer Jomarrae Gordon of Pendleton.
South Harrison's Yohan Berte and Bishop Donahue's Matthew Beiter
were the only other competitors to clear 6'0. Buffalo Freshman David
Robinson scored a 5th, and Valley Fayette's Dante Perry beat
teammate Preston Copeland on misses for 6th. RunWV's Current Score:
37 of 48.
1600 Meter Run
A tactical race saw the leaders go through the first lap in 68 seconds, with
Doddridge's Brent Wellings leading the way. At two laps, the pack was
still together, with the front end coming through in 2:22 and Wellings still
holding the lead. On lap three, people began to make their moves. The first
and boldest move was made by Doddridge's Eric Thompson who stretched
out to a 15 meter lead over the field. On the final lap, the only person
to respond to Thompson's move was pre-meet favorite, Ryan Jobes of
Williamstown. Jobes was able to close up on Thompson and with 100 Meters
to go, the 400 Meter Champion showed his finishing kick in taking the two
second victory. Thompson hled onto 2nd easily as his 4:41 was the only other
runner to go under 4:45. Williamstown's Adam Raper again held off
Wheeling Central's Alex Sacco in taking 3rd. Charleston Catholic's
Jamie Blair was close behind in 5th, and Williamstown's Nick Pickrell
gave Williamstown a third scorer in the event by edging St. Marys' Jesse Templton
for the final spot. RunWV's Current Score: 42 of 54.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Wheeling Central Sophomore Eric Novick just missed cracking the 40
second barrier in winning his first state title. Williamstown's Josh
Brookover also finished in under 41 seconds. Parkersburg Catholic's
Eric Kromberg edged Moorefield's Andrew Hose for 3rd. Williamstown's
Cody Boyd and Meadow Bridge's Chris Neely ran a tight race
for 5th, with Boyd just coming out on top. RunWV's Current Score: 47 of 60.
Pole Vault
The LKC displayed its dominance in the event by taking the top 5 places.
St. Marys' Dylan Hashman came up with the best vault of the group
by clearing 12'9. Three others cleared 12'6...Williamstown Sophomore
Justice Powers, Doddridge's Willie Sarine, and Williamstown's
James Fenton. Williamstown claimed a third scorer in the event with
Wesley Billups' 5th place finish. Wheeling Central's Josh Wiethe
was the only non-LKC vaulter to place. RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 66.
110 Meter High Hurdles
Wheeling Central's Eric Novick picked up his 2nd title of the day
in winning the 110's. Teammate Eric Belancic gave Wheeling Central
a 1-2 sweep in the event as the two were well ahead of the field. Williamstown's
Cody Boyd edged past Moorefield's Andrew Hose for 3rd. Hose was
slightly impeded by a falling Dylan Hashman of St. Marys but apparently
elected not to re-run the event. South Harrison's Scott Wallace edged
Valley Fayette's Clarence Smith for 5th. RunWV's Current Score:
57 of 72.
100 Meter Dash
Greenbrier West's Chris Fleming was the pre-meet favorite, but he
would not go unchallenged. South Harrison's John Adam Romeo ran pretty
even with Fleming until the last 10 yards when Fleming was able to locate
one more gear and pulled out a 0.04 victory. The next four runners came
across the line within 0.06 of each other in an exceptionally tight finish.
The photo showed that Moorefield's Eddie Mongold edged out Buffalo's
Jason Smith, Wheeling Central's Pat Zadrozny, and Tucker's
Cody Shahan. RunWV's Current Score: 62 of 78.
4x200 Meter Relay
Williamstown ran away from the competition in taking a nearly two-second
victory. Wheeling Central was over a second ahead of third place finisher
East Hardy who was in turn over a second ahead of Doddridge. Tucker County
was over a second behind Doddridge but was fast enough to claim 5th place over
Buffalo. RunWV's Current Score: 68 of 84.
4x100 Meter Relay
Williamstown again distanced themselves from the field, taking this event
by almost six tenths of a second. Wheeling Central edged East Hardy for
2nd. Valley Fayette, Buffalo, and Moorefield were about evenly spaced
in closing out the places. RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 90.
800 Meter Run
Ryan Jobes cruised to an easy victory in winning by over two seconds.
Gilmer's Travis Fisher edged Charleston Catholic Sophomore John
Matherly in a close battle for 2nd. Fourth place was over three seconds
back with Williamstown's Nick Pickrell claiming the spot. Mercer
Christian's Jason Powell held off Cameron's Ryan Howard for
5th. RunWV's Current Score: 77 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
South Harrison's John Adam Romeo came close in the 100, but he pulled
it off in the 200, upsetting favorite Chris Fleming of Greenbrier
West. East Hardy's Daniel Sine ran a strong 3rd while Wheeling Central's
Josh McKee edged Meadow Bridge's Chris Neely for 4th. East
Hardy picked up another scorer in the event with the 6th place run of
John Ray Funkhouser. RunWV's Current Score: 82 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
As it has many times this season, the 4x400 came down to Williamstown and
Doddridge, and as it has each time this season, Williamstown rode the anchor
leg of Ryan Jobes to a narrow victory, this time by a mere 0.24 seconds.
Pocahontas was a solid 3rd, finishing well back of the leaders but well
ahead of the 4th place team. Valley Fayette squeezed out a half-second victory
victory over Charleston Catholic for 4th. Wheeling Central claimed the final
points of the meet. RunWV's Final score: 88 of 108.
The final score of 88 of 108 means that 81.5 % of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved us wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed our predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Daniel Sine, East Hardy -- 200 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Eric Thompson, Doddridge -- 1600 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Alex Sacco, Wheeling Central -- 1600 M (not picked, got 4th)
Jesse Templeton, St. Marys -- 3200 M (not picked, got 4th)
Cody Boyd, Williamstown -- 110 HH (not picked, got 3rd)
Andrew Hose, Moorefield -- 300 IH (not picked, got 4th)
Josh Burns, St. Marys -- Discus (not picked, got 3rd)
Travis Shreve, Valley Wetzel -- Shot Put (picked 4th, got 1st)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class A Boys East Hardy +12 Valley Wetzel +10 Valley Fayette + 9 Moorefield + 7