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 AA Girls
4x800 Meter Relay
Grafton rode a 2:25 opening leg by Megan Docherty to an early lead
and never looked back in cruising to a 17 second win. They received
a 2:22 anchor leg from Erika Rucker to seal the victory. Magnolia
ran strong for 2nd, outdistancing Winfield, who outdistanced Tyler Consolidated.
Tyler Consolidated hold off a surprising Webster team for 4th, and Weir
completed the scoring. RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6.
High Jump
Magnolia Freshman Micah Bell knocked off defending championg
Niki Flora of Weir. Both girls cleared 5'2, as did 3rd place finisher
Lindsay Abshire of Winfield. No other competitor cleared 5'0. Four
others did manage to clear 4'10 with Bridgeport's Emily Carmichel
doing so on fewer misses. Grafton's Valerie Wood placed 5th, and
Bridgeport's Rachel Williams finished 6th. Logan's Shay Davis
was the other jumper to clear 4'10. RunWV's Current Score: 10 of 12.
Pole Vault
Bridgeport's Emilee Stout set a new State Meet Record with her vault
of 10'7. Pre-meet favorite Maggie Tincher of Winfield also cleared
the 10' mark at the meet to claim 2nd. Grafton's Kayla McDaniel was
the only other vaulter to clear 8' with her 9' vault. A four-way tie for
4th included Crystal Snyder of Webster, Alicia Etzkorn of Winfield,
Meghan Foster of Ritchie, and Jada Coplin of Grafton.
RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 18.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Weir continued its impressive run of Shuttle Hurdle teams with another State
Title. Their time of 1:05.70 missed the State Meet record by half a second.
They needed a strong run, however, to knock off Tyler Consolidated who also
performed exceptionally well running 1:06.57. Point Pleasant and Winfield
ran fast enough for 3rd and 4th, but both were called for early exchanges
and disqualified. Summers stepped up to take the 3rd place position. Oak
Glen nipped Grafton at the line by 0.02 for 4th, and Logan grabbed the final
scoring spot. RunWV's Current Score: 19 of 24.
3200 Meter Run
We really felt like any of four girls could walk away with the title, but had
made Sissonville's Jennifer Povick the favorite based on her finishing
speed. Other contenders were expected to be Berkeley Springs' Valerie Peer,
Winfield's Hannah Kovarick, and Grafton's Rachel Morgan. The expected
four went through the early stages of the race together and had some company until
the mile mark. Kovarick fell off the pace during lap six, but Brenna Hagerty
of Tyler Consolidated did not. She joined the remaining three contenders for through
laps six and seven, setting up a 400 meter race for the title. Morgan was
the first to make a move, doing so with around 300 meters to go. Povick responded
while Peer and Hagerty began to drop back just a little. At the 200 meter mark
Povick began her move, and with 150 to go, Povick unleashed the speed that made
her the 100-200-400 champion as a Sophomore. Povick's final lap of 1:15 was enough
to bring her in over two seconds ahead of Morgan, who also finished very strong.
Peer was able to hold off Hagerty for 3rd. Grafton's Sarah Rosier came to the
line 3 seconds ahead of PikeView's Vanessa Adams for 5th. The top 3 ran under
12:00. The top 6 were all under 12:20, and the top 10 all ran under 12:30.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 30.
400 Meter Dash
Three girls ran under 61 seconds and another just missed the mark in a thrilling
finish that saw Tyler Consolidated Freshman Brianna Clark edge
Bridgeport Freshman Lauren Gilbert by 0.09 for the title. The future
looks good for AA Girls 400's. Petersburg's Roshawna Mongold was hot
on their heels, only 0.15 behind Gilbert. Philip Barbour's Ebony Jones
continued her improvement in the event running a season best time of 1:01.11
in taking 4th. Magnolia's Allison Rothlisberger grabbed 5th, and
Summers' Candace Lilly completed her 4-peat in the event by placing
for the 4th consecutive year. RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 36.
Shot Put
PikeView's Lindsey Rumberg was an overwhelming favorite coming into
the event, and she did not disappoint, winning the event by over 4 feet.
The next three positions were decided by only 2.5 inches. Roane's Heidi
Dougherty edged Keyser's Autumn Beavers and Winfield's Bridgette
Harper for 2nd place. Nicole Baldwin scored a 5th for Sissonville,
and Keyser picked up another point in the event with the 6th place finish
of Elizabeth Williams. RunWV's Current Score: 33 of 42.
1600 Meter Run
This was another eagerly anticipated event with 4 girls having run under
5:25 during the season. Again, we went with the finishing kick of Sissonville's
Jennifer Povick when making our picks. Povick bettered her 1:15 finishing
lap from Friday night by clocking a 1:13 closing lap in the 1600, gapping the
field by 3 seconds. Grafton's Erika Rucker and Frankfort's Amy Farris
reversed their regional finish while cracking the 5:20 barrier. Berkeley
Springs' Laurel Thomas was able to hold off Grafton's Rachel Morgan
for 4th. Thomas finished in 5:22 while Morgan clocked a 5:23. Magnolia's
Shelly Smith finished 6 seconds back of Morgan but 6 seconds ahead
of the 7th place finisher. RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Summers' Candace Lilly came off the 400 Meter Dash and barely managed
to defend her 300 Meter Hurdle title...but defend it she did, finishing just
0.33 ahead of Winfield's Megan Farmer. Magnolia's Hilary Heinzman
and Petersburg's Roshawna Mongold followed close behind Farmer.
Tyler Consolidated's Brittany Hagerty just edged past Winfield's
Emily Henley for 5th. RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 54.
Discus
Sissonville's Emily Facemyer was a heavy favorite and won the event
by a full 10' with her 121' toss. Liberty Raleigh's Melinda Lilly
was the only other thrower to exceed 110'. Only two others in the field
cleared 100' with their throws. Only two inches separated Oak Glen's
Tiffany Clark and Magnolia's Maria Rodriguez. Two inches
also separated the 5th and 6th place finishers, Ashley Cutlip of
Webster and Autumn Beavers of Keyser. RunWV's Current Score:
49 of 60.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Winfield's Emily Henley ran the fastest and cleanest race of the group
in taking a 0.39 victory. Weir's Tara Blakemore squeezed ahead of
Keyser's Angela Krumpach and Bridgeport's Sarah Abbate for 2nd.
Frankfort's Ashley Helmstetter nipped Oak Glen's Brooke Mitchell
for 5th. RunWV's Current Score: 54 of 66.
100 Meter Dash Weir Freshman Ayreal Thompson began an impressive Saturday by edging Winfield's Kelly Puterbaugh by 0.03 for the 100 Meter Title. Logan's Danyell Garner nipped Ravenswood's Ambria Chambers by 0.02 for 3rd. Ebony Jones followed close behind in 5th, with Richwood's Zantana Murray winning a tight race for 6th. RunWV's Current Score: 60 of 72.
Long Jump
Logan's Danyell Garner continued her series of 16' jumps at Laidley
Field, and that was enough to defeat the field as she was the only jumper
to reach that mark. Bridgeport's Jamie Bragg landed 1" further in
the pit than Winfield's Lindsay Abshire, a surprise placer. Frankfort's
Ashley Helmstetter and Bridgeport's Rachel Williams had matching
distances, but Helmstetter won the 4th place position based on a better 2nd
best jump. Tyler Consolidated's Brittany Hagerty rounded out the
scoring in the event. RunWV's Current Score: 65 of 78.
4x200 Meter Relay
Just as in the 100 Meter Dash, the 4x200 came down to a finish of Weir's
Ayreal Thompson against Winfield's Kelly Puterbaugh, and
just as in the 100, Thompson came out on top giving Weir the title by three
tenths of a second. Tyler Consolidated was close on their heels and Magnolia
was right on Tyler's heels as the top 4 finished within 1 second of each
other. The top 4 all ran 1:49.17 or better while no other team ran under 1:53.
Oak Glen proved to be the number 5 team and Bridgeport grabbed the final spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 71 of 84.
4x100 Meter Relay
Winfield finally got the better of Weir in the 4x100 winning by 0.31.
Bridgeport edged past Magnolia for 3rd, and Keyser came out on top of a
tight 3 team race for 4th, finishing 0.02 ahead of Logan and 0.05 ahead
of Tyler Consolidated. RunWV's Current Score: 76 of 90.
800 Meter Run
The winds that seemed to slow the Class A group also plagued the Class AA
group as only three girls ran under 2:30. The top 3, however, found a
way through that wind as Jennifer Povick of Sissonville blasted
through a 2:20, Grafton's Erika Rucker a 2:22, and Rucker's teammate
Megan Docherty a 2:25. No one finished within 5 seconds of the trio.
Weir's Rochelle Byers just nipped Webster's Valerie Perrine
by 0.04 for 4th. Byers' teammate Carly Gregson scored the final
points in the event. RunWV's Current Score: 80 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
Weir's Ayreal Thompson completed her outstanding day by taking her
second individual title. Philip Barbour's Ebony Jones edged Bridgeport's
Lauren Gilbert for 2nd. Winfield's Kelly Puterbaugh nipped
Ravenswood's Ambria Chambers by 0.01 for 4th, and Richwood's
Zantana Murray claimed the final spot. RunWV's Current Score: 86 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
Magnolia sports at least three girls who can run 1:02 in the open 400
and that depth proved invaluable in winning the 4x400. They finished over
three seconds ahead of the field. Winfield closed their championship
meet with a strong 4x400 performance in taking 2nd, just ahead of Berkeley
Springs. Grafton scored a 4th place out of the first heat. Tyler Consolidated
pulled away from Frankfort for 5th. RunWV's Final Score: 91 of 108.
The final score of 91 of 108 means that 84.3 % 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.
Hilary Heinzman, Magnolia -- 300 LH (not picked, got 3rd)
Berkeley Springs (Emily McCoy, Laura Michael, Laurel Thomas, Valerie Peer) -- 4x400 (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Winfield (Hannah Kovarick, Kasey Jividen, Lindsay Dawson, Barri Newberger) -- 4x800 (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Lindsay Abshire, Winfield -- Long Jump (not picked, got 3rd)
Micah Bell, Magnolia -- High Jump (picked 5th, got 1st)
Emily Carmichel, Bridgeport -- High Jump (not picked, got 4th)
Bridgette Harper, Winfield -- Shot Put (not picked, got 4th)
Alicia Etzkorn, Winfield -- Pole Vault (not picked, tied for 4th)
Jada Coplin, Grafton -- Pole Vault (not picked, tied for 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class AA Girls Bridgeport +11 Oak Glen + 9 Winfield + 7.5 Petersburg + 7
Class AA Boys
4x800 Meter Relay
This event provided some of the more memorable moments of the state meet.
Ravenswood's Chris Snell opened with a 1:58.3 leg to give his team
a commanding lead. However, Grafton runs Scott Gemberling as its
second leg. His leg of just under 1:57 pulled Grafton into the front. Grafton
held and extended it's lead heading into the final leg. Ravenswood was a
couple seconds off the pace. No one was expecting Adam Benford to
make up the ground as Grafton's anchor leg had run 2:01 during the season.
But make it up he did. Benford ran a phenomenal 1:55.3 anchor leg to give
Ravenswood the state title. Roane ran an outstanding 8:18 to take 3rd,
followed by Scott and Ritchie who finished in under 8:30. The final spot
was taken by Liberty Harrison. RunWV's Current Score: 6 of 6.
Pole Vault
The Pole Vault saw three guys soar over 13'0. None were able to must a
13'6 vault, leaving it up to misses to determine the winner. Ritchie County
Sophomore Michael Manning scored the tie-breaker victory over
Liberty Harrison's Dustin Mutschelknaus took the 2nd spot, and Roane's
Jason Alvis used the season-high height to take 3rd. Bridgeport's
Benjamin King was the only other vaulter to clear 12'0. Three vaulters
cleared 11'6 with Roane's Shane Lucas and Bridgeport's Raymond
Powers taking 5th and 6th, respectively. RunWV's Current Score: 11 of
12.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
When you have Brad Keys as your anchor leg, good things happen. Keys
ran a phenomenal anchor leg to pull out the tenth of a second victory over
an impressive Keyser unit 58.12 to 58.22. Ritchie wasn't far behind the
leaders in also running under 59 seconds. Bridgeport was the only other
team to crack the 60 second barrier in taking 4th. Sissonville just missed
the 60 second mark in taking 5th, and Tyler Consolidated nipped Point Pleasant
by 0.02 for 6th place. RunWV's Current Score: 16 of 18.
Shot Put
A strong field provided three throwers over 50'. The furthest of those
was Liberty Raleigh's Tristan Crookshanks. His toss exceeded that of
Ritchie's Brady Henger by 5". Henger edged Magnolia's Travis Emch
by 4.5" for 2nd. All three threw over 51 1/2 Feet. Point Pleasant Sophomore
Kevin Hudnall just missed out on the 50' group in taking fourth. Another
Sophomore, Roane's Derek Hardman finished 5th, while Liberty Harrison's
Andrew Morgan grabbed the final place. RunWV's Current Score:
21 of 24.
3200 Meter Run
Another of the night's standout performances occurred in the 3200. Grafton's
Scott Gemberling turned in a sparkling 9:23. After going through
the first mile in 4:38, Gemberling was able to somewhat cruise until the
last lap when a slowly gaining and very dangerous Chris Snell of
Ravenswood got too close for comfort. Snell finished in 9:29. Roane's
Justin Bossert got away from Frankfort's Woody Snoberger
on the last lap to take the 3rd spot. The top 4 all finished under 9:50.
Ravenswood Freshman Andrew Benford provided a look to the future
with his 5th place finish. Keyser's Harman Hartman was able to
gap PikeView's Dennis Roark and Scott's Michael Smutko for
the final spot. RunWV's Current Score: 26 of 30.
400 Meter Dash
Magnolia's Josh Natali didn't quite get under 50 seconds, but he
did manage to hold off Ravenswood's Adam Benford for the win. Those
two separated themselves from the field. Shady Spring's Chris Rose
ran a strong third. He was followed by the surprising Craig McDougal
of Grafton. Liberty Harrison's John Natow gave us a 5th runner under
52 seconds. Richwood's Michael King just missed going under 52 seconds
in winning the first heat, but it was enough to score him a 6th place.
RunWV's Current Score: 30 of 36.
Discus
Ritchie's Brady Henger started Ritchie's Saturday push toward the
title by being the only thrower in the field to exceed 150'. Liberty Raleigh's
Tristan Crookshank just missed the 150' mark in taking 2nd. Weir's
Aaron Gurskey grabbed 3rd with his 146' toss. Magnolia's Travis
Emch was close behind with a toss of 144'. No other competitor exceeded
140'. Point Pleasant's Kevin Hudnall scored his 2nd place of the meet
in taking 5th, and Weir's Ryan Booth claimed 6th. RunWV's Current
Score: 35 of 42.
1600 Meter Run
Grafton's Scott Gemberling picked up right where he left off in
making an assault on the 1600 Meter record that came up short. His time
of 4:19.36 won the event by over 9 seconds. Ravenswood's Chris Snell
picked up his 2nd runner-up spot of the meet in taking 2nd. Frankfort's
Woody Snoberger outkicked Ravenswood's Andrew Benford for
third. The top 4 all ran under 4:32. Ritchie's Jayson Lafferre finished
a few seconds back in 5th, and Scott's Michael Smutko used a strong
final stretch to pull into 6th. RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Winfield's Brad Keys finished just under 0.6 seconds off the State
Meet record in winning the event by over 1.5 seconds. Ritchie's Zach
Linville just edged out Summers' Matt Bennett, who ran in the first
heat, by 0.03 for 2nd. Roane's Matt Arnold also ran under 41 seconds
in taking 4th. Ritchie scored again in the event with Brett Barker
taking 5th. Oak Glen's Brian Forsythe claimed the final placing spot.
RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 54.
Long Jump
Pre-meet favorite Chris Hampton of Bridgeport was strong from start
to finish in winning by nearly a foot. Berkeley Springs Sophomore Tony Belt
nipped another Sophomore, Zach Linville of Ritchie by a quarter of
an inch for 2nd. Richwood's Nicholas Ellison took 4th. Shady Spring's
Jerry Lynch and James Monroe's Tanre Franklin had matching jumps
with Lynch taking the higher place with a better 2nd best jump. All six
placers exceeded 20'. RunWV's Current Score: 50 of 60.
110 Meter High Hurdles
Winfield's Brad Keys eclipsed the State Meet record in nipping Magnolia's
Josh Natali, who matched the old record, by 0.04 seconds. The two
finished over a second ahead of the field. Ritchie's Brett Barker
picked up some important points in slipping in for 3rd, ahead of Roane's
Matt Arnold. Oak Glen's Brian Forsythe just edged out
Sissonville's Andrew Dawson for 5th. RunWV's Current Score: 54 of 66.
100 Meter Dash
The field used a strong tailwind to turn in some standout times. Bridgeport's
Chris Hampton pulled away in the last few meters to claim the victory
and the only sub-11 time. Weir's Zjaque Douglas led a group that
saw only 0.13 seconds separate 2nd and 6th. Lewis County Sophomore
Derrick Weaver scored a surprise 3rd, just ahead of Magnolia's Josh
Natali. Summers' Matt Bennett was only 0.01 back in 5th, with
Shady Spring's Pat Galapon picked up the final place. RunWV's
Current Score: 59 of 72.
4x200 Meter Relay
Shady Spring dominated the field in winning by nearly two seconds. Magnolia
proved running in the first heat isn't alway bad as they scored a 2nd place
out of it. Lewis was just 0.04 behind Magnolia's time in taking 3rd.
Keyser was a near fourth, well ahead of the 5th place team, Richwood. Winfield
finished 6th in the event. RunWV's Current Score: 63 of 78.
High Jump
Berkeley Spring's Adam Mason was the only jumper able to clear 6'4
in taking the title. Bridgeport Freshman Matt Wilson led a trio of
jumpers who cleared 6'2. Webster's Scott Sears and Bridgeport's
Matt Fischer were the others to clear the height. Berkeley Springs'
Tony Belt was the only other jumper to clear 6'0. Tyler Consolidated's
Nick Estep claimed the final scoring spot. RunWV's Current Score:
68 of 84.
4x100 Meter Relay
Winfield, again on the anchor leg of Brad Keys pulled off an upset
in knocking off Shady Spring, who finished 2nd. Magnolia was close behind
in 3rd. Keyser nipped Weir for 4th, and Weir was just ahead of the final
placer, Bridgeport. Weir scored their 5th place finish from the first heat.
RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 90.
800 Meter Run
Another of the more anticipated races of the State Meet was the AA Boys 800.
Ravenswood's Chris Snell broke his string of 2nd place finishes in
pulling away from the field in the last 200 to win by nearly a second and
a half. Scott's Josh Sheets used an exceptional last 75 meters to
pull past Grafton's Scott Gemberling and Roane's Justin Bossert
for 2nd. Ravenswood's Adam Benford edged Grafton's Craig McDougal
for 5th. RunWV's Current Score: 78 of 96.
200 Meter Dash
Lewis County's Jason Koon atoned for his false start in the 100 by
capturing the championship for the 200. Magnolia's Josh Natali was
the victim of Koon's final push to the finish line. Ritchie's Tommy
Johnson was a solid third, well ahead of Shady Spring's Pat Galapon.
Galapon nipped Weir's Zjaque Douglas, while Summers' Matt Bennett
rounded out the scoring. RunWV's Current Score: 84 of 102.
4x400 Meter Relay
Roane battled the winds and ran away from the field in taking a victory
of over 2 seconds. Shady Spring ran a solid 2nd. Magnolia just edged past
Grafton for 3rd by 0.02. Winfield and Tyler Consolidated rounded out the places
in an event that saw only 0.32 separate 3rd from 6th. RunWV's Current
Score: 89 of 108.
The final score of 89 of 108 means that 82.4 % 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.
Derrick Weaver, Lewis -- 100 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Craig McDougal, Grafton -- 400 M (not picked, got 4th)
Josh Sheets, Scott -- 800 M (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Brett Barker, Ritchie -- 110 HH (not picked, got 3rd)
Magnolia (Joe Farrell, Derek Kocher, Brandon Longwell, Warren Grace) -- 4x100 (not picked, got 3rd)
Magnolia (Andrew Cecil, Warren Grace, Derek Kocher, Joe Farrell) -- 4x200 (not picked, got 2nd)
Grafton (Craig McDougal, Stuart Strauss, Andrew Moore, Adam Grogg) -- 4x400 (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than we predicted.
Class AA Boys Ritchie + 8 Scott + 8