Class A Girls
100 Meter Dash
St. Marys' Kelsea Fickiesen won an incredibly close race with East Hardy's Randi Jenkins.
This was one of the closest packed finishes I've seen in a 100 Meter Final. 1st through 7th were
separated by just 0.14 seconds as all 7 came through under 13.30.
RunWV's Current Score: 6 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Charleston Catholic's Alexandrine Ratnani pulled away in the last 50 to take the win by over
half a second. She was the only runner under 27 seconds. East Hardy's Randi Jenkins held
off Pendleton's Fanta Kaba for 2nd. One of my predicted placers did not run.
RunWV's Current Score: 11 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
South Harrison's Gretchen Lantz held off a late charge by Doddridge's D'Andra swiger
to take the win in 1:00.36. Both runners came in under 1:01. Only St. Marys' Ali Johnson
came in under 1:03 among the rest of the field.
RunWV's Current Score: 16 of 18.
800 Meter Run
St. Marys' Maggie Drazba pulled away early in the 2nd lap and went on for the easy 4 second
win in 2:24.39. Doddridge's Bethany Carroll used one last surge to get back past Wheeling
Central's Emily Bucon and Charleston Catholic's Samantha Harris. Just 0.02 separated
Carroll and Bucon, and just 0.20 separated the three as they all came in under 2:29. No one else
was under 2:32. St. Marys placed 3 girls in the event.
RunWV's Current Score: 22 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
The field went out quickly as a small pack went through in 1:16-1:17. At the end of the 2nd lap,
St. Marys' Maggie Drazba and Charleston Catholic's Samantha Harris came through in 2:39
followed closely by Doddridge's Bethany Carroll in 2:40. After 3 laps, Drazba was a second
ahead of Harris as they crossed in 4:00 and 4:01, respectively. Carroll had fallen off the pace by
six seconds, but remained 10 seconds ahead of everyone else. On the final lap, Drazba pulled away from
Harris to win by nearly 3 seconds in 5:17.86. Harris finished in 5:20.69. Carroll cruised in for
the 3rd place finish in 5:34.08. No one else was under 5:40. St. Marys' Beverly Knight held
off the late push of Doddridge's Adalia Trudgeon for 4th as they were both under 5:47.
RunWV's Current Score: 28 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
Charleston Catholic's Samantha Harris went out hard, taking the opening lap in 1:16. Doddridge's
Bethany Carroll and Richwood's Brianna Mazella came through in 1:19. After two laps,
Harris was in front by 6 seconds, coming through in 2:39. St. Marys' Maggie Drazba had moved
into 2nd at 2:45. Carroll had taken control of 3rd. On lap 3, Harris extended her lead to 7 seconds
over Drazba. Drazba was 9 seconds ahead of Carroll, who was now 9 seconds ahead of Mazella. The chase
pack had nearly reeled Mazella in at this point. Harris went through the 1600 Meter mark at 5:31
with Drazba 9 seconds behind in 5:40. Carroll crossed in 5:55 with teammate Adalia Trudgeon
moving into 4th in 6:07. On lap 5, Harris continued to extend her lead as all the gaps between the
front runners were widened. By the end of 6 laps, Harris' lead was up to 17 seconds and Drazba was
27 seconds ahead of Carroll. Carroll was 15 seconds ahead of Trudgeon. Lap seven saw much of the same.
At the finish line, it was Harris crossing in 11:24.38 which will stand as the 7th Best Class A-AA
State Meet Performance. Drazba cruised home to 2nd in 11:56.51. Carroll easily held onto the 3rd
spot. Trudgeon easily held onto the 4th spot as the front four were all under 12:40. Tucker's
Mary Beth Smith and Moorefield's MaeBeth Fisher also came in under 13:00 in taking
5th and 6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 33 of 36.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Bishop Donhue's Lacey Hampton destroyed the field by over a second, set a new State Meet Record
by over 0.75 seconds, and her 14.90 time is the 5th Best All-Time State Meet Performance regardless
of Class. It is also the Best Class A-AA State Meet Performance. The Williamstown due of
Keeper Gray and Kylie Hammer also came through in under 16.50. One of my predicted placers
was gunned down for a false start.
RunWV's Current Score: 38 of 42.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Bishop Donahue's Lacey Hampton set another State Meet Record with her 46.65 clocking that won
by nearly a second. Paden City's Amanda Sellers edged out South Harrison's Gretchen Lantz
as both came through in under 48 seconds. No one else was under 51 seconds. Again, one of my predicted
placers was gunned down for a False Start.
RunWV's Current Score: 42 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Williamstown was the only team to clock under 52 seconds in taking the win. Williamson and Charelston
Catholic came in under 53 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 47 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
Williamson got past Charleston Catholic for the title by just 0.28 seconds as the two were nearly
2 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. East Hardy and Williamstown were under 1:53.
RunWV's Current Score: 51 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
St. Marys and Williamstown both beat the existing record, but it was St. Marys on the 61 second
anchor leg from Ali Johnson that took the win in 4:16.40. Williamstown finished in 4:17.16.
Doddridge got by Charleston Catholic and Wheeling Central on the final leg to take 3rd. The front
four were under 4:23.
RunWV's Current Score: 56 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
Wheeling Central received a 2:27 opening leg from Emily Bucon and never trailed after that,
taking the win by just over 4 seconds in 10:08.26. St. Marys was pretty easily 2nd in 10:12.57.
Doddridge moved up to 3rd on the final leg. Williamstown held off Wirt for 4th, and Charleston Catholic
easily held on for 6th. The first 6 teams were all under 10:32. No one else was under 11:00.
RunWV's Current Score: 62 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Williamstown set a new State Meet Record with their narrow win over Paden City. Both teams actually
broke the old mark, but Williamstown's 1:06.90 will stand as the new record. Paden City clocked a
1:07.17. No one else was under 1:10.
RunWV's Current Score: 67 of 78.
High Jump
Bishop Donahue's Lacey Hampton also picked up a title and a State Meet Record in the High
Jump with her leap of 5'3. On the weekend, Hampton picked up 3 new State Meet Records. No other
jumper was higher than 5'0. Williamstown's Megan Steele and Doddridge's D'Andra Swiger
tied for 2nd with leaps of 5'0. Union's Jaime Hanlin also cleared 5'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 71 of 84.
Pole Vault
Williamstown went 1-2 in this event with Liz Flowers clearing 9'0 and Lincoln Postlewaite
clearing 8'6. Charleston Catholic's Emily Sherrard cleared 8'0 in taking 3rd.
RunWV's Current Score: 76 of 90.
Long Jump
South Harrison's Gretchen Lantz was the only jumper to top 16' with her leap of 16'6 3/4. St.
Marys grabbed 2nd and 3rd with Kelsea Fickiesen and Ali Johnson. Williamstown's
Kathleen Cornell and Valley Wetzel's Dani Hayes also went past 15'.
RunWV's Current Score: 80 of 96.
Shot Put
St. Marys' Ashley Sigler won by nearly a foot with her throw of 33'0. Only Clay-Battelle's
Leanne Watson was over 32' in the remaining field.
RunWV's Current Score: 85 of 102.
Discus
Surprisingly, four girls eclipsed the 100' mark in the event. St. Marys' Ashley Sigler threw
the farthest of the group with her 106'10. That was enough to win by just over 2 feet. Madonna's
Taylor Pavan, St. Marys' Audra Clark, and Williamstown's Shila Allman were the
other throwers over 100'.
RunWV's Current 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 me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed the predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Fanta Kaba, Pendleton -- 200 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Kathleen Cornell, Williamstown -- 300 LH (not picked, got 4th)
Williamson -- 4x100 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
(Shareekuah Jones, Valerie White, Holly White, Olivia Banks)
East Hardy -- 4x200 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Alyshia Crawford, Emily Sager, Britany Perkins, Randi Jenkins)
Megan Steele, Williamstown -- High Jump (not picked, tied for 2nd)
Janice Miracle, Doddridge -- Pole Vault (not picked, tied for 4th)
Kathleen Cornell, Williamstown -- Long Jump (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class A Girls Pendleton + 8 Williamstown + 8