Class A Girls
100 Meter Dash
Williamstown's Andrea Chidester edged away at the end of a race that wasn't decided until the last 5 meters. Her time of 12.69 was just 0.03 seconds ahead of Wahama's Kelsey Zuspan. Bishop Donahue's Elaysia Hill had a great start but was overtaken by Chidester and Zuspan late in the race and finished in 12.78. Clay-Battelle's Sydney Rush joined them in running under 13
seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Doddridge's D'Andra Swiger won a tight battle with Williamstown's Andrea Chidester as the
two battled for pretty much the entire homestretch before Swiger slipped away in the last few meters.
Swiger ran a 26.18 to Chidester's 26.25. Wahama's Kelsey Zuspan joined them under 27 seconds
with a 26.97. Wheeling Central's Lindsay Baker just missed the mark with a 27.04.
RunWV's Current Score: 10 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Williamstown's Andrea Chidester dominated the field, leading from start to finish, and winning
by over 2 seconds with her 58.66. Clay-Battelle's Mariah Hall was the only other one to go
under 61 seconds. Pendleton's Fanta Kaba used a strong finish to move up to 3rd.
RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 18.
800 Meter Run
St. Marys' Maggie Drazba took the lead about 100 meters in and wasn't seriously threatened
in going on to win by over 5 seconds with a 2:21.42. Tucker's Olivia Miller was the only one
who really tried to go with Drazba and easily held on for 2nd in 2:26.91, nearly 3 seconds ahead of
the rest of the field. Those two had generated a gap by the end of the first lap. A pack of about 9
was in the battle for 3rd. On the 2nd lap, Drazba extended her lead, and Miller wasn't challenged for
2nd. The battle for 3rd stayed close down the stretch, and it was Charleston Catholic's Payton
Mullens and Williamstown's Cami Mossor joining Drazba and Miller under 2:30.
RunWV's Current Score: 20 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
St. Marys' Maggie Drazba attacked the race, taking the first lap in 1:09. She had established
a large lead by the end of the lap. There was a giant pack fighting for 2nd. Drazba had extended her
lead to 20 seconds by the end of the 2nd lap, coming through in 2:25. There was still a large pack
fighting for 2nd. The third lap was more of the same with Drazba taking the lead out to 29 seconds.
There were still several in the hunt for 2nd. I believe that Williamstown's Cami Mossor and
Charleston Catholic's Payton Mullens were at the front of that group with Richwood's
Breanna Mazzella and Williamstown's Carly Ellison just a step behind. The hot first lap
took a bit of a toll on Drazba on the last lap, as she closed in 81 seconds and missed out on breaking
the 5:00 mark this time out. She still took the win by a.most 27 seconds. The battle for 2nd wasn't
decided until the final stretch with Mullens outracing Mossor for the spot as they pulled away from
Mazzella who pulled away from Ellison. Drazba scored a 5:03.53 which is the 8th Best All-Time
State Meet Performance and the 2nd Best All-time Class A-AA State Meet Performance. No one
else made it in under 5:30. 2nd through 7th were all under 5:37, and the first 8 were under 5:40.
RunWV's Current Score: 24 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
St. Marys' Maggie Drazba took the lead about 280 meters into the first lap and then just ran
away from the field. She toured the first lap in 1:15. Tucker's Ashley Cassidy and Richwood's
Breanna Mazzella were running 2nd and 3rd, respectively in 1:17. Tucker's Madison
Mullenax and Taylor Ambros were running 4th and 5th, respectively, in 1:19. Pendleton's
Sara Dalen was running 6th at 1:21. Drazba continued to push, coming through the 2nd lap in
2:34. Cassidy and Mazzella remained together at 2:46. Dalen had close up to the heels of Mullenax
and Ambrose as each crossed in 2:52. On the 3rd lap, Drazba stretched her lead to 28 seconds, coming
through in 3:52. Cassidy and Mazzella remained together and lengthened their lead on the rest of the
field as both crossed in 4:20. Dalen had moved into 4th at 4:27. Mullenax and Ambrose crossed in
4:29 and had been joined by Sherman's Amelia Sebok. At the 1600 meter mark, Drazba's lead had
expanded to 45 seconds as she crossed in 5:10. Cassidy had a slight lead over Mazzella crossing in
5:55 to Mazzella's 5:56. Dalen was in 4th at 6:04. Sebok had moved into 5th at 6:06. Mullenax
and Ambrose were together battling for 6th at 6:08. On lap 5, Drazba's lead was jup to a full minute
as she crossed in 6:31. Cassidy and Mazzella remained locked in a battle for 2nd with both crossing
in 7:31. Dalen was edging further out into control of 4th in 7:43. Sebok was edging out further
ahead into 5th at 7:47. Mullenax and Ambrose were still together at 7:50. On lap 6, Drazba took the
lead to 1:17, coming through in 7:50. Cassidy and Mazzella remained together at 9:07. Dalen remained
4th at 9:24. Sebok remained 5th at 9:28. Mullenax and Ambrose were still together at 9:33. On lap
7, Drazba took the lead to 1:30. Cassidy and Mazzella remained together at 10:42. Dalen had slightly
stretched her control of 4th, coming through in 11:03 to Sebok's 11:08. Mullenax and Ambrose remained
in contention at 11:13. On the final lap, Drazba completed the unthinkable. On the backstretch she
lapped the 2nd and 3rd place runners, and went on to put another 40-50 meters on them. Her stellar
10:31.83 is the Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the Best All-Time Class A-AA State
Meet Performance. Cassidy finally pulled away from Mazzella down the stretch to secure 2nd place
in 12:04.14 to Mazzella's 12:07.19. Dalen easily held onto the 4th spot in 12:35.43. Sebok held the
5th spot without being challenged in 12:40.40.03, and Mullenax won the battle over teammate Ambrose
for the 6ht position in 12:47.59. The front 7 made it in under 13:00.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 36.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Doddridge's Sarah Ferguson took control of the race at about the 3rd hurdle and was never
threatened in winning by 0.71 seconds with her 15.52 clocking. Clay-Battelle's Hannah Carreon
won a close battle for 2nd that saw second through fourth decided by just 0.08 seconds. The front five
were under 16.50.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 42.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Doddridge's D'Andra Swiger led from the gun and made up the stagger on everyone to her outside
in just over 100 meters. Only a stumble over the final hurdle kept her from getting under 45 seconds.
As it was, her 45.41 is the 10th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance and secured the
win by over 2 seconds. Teammate Sarah Ferguson pulled away down the stretch for 2nd as both she
and Williamstown's Madelin Gardner made it in under 48 seconds. It was a strong year as the top
8 were all under 49 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Clay-Battelle's crew of McKayla Eddy, Mariah Hall, Fontana Eddy, and Sydney Rush took the lead
on the 2nd leg and never relented in winning by over a second in 51.90. Charleston Catholic was the
only other team under 53 seconds. Three others were in under 54. Williamstown had the early lead but
was done in by a dropped baton.
RunWV's Current Score: 43 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
Clay-Battelle took the lead on the 2nd leg and then just ran away from the field. The foursome of
McKayla Eddy, Mariah Hall, Fontana Eddy, Sydney Rush dominated and took the event by over 3
seconds with a 1:49.37. Wheeling Central was the only other team to come in under 1:53. Williamstown
was bitten by a dropped baton while running toward the front of the race.
RunWV's Current Score: 49 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
Madonna's squad of Gianna Anile, Chloe Conner, Cameron Dowiak, and Hannah Barger scored the win
on four largely equal legs. I had the splits all within 0.6 seconds of each other. They took the lead
from Clay-Battelle on the 3rd leg and held off a late push by that same Clay-Battelle squad. Madonna
held the win by just under a second with a 4:17.88. Those two were the only teams under 4:20. One of
my predicted placers got hit with a DQ for an early cut-in.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
As expected, this was a duel between Charleston Catholic and Williamstown. Charleston Catholic had
taken the lead after one leg with Madonna running 2nd. On the 2nd leg, the race really closed up with
Madonna moving into the lead at 5:09. Tucker and Williamstown were just two seconds behind, and
Charleston Catholic was just a stride back in 4th. Tyler Consolidated was running 5th with Trinity
and Clay-Battelle battling for 6th. On the 3rd leg, Charleston Catholic received a 2:26.3 from
Quincy McKown to move into the lead. Williamstown was holding close in 2nd. Those two had
created a large gap on the rest of the field. Tucker had taken control of 3rd with Madonna hanging
on to 4th, Trinity in 5th, and Tyler Consolidated in 6th. On the final leg, Williamstown almost
immediately made up the 2 second gap and then moved into the lead after about 300 meters. Charleston
Catholic then retook the lead before the 2nd lap started. The 2nd lap was a battle with Williamstown
pulling about even late in the final turn before Charleston Catholic's Payton Mullens pulled
back away to give the foursome of Peyton Keener, Sarah Joseck, Quincy McKown, and Payton Mullens
the two second win with a 10:04.68 to Williamstown's 10:06.71. Mullens and Williamstown's Cami
Mossor both split 2:26 as they battled on the final leg. Tucker scored the 3rd place finish.
Tyler Consolidated moved from 6th to 4th on the final leg on a 2:28 from Carly Fletcher.
St. Marys used a 2:22 from Maggie Drazba to climb from 9th to 5th on the final leg. Trinity
scored the 6th place finish with a late push.
RunWV's Current Score: 58 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Wheeling Central's unit of Bailey Clar, Elizabeth Styduhar, Lindsey Baker, and Aspen Matlock
took control on the 3rd leg and sped to victory in 1:06.06, which is the 10th Best All-Time Class
A-AA State Meet Performance. A stumble along the way was the only thing that kept them from being
well under 1:06. Tucker scored a very solid 2nd in 1:07.03. No one else was under 1:11. One of my
placers got hit with the dreaded early exchange DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 62 of 78.
High Jump
Williamstown's Megan Steele scored the win with a 5'2 clearance, the only jumper to clear the
height. 3 other jumpers topped 5'0 with Doddridge's D'Andra Swiger and Tucker's Olivia
Miller getting the tie for 2nd over Richwood's Jamie Bailey on misses.
RunWV's Current Score: 67 of 84.
Pole Vault
Williamstown's Lincoln Postlewaite soared over 10'7 to demolish the field by over 2 feet as no
one else went higher than 8'6. That clearance in conjuction with past State Meet Performances gives
her the 4th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance. 3 other vaulters cleared 8'6
in taking 2nd through 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 90.
Long Jump
Doddridge's D'Andra Swiger by nearly 11 inches over teammate Sarah Ferguson. Swiger
was the only one in the field to go over 17'0 with her 17'2 leap. Ferguson was the only other one
to go past 16'0 with her 16'3 1/4 jump. 3rd through 5th was decided by just and inch and a half as
all three jumped at least 15'8 1/2. 7 jumpers went over 15'0. One of my predicted placers did not
jump.
RunWV's Current Score: 78 of 96.
Shot Put
Union's Tiffany Jones made it three years in a row with her 34'2 1/4 toss. No one else even
threw 32'0. St. Marys' Laura Taylor and Charleston Catholic's Gina Marks were the only
other throwers to top 31'0. Only four throwers even hit 30'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 83 of 102.
Discus
Tucker's Aiyana Kachmarek took the win by nearly 7 feet with her toss of 108'5. The next four
places were decided by just 1 foot with Pocahontas' Fredriciah Gardner picking a great time to
set a significant season best to take second with 101'10. Madonna's Taylor Pavan and
Williamstown's Rylee Cunningham also topped 101' and Williamstown's Melissa Cieslewski
just missed it with a throw of 100'10.
RunWV's Current 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 me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed the predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Breanna Mazzella, Richwood -- 1600 M (not picked, got 4th)
Madonna -- 4x200 (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Makenna Dziatkowicz, Chloe Conner, Gianna Anile, Francesca Basil)
Gina Marks, Charleston Catholic -- Shot Put (not picked, got 3rd)
Fredriciah Gardner, Pocahontas -- Discus (not picked, got 2nd)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class A Girls Charleston Catholic +14 Richwood +12 Pocahontas + 8 Tyler Consolidated + 7 Wheeling Central + 7