Class AA Boys
100 Meter Dash
Wayne Freshman Kade Sebastian came from behind to steal with win in the last stride in a very
close 100 Meter battle. Sebastian hit an 11.34 while Weir's Jonathan "JoJo" Rice and
Bluefield's Darryl "DJ" Stewart both had an 11.35. That's a Freshman and two Sophomores. Only
one other competitor was under 11.60.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Weir's Cole Slates pulled away down the stretch and then held off the late charge of Grafton's
Nathan Bernarde, who came from well back to move into 2nd. No one clocked a time under 23
seconds. Slates was the only under under 23.30. Bernared was the only other one under 23.40. 3rd
through 5th were deicded by just 0.05 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 10 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Roane's Troy Fisher ran away from the field to win his heat by half a second. However, Weir's
Cole Slates scored a 2nd place finish from the first heat. Ritchie's Jessie Hilver and
Keyser's Craig Westfall also ran under 52 seconds. 2nd, 4th, and 5th places all came from the
first heat.
RunWV's Current Score: 14 of 18.
800 Meter Run
Berkeley Spring's Corey Shetler led a tight pack through the first lap with Ritchie's Jessie
Hilvers, Bridgeport's Abe Merinar, and East Fairmont's Tony Hayes right on his heels.
Scott's Will Shaffer and Keyser's Craig Westfall were right behind, running 5th and 6th.
On the 2nd lap, Shetler moved to a substantial lead, but down the stretch, it was Shaffer running him
down in the last few meters to steal the win. Shaffer was in 4th with 110 Meters to go. No one ran
under 2:01 in the race as the 1600 from the morning session took some steam out of some of the group.
Shaffer, Shetler, and Hilvers were under 2:02, while Hayes, Merinar, and Westfall were under 2:03.
RunWV's Current Score: 18 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
Frankfort's shane Ickes shot out early and took the first lap in 61. Scott's Will
Shaffer was the next through in 66. Fairmont Senior's Nick Trefz and Bridgeport's Abe
Merinar crossed together about a step behind. Ritchie's Johnny Hogue was another stride
back followed by Fairmont Senior's Matt Strand. It remained a very close race through 2 laps
with Merinar passing Ickes for the lead just before the line and both crossing in 2:12. Trefz was
in 3rd at 2:13 with Hogue and Shaffer about a stride behind also in 2:13. Strand remained in 6th
at 2:15. On the 3rd lap, Shaffer moved to the front, coming through in 3:18 with Merinar right on
his heels at 3:10. Trefz and Hogue were running 3rd and 4th, both crossing in 3:21. Strand had moved
into 5th at 3:24, and PikeView's Jason Weitzel had moved into 6th at 3:25. On the final lap,
Shaffer built about a 5 meter lead on Merinar. Merinar started closing the gap late in the turn and
made the pass with about 50 meters to go and pulled away for to win by almost a second and a half
with a very strong 4:23.36, which is the 10th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
Shaffer clocked a 4:24.80 for 2nd. Trefz pulled away from Hogue late and also run under 4:30. Hogue
just missed the mark with a 4:30.03. Weitzel ran a strong last lap to move into 5th, and Strand held
on for 6th. The front 8 were under 4:40.
RunWV's Current Score: 22 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
Frankfort's Shane Ickes blew through the first lap in 64 seconds and quickly had a large lead.
The rest of the field was a large pack that went out rather conservatively. With Frankfort's
Lucas Young running 2nd at about 1:15, East Fairmont's Tony Hayes running 3rd,
Bridgeport's Abe Merinar running 4th, I'm not sure who it was in 5th, perhaps Liberty
Raleigh's Tanner Cantley, and Fairmont Senior's Nick Trefz running 6th. 2nd through
16th all came through within about 2 seconds of each other. On the second lap, Ickes stretch his lead
even more as he came through in 2:13, his lead growing to about 100 meters. Merinar an Hogue came
through at 2:30. Trefz, Hayes, and Young were running 5th and 6th. On the 3rd lap, Ickes held his
lead at about 17 seconds, coming through in 3:25. Merinar was in 2nd at 3:42. Trefz was in 3rd,
Hogue in 4th, and Shaffer in 5th, each at 3:43. Bridgeport's Matthew Dearth had moved into 6th
at 3:44. Ickes continued to hold his 100 meter lead throughout the 4th lap, coming through in 4:40.
Hogue had moved into 2nd with Merinar in 3rd, both at 4:57. Trefz was in 4th with Shaffer in 5th,
both at 4:58. Dearth remained in 6th at 5:00. On lap 5, the pack finally started to move a little,
and Ickes started to slow significantly. He lead shrunk from 17 seconds to 11 seconds. Ickes
crossed in 6:00 with Trefz moving into 2nd at 6:11, Merinar in 3rd also at 6:11. Shaffer was in 4th
at 6:12 with Hogue in 5th at 6:12 as well. Dearth remained in 6th at 6:14. On lap 6, Ickes was
reeled in. Trefz and Shaffer picked up the pace significantly with Trefz clocking a 68 lap to cross
with the lead in 7:19. Shaffer came through in 2nd at 7:21. Merinar was running 3rd in 7:23 with
Hogue right behind in 7:24. Ickes was holding 5th in 7:25. Dearth was still 6th in 7:27. On lap
7, Trefz stretched his lead slightly, coming through in 8:27 to Shaffer's 8:30. Those two had gotten
well away from the field. Hogue had moved around Merinar into 3rd at 8:39, with Merinar hitting
8:40. Dearth had moved into 5th at 8:43. Ickes was hanging onto 6th at 8:48. On the final lap,
Trefz put the race away, pulling away to win by over 6 seconds with a 9:36.21. Shaffer ran a 9:42.52.
Hogue held off the late surge of Dearth for 3rd, and Merinar held 5th. Hayes moved back into 6th
and also squeezed in under 10:00.
RunWV's Current Score: 28 of 36.
110 Meter High Hurdles
Grafton's Nathan Bernarde excelled in the middle of the race to overcome an early deficit and
then held off a late return push by Fairmont Senior's Neil Scherich. Bernarde was the only
one in the field to make it in under 15 seconds with his 14.97 with Scherich just missing the mark at
15.01. No one else was under 15.60. Only 4 in the field were under 16 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 33 of 42.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Grafton's Nathan Bernarde took the lead coming into the final stretch and pulled away to win by
almost 1.2 seconds (that's almost exactly what I wrote last year). Herbert Hoover's Josh Gurski
used a strong final 100 to move from 6th to 2nd. Ritchie received a 3-4 finish from Jessie Hilvers
and Jayden Allender. Allendar had 2nd in the bag but fell over the final hurdle. He popped back
up in time to salvage 4th. Bernarde was the only one under 40 seconds with a 39.59. Gurski was the
only other one under 41 seconds, and Hilver and Allender were the only other ones under 42.
RunWV's Current Score: 38 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Weir's team of Cole Slates, Kenneth Muhart, Clarence Bennett, and Jonathan Rice got a strong
lead leg from Slates, and everyone else was playing catchup after that. Weir took the win by 0.44
seconds with a 44.21. Oak Glen and Robert C. Byrd also ran under 45 seconds. One of my predicted
placers got hit with a DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 42 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
Weir's foursome of Johnathan Rice, Nathan Masters, Clarence Bennett, and Cole Slates again got
off to a great start and then closed the deal well at the end. They took this one by nearly 0.8
seconds in 1:32.45. No one else made it in under 1:33. Roane, Robert C. Byrd, and Keyser made it
in under 1:34 in the battle for 2nd.
RunWV's Current Score: 47 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
Roane's group of Kyle Raines, J.C. Nichols, Troy Fisher, and Steven McGinnis took the come from
behind win on McGinnis' 51.0 anchor leg. After one leg, it was Webster in the front with Roane in
2nd and Bridgeport in 3rd. After two legs, it was still Webster in front with Roane 2nd and Fairmont
Senior up to 3rd and Oak Glen in 4th. The 3rd leg saw Webster continue to lead with Roane remaining
in 2nd and Fairmont Senior remaining in 3rd. I think Berkeley Springs was up to 4th. McGinnis came
from well back to snag the lead with just 50 meters to go and take the win by 0.41 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 51 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
Keyser leg after 1 leg on a 2:04 lead leg from Craig Westfall. Ritchie was right behing in
2:05. East Fairmont (or maybe PikeView) was running 3rd at 2:07, followed by Fairmont Senior, Oak
Glen, and Bridgeport. Ritchie moved to the front on the 2nd leg, coming through at 4:12. Keyser
was running 2nd, less than a step behind. Bridgeport had moved up to 3rd. PikeView was running 4th.
Webster (I think) was in 5th. I think it might have been East Fairmont in 6th. After three legs,
Keyser was in the lead at 6:18 with Bridgeport right behind in 6:19 and Fairmont Senior in 6:20.
Those three had distanced themselves from the field. Ritchie ws in 4th. Webster was in 5th,
and Oak Glen was in 6th. On the final leg, Abe Merinar nailed a 1:57.8 split to propel
Bridgeport to the nearly 7 second win. Nick Trefz made up a lot of ground in the last 100
meters and took Fairmont Senior into 2nd with about 15 meters to go. Keyser held on for 3rd.
East Fairmont received a sub-2:00 leg from Tony Hayes to move up to 4th. PikeView moved into
5th, and Ritchie held on for 6th. The Bridgeport foursome of Matthew Dearth, Michael Duez, Zachary
Abbott, and Abe Merinar scored an 8:17.63. They were the only team under 8:20. Fairmont Senior
squeezed in under 8:25 with Keyser just missing that mark. No one else ran under 8:30.
RunWV's Current Score: 56 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Roane's unit of J.C. Nichols, Ryan Bates, Kyle Raines, and Tyler Lee went from 4th to 1st on
the 2nd leg of Bates and didn't relinquish that lead in taking the win by over a second. Roane's 59.93
was the only run under 60 seconds. Webster was the only other team to go under 61. Ritchie was the
only other team to go under 62. One of my predicted placers got hit with a DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 60 of 78.
High Jump
Only two jumpers were able to clear 6'0, and none went higher. Webster's Luther Stoots took the
title on misses over Ritchie's Jayden Allender. Only four jumpers even cleared 5'10.
RunWV's Current Score: 65 of 84.
Pole Vault
Ritchie Freshman Austin Garrett cleared 13'2 to take the win. Berkeley Spring's Matt
Arrowood cleared 12'6 for 2nd. Roane's Kyle Raines was the only other vaulter to clear
12'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 70 of 90.
Long Jump
Oak Glen's Micah Swiger was the only jumper to sail beyond 20'0 with his 20'3 leap. No one
else went beyond 19'7. The pre-meet favorite Josh Weltner of Oak Glen reinjured a troublesome
hamstring early in the competition.
RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 96.
Shot Put
Poca's Christian Buckley launched the shot 51'7 on his 5th throw to take the win. Bridgeport's
Christian Mease hurled it 50'10 1/4 to force the issue for Buckley. The pair were the only
throwers to go further than 44'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 78 of 102.
Discus
Poca's Christian Buckley sailed the discus 159'4 to take the event by over 12 feet. That throw,
in conjunction with last year's throw, gives him the 10th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet
Performance. Poca's Quentin Buckley edged Keyser's Tyler Hamilton by just an inch
for 2nd. They and Poca's Jacob Hickman were the only other throwers over 140'.
RunWV's Current Score: 83 of 108.
The final score of 83 of 108 means that 76.9 % 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.
D.J. Stewart, Bluefield -- 100 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Cole Slates, Weir -- 200 M (picked 4th, got 1st)
Cole Slates, Weir -- 400 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Craig Westfall, Keyser -- 400 M (not picked, got 4th)
Tony Hayes, East Fairmont -- 800 M (not picked, got 4th)
Josh Gurski, Herbert Hoover -- 300 IH (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Weir -- 4x200 (picked 5th, got 1st)
(Jonathan Rice, Nathan Masters, Clarence Bennett, Cole Slates)
Fairmont Senior -- 4x400 (not picked, got 3rd)
(Michael Buonaiuto, Noah Harmon, Neil Scherich, Matthew Strand)
Berkeley Springs -- 4x400 (not picked, got 4th)
(Ricky Stanley, Steven Wolf, Dylan Reynolds, Corey Shetler)
Ryan Hickey, Keyser -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 4th)
A.J. Keys, Poca -- Long Jump (not picked, goth 4th)
Alec Moscufo, North Marion -- Shot Put (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Jacob Hickman, Poca -- Discus (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class AA Boys Poca +11 Herbert Hoover + 8 North Marion + 8 East Fairmont + 7