Class A Girls
100 Meter Dash
Clay-Battelle's Hannah Carreon held off the late charge of Union's Colleena Burdock
to repeat as champion in 12.67 to Burdock's 12.69. Burdock outleaned Madonna's Lea Colantonio
for the 2nd spot as Colantonio clocked as 12.72.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6
200 Meter Dash
In a driving rain, it was again Clay-Battelle's Hannah Carreon repeating as champion
in 25.85, again holding off Union's Colleena Burdock who clocked a 26.06. Charleston
Catholic's Carline Dundervil was the only other competitor under 27 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 10 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Wheeling Central's Nikki Nolte defender her title, outdueling St. Joseph's McKenzie
Moran down the stretch for the win as both went under 60 seconds with Nolte getting 59.58
to Moran's 59.85. Magnolia's Bri Ritz was the only other competitor under 61 seconds.
Two of my predicted placers scratched out of the event to move to relays for their respective
teams.
RunWV's Current Score: 14 of 18.
800 Meter Run
Magnolia's Bri Ritz led the field through the first lap in 1:10. She was trailed
closely by Charleston Catholic's Payton Mullen, Wirt's Haley Moore, and
Buffalo's Sydney Smith. At 500 meters, Mullen made her move, shooting past Ritz as
the pair powered away from the rest of the field. At about 570 meters, Ritz moved back to
the front, leading into the turn. Mullen tucked in behind through the turn and accelerated
out of the turn and powered away for the convincing win in 2:20.75, nearly matching the
State Meet Record. Ritz easily held onto the 2nd spot in 2:22.89. Smith just nipped
Wheeling Central's Ireland Wayt at the line for 3rd. Magnolia's Jordan Delane
edged past Trinity's Emily Saurborn for 5th as 3rd through 6th all finished within
a half second of each other. Last year, only 2 went under 2:30. This year, 7 did it.
RunWV's Current Score: 18 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
Doddridge's Cameron Smith led the field out quickly, taking the first lap in 1:14. She
was trailed by Cameron's Caitlyn McCurdy, who was just ahead of Trinity's Piper
McLaughlin. Sherman's Amelia Sebok was right behind in 4th, trailed closely by
Buffalo's Madi Michels and Charleston Catholic's Hannah Gacek as 2nd throug 6th
all came through in 1:15. After two laps, Magnolia's Jordan Delaney had worked her way
to the front in 2:40, just ahead of McCurdy, Sebok, Gacek, and Michels who all matched that
time. One second back in 6th was McLaughlin. At the end of 3 laps, it was Sebok who had
moved to the front at 4:06. That time was matched by Delaney and Michels in 2nd and 3rd,
respectively. Gacek was just 1 second back in 4th. I believe that Richwood's Caitlin
Cowell had moved into 5th with McLaughlin in 6th at this point. At about 550 Delaney
made the move around Sebok for the lead. Sebok responded and stayed right on her heels into
the turn with Michels close behind. At about 650, Sebok surged into the lead. Delaney, just
like Mullen in the 800 used the slingshot out of the turn to move into the lead and power
away and take the win in 5:22.92. Sebok held the 2nd spot at 5:24.21 with Michels close
behind in 5:25.35. Gacek held on for 4th in 5:30.81. Pocahontas' Cora Hedrick used
a strong finish to move up to 5th in 5:32.18, while Cowell just held off teammate Madison
Frame for 6th in 5:32.64. Everyone else finished at least 13 seconds behind these 7.
RunWV's Current Score: 23 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
As the rain came down, the 3200 began. Buffalo's Madi Michels and Trinity's Piper
McLaughlin led the field through the first lap in 1:20. Pocahontas' Melissa Murphy,
Magnolia's Jordan Delaney, Sherman's Amelia Sebok, and Wirt's Mary Kerby
fronted a tight chase pack with each crossing in 1:22. The race tightened up in the 2nd lap,
but it was still Michels and McLaughlin at the front in 2:49. Kerby had moved right onto their
heels with the same time. Delaney was a second back, as was Sebok. Charleston Catholic's
Hannah Gacek had moved into 6th and matched the 2:50 their 2:50 time. On the 3rd lap,
these 6 separated just a bit from the field, but their pack remained close as the rain continued.
Michels still held the top spot with McLaughlin still right at her shoulder at 4:20. Kerby
was still right behind, also at 4:20. Sebok was in 4th, also at 4:20. Delaney held a slight
edge over Gacek with both at 4:21. At the halfway point, the six remained very close, and their
lead over the pack grew. Kerby moved to the front in 5:52, with that time matched by Michels,
McLaughlin, Delaney, and Sebok. Gacek was just behind Sebok at 5:53. On lap 5, the pack
remained together and was 7 seconds ahead of the 7th place runner. Right at the end of the
lap, Michels moved back to the front at 7:23, matched by Kerby and McLaughlin. Sebok was just
a second back in 4th with her time matched by Gacek and Delaney. On lap 6, it was more of the
same as the pack stayed together and stretched their lead on 7th place to 9 seconds. Michels
retained the lead at 8:57, with that time matched by Kerby, Delaney, and Sebok. Gacek and
McLaughlin were just 1 second off the lead. On lap 7, the front five remained together, but
started to gap McLaughlin. As the bell rang to signal the final lap, Gacek surged to the front
at 10:29, Sebok, Michels, and Delaney matched that time. Kerby was just a second off.
McLaughlin was another 2 seconds back at 10:33. On the final lap, Gacek opened a slight
gap in the first 100 and held it into the final turn. Delaney started to move about midway
down the back stretch and had closed most of the gap by the time they reached the turn. About
midway through the turn, she made the pass on Gacek. At this point, Michels was coming hard
as well. As Delaney was pulling away, Michels made the pass on Gacek coming out of the turn.
Down the final stretch, it was all Delaney as she pulled away to take the win by over 2 seconds
in 11:43.72. Michels held off Gacek for 2nd in 11:46.36 to Gacek's 11:47.02. Sebok easily
held the 4th spot in 11:49.10. Kerby held the 5th spot in 12:00.76. Richwood's Madison
Frame used a strong last lap to move into the 6th spot in 12:02.33. 12:10 was 2nd last
year.
RunWV's Current Score: 28 of 36.
100 Meter High Hurdles
Clay-Battelle's Hannah Carreon again repeated as Champion, speeding through the event
in a State Meet Record 14.76. That time will also stand as the Best All-Time Class A-AA
State Meet Performance. Doddridge's Rosa Plaugher held close for half the race before
Carreon pulled away. Plaugher's 15.30 is the 10th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
Tucker's Elizabeth Nichols also eclipsed the 16 second barrier with a 15.88. Tyler
Consolidated's Katelyn Gogan just missed the mark with a 16.05. One of my predicted
placers got nailed with a false start in the finals after having the 2nd best qualifying time.
RunWV's Current Score: 32 of 42.
300 Meter Low Hurdles
Clay-Battelle's Hannah Carreon took the win over Wheeling Central's Lindsey Baker
over the final two hurdles as both came in under 47 seconds. Doddridge's Abby Charles
held off Charleston Catholic's Mills Mullen for 3rd as they were the only others under
49 seconds. The top 8 were under 50.
RunWV's Current Score: 37 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Wheeling Central's foursome of Kenadee Wayt, Maria Dzmura, Nikki Nolte, and Lindsey Baker
smashed the State Meet Record with a 50.62 clocking. That time is the 7th Best All-Time
Class A-AA State Meet Performance. Charleston Catholic was the only team even remotely
close to them with a 51.15. No one else was within a second of Charleston Catholic.
RunWV's Current Score: 42 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
With the rain again starting up, it was Wheeling Central's group of Maria Dzmura, Ireland
Wayt, Nikki Nolte, and Lindsey Baker pulled away for the win in 1:48.24. Tucker was
just over a second back in 1:49.25. These two were well ahead of the rest of the field with
only Charleston Catholic coming through in under 1:51, and only Williamstown being under 1:53.
RunWV's Current Score: 48 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
Wheeling Central led from start to finish with Nicole Billie, Meghan Porter, Ireland Wayt,
and Nikkie Nolte taking them to a new State Meet Record in 4:13.40. Tucker gave a close
chase in 4:15.28. Charleston Catholic wasn't far back in 4:18.12. Magnolia took the 4th
spot in 4:25.60. Madonna was 5th in 4:27.15. Doddridge picked up the 6th spot in 4:28.14.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
Charleston Catholic took the lead late in the 2nd lap with Hannah Gacek giving them a
2:28 opening leg. Buffalo held the 2nd spot. Pocahontas was in 3rd. Tucker was in 4th with
Doddridge in 5th and Wirt in 6th. After two legs, Charleston Catholic had taken complete
control, leading by 9 seconds at 4:58. Pocahontas was in 2nd at 5:07. Wirt was in 3rd at
5:09. Buffalo was just ahead of Tucker for 4th 5:15 to 5:16. Doddridge was holding 6th.
Charleston Catholic extended their lead on the 3rd leg, coming through in 7:35. Wirt had
moved into 2nd at 7:49. Pocahontas was in 3rd at 7:50. Magnolia used a strong leg from
Jordan Delaney to move into 4th at 7:53. Tucker was in 5th at 7:55 while Buffalo
held the 6th spot at 7:58. On the final leg, a 2:26 from Payton Mullen sealed the
deal for the Charleston Catholic group of Hannah Gacek, Lia Preston, Peyton Keener, and
Payton Mullen as they crossed in 10:02.27, nearly 14 seconds ahead of their nearest
competitor. Magnolia used a 2:22 leg from Bri Ritz to move into the 2nd spot at
10:16.05, just getting past Pocahontas, who got a 2:26 anchor leg from Cora Hedrick
to finish in 10:16.50. Buffalo also got a 2:26 anchor leg from Sydney Smith to
take the 4th spot in 10:25.28. Tucker edged out Wirt for 5th 10:30.86 to 10:30.90. No one
else was within 10 seconds.
RunWV's Current Score: 59 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The Tucker squad of Sydney Moore, Sydney Nestor, Jenna Walker, and Elizabeth Nichols
took the win from the 3rd of 4 heats with a 1:06.88. Williamstown was 2nd in 1:07.73. South
Harrison was the only other team to go under 1:10. 2 of my predicted placers get hit with
the dreaded DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 63 of 78.
High Jump
The High Jump came down to a jump-off, which Union's Colleena Burdock won, clearing
5'3. Charleston Catholic's Jordan Rothwell and Doddridge's Mista Smarr cleared
5'2 in taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Magnolia's Bailey Estep cleared 5'0 for 4th.
8 jumpers cleared 4'10.
RunWV's Current Score: 68 of 84.
Pole Vault
Williamstown's Ellie Gardner repeated as champion and set a new State Meet Record with
her vault of 11'3. That mark also stands as the 4th Best All-Time State Meet Performance
and the Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance. Doddridge's Chelsey Randolph
cleared 10'0 for 2nd. Magnolia's Mandi Theodoro cleared 9'0 for 3rd. Parkersburg
Catholic's Maggie Walters cleared 8'6 for 4th. 7 vaulters cleared 8'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 74 of 90.
Long Jump
Union's Colleena Burdock soared 17'0.75 to take the win in a good day for Class
A long jumpers. Magnolia's Bailey Estep went 16'8 for 2nd with Parkersburg
Catholic's Alexis Saunders jumped 16'5 in 3rd. Tucker's Sydney Moore joined
them over 16'0 with her jump of 16'0.25. The top 6 all went 15'9 or better, and the top
8 all went 15'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 79 of 96.
Shot Put
In what has to be one of the bigger statistical anomalies I can recall, not a single thrower
in this competition had one of her 5 best throws on the season. The entire
group was off...which actually means that nothing really crazy showed up in the results.
Williamstown's Beth Arnold took the win in 33'4. St. Marys' Laura Taylor was
the only other thrower over 33'0 with her toss of 33'1.75. St. Marys' Whitney Jemison
and Gilmer's Sada Wright were over 32'0 in taking 3rd and 4th, respectively. 5 topped
31'0 and 8 topped 30'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 84 of 102.
Discus
Williamstown's Melissa Cieslewski sailed the discus 126'5 to set a new State Meet
Record. That mark also stands as the 2nd Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
She won the event by nearly 14'0. St. Marys' Laura Taylor took a solid 2nd with a
toss of 112'8. Gilmer's Sada Wright threw 111'7 for 3rd. They were nearly 8'0 ahead
of the rest of the field. The top 6 threw at least 102'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 90 of 108.
The final score of 90 of 108 means that 83.3% of the people picked to place did indeed place. It's an average of 5 of 6 placers in each event, so I'll take it. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed the predictions by 3 or more places and
deserve special mention.
Nicole Billie, Wheeling Central -- 400 M (not picked, got 4th)
Sydney Smith, Buffalo -- 800 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Charleston Catholic -- 4x200 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Caroline Dundervil, Jordan Keener, Mills Mullen, Jordan Rothwell)
Tucker -- 4x400 M (not picked, got 2nd)
(Emily Crosten, Mikayla Long, Jenna Walker, Sydney Moore)
Tucker -- Shuttles (picked 5th, got 1st)
(Sydney Moore, Sydney Nestor, Jenna Walker, Elizabeth Nichols)
South Harrison -- Shuttles (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Aiyana Morris, Rachelle Allawat, Kacey Evans, Renee Jenkins)
Mandi Theodoro, Magnolia -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 3rd)
Sada Wright, Gilmer -- Discus (picked 6th, got 3rd)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class A Girls Tucker +20 Charleston Catholic +15 Union + 8 South Harrison + 7