Class AA Boys
100 Meter Dash
It was Weir's Donavon Spencer coming from behind to take the win and nearly set a State
Meet Record in the rain. As it was, his 10.82 is the 3rd Best All-Time Class A-AA State
Meet Performance. Bluefield's Carlos Reed was also under 11 seconds in 2nd place
with a 10.91, which is Tied for the 6th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
Wayne's Kade Sebastian was quick as well with an 11.05 clocking. 4th through 6th were
all 11.41 or better with Bluefield's Latrell Collier in 4th with an 11.33, Nicholas'
Jacob O'Dell in 5th with an 11.38, and Mingo Central's Aaron Banks in 6th with
an 11.41.
RunWV's Current Score: 5 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Again, it was Weir's Donavon Spencer coming from behind. This time, he was well back
of the lead heading into the stretch, but he held speed much better and pulled away for the
very convincing win in 22.13, which is Tied for 9th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
Philip Barbour's Bryce McGee surged up to 2nd place late in 22.64. Wayne's Kade
Sebastian had an incredible start and led for about 140 meters and held on for 3rd in 22.73.
Petersburg's Cody Southerly joined them under 23 seconds in taking 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 11 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Clay's Trevor Armes was conservative on the front end, accelerated late in the turn,
and took the lead shortly after the 300 meter mark, and held off the challenge of Philip
Barbour's Bryce McGee as the two battled pretty much the entire homestretch with Armes
getting a 50.67 and McGee a 50.81. Nicholas' Oliver Amick was 3rd in 51.47, just ahead
of Scott's Nicholas Dolan, who finished in 51.55. Herbert Hoover's Triston Hager
and Lincoln's Cordell Nix were the only other two under 52 seconds in taking the final
two spots.
RunWV's Current Score: 16 of 18.
800 Meter Run
The pack stayed largely together on the first lap, with Nicholas' Jackson Reed taking the
lead shortly before the end of the first lap right at 59 seconds. Berkeley Springs' Steven
Shetler was in 2nd. Fairmont Senior's Elijah Cunningham was in 3rd. PikeView's
Sebastian Mann was in 4th. I think it was East Fairmont's Mason Weese in 5th
and Bridgeport's Ian Frailey in 6th, with all coming through at around 60 seconds.
on the 2nd lap, Reed continued to lead through the firt turn with Shetler right behind.
Frailey started to move coming out of the turn and was quickly up to 4th. Also on the backstretch,
Berkeley Springs' Brady Price surged forward into 5th place while Frailey was pushing
into 3rd. Shortly before the 600 mark, Shetler moved into the lead while Price moved up into
4th. Shetler opened about a 3 meter gap while Frailey moved into 2nd about halfway through
the turn. Coming out of the turn into the homestretch, it was Shetler, Frailey, and Reed. At
about 80 to go, Reed made a push and with about 55 to go caught Frailey and both were right
on Shetler's heels. With 35 to go, Reed pushed intot he lead and continued to surge to the
finish, taking the win in 1:58.89. Frailey made the pass on Shetler inside the last 20 meters
as both cracked the 2:00 mark with Frailey getting a 1:59.40 and Shetler a 1:59.58. Price
continued his strong close to finish 4th in 2:00.98. Cunningham held off Weese for 5th, 2:02.26
to 2:02.68 with both just holding off Ritchie's Daniel Cooper who was also under 2:03.
RunWV's Current Score: 20 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
I thought the field was aggressive last year. Well not compared to this year. Nicholas'
Jackson Reed took things out hard, coming through the first lap in a sizzling 59 seconds.
Ritchie's Hunter Deem came though in 60 seconds. Bridgeport's Ian Frailey was
also at 60 seconds. Webster's Austin Hayes was in 4th at 1:01. Berkeley Springs'
Steven Shetler was in 5th at 1:02. I think it was Berkeley Springs' Matt Chapman
in 6th. On the 2nd lap, things continued to be pretty quick. Reed continued to lead at 2:07.
Hayes had moved into 2nd at 2:09. Frailey and Deem were close behind, also coming through in
2:09. Shetler was 5th in 2:10. I believe Chapman remained in 6th. On the 3rd lap, Hayes
closed up on Reed's shoulder on the backstretch and opened a gap on Frailey. Late in the
turn, a stumble from Reed allowed Hayes to slip by for the lead. I can't tell from the video
if Hayes clipped Reed or if Reed caught the railing. Reed recovered to retake the lead before
the end of the lap, though as both passed in 3:15. Frailey held the 3rd spot at 3:18. Shetler
had moved into 4th at 3:20 with Deem at 3:21 and Chapman at 3:22. On the final lap, Hayes
started to go around Reed late in the first turn, and there was another stumble as Hayes cut
in off the pass with just over 300 meters to go. That quickly opened a gap of about 3 meters,
and Reed was never able to recover as Hayes pulled continually away over the last 200 meters
to take the win in a strong 4:20.11, a time good enough to be the 5th Best All-Time Class
A-AA State Meet Performance. Reed held on for 2nd in 4:23.90. Frailey held 3rd in 4:25.92.
Chapman moved up past Deem late to take 4th in 4:29.85 to Deem's 4:30.35. Shetler held the
6th position at 4:32.59.
RunWV's Current Score: 25 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
The rainey 3200 meter run went out aggressively with Nicholas' Jackson Reed taking the
first lap in 1:03. Ritchie's Hunter Deem trailed him in, also in 1:03 with Keyser's Leland
Henderson in 3rd at 1:04. The rest of the field went out much less aggressively. I
can't tell for sure who is in 4th on the camera. It may be Roane's Caleb Shirey.
Brideport's Mark Duez was in 5th and Ravenswood's Bryce Jarrell was in 6th.
The pace continued to be robust on the 2nd lap with Reed leading it at 2:13. He was trailed
by Deem in 2:14 with Henderson still in 3rd at 2:16, but they had started to open a gap on
him. The three remained well ahead of the field. I think it was Bridgeport's Jimmy Lacaria
having moved into 4th at this point with Shirey in 5th and Duez in 6th. On the 3rd lap.
Reed started to open a gap on Deem as the early pace started to take its toll. Reed came
through at 3:26 with Deem at 3:28. Henderson still held 3rd, but had really lost contact
with the lead two at 3:33. Lacaria was closing on Henderson at 3:35. East Fairmont's
Mark Ellis had moved into 5th with Duez in 6th. Lap four really saw Reed pulling away,
crossing in 4:40. Deems still held 2nd at 4:45, but Lacaria had moved into 3rd and was now
closing on him at 4:47. Ellis moved into 4th at 4:54 with Duez moving into 5th at 4:55.
Henderson was now in 6th at 4:56. On lap 5, it was Reed continuing to extend his lead, now
out to 9 seconds at 5:53. Lacaria made the pass on Deem into 2nd, coming through in 6:02
to Deem's 6:03. Ellis was in 4th at 6:13 with Duez in 5th at 6:14. Jarrell had moved back
into 6th at 6:18. On lap 6, Reed continued to dominate, though the gap did not grow. He
crossed at 7:09 with Lacaria in 2nd at 7:17. Deem remained in 3rd at 7:20, but Lacaria had
started to get away. Ellis still held 4th, just ahead of Duez 7:29 to 7:30. Jarrell was
now in full control of 6th in 7:37. On lap 7, Reed pretty much sealed the deal by holding his
margin, coming through at 8:23 to Lacaria's 8:32. Deem was in 3rd at 8:38 with Ellis still
holding a slight edge on Duez for 4th 8:47 to 8:48. Jarrell remained in control of 6th in 8:58.
On the final lap, any possibility of catching Reed went out the window with a strong 67 final
lap from Reed to take the win by over 16 seconds in 9:31.11. Lacaria edged a little further
out to solidify 2nd in 9:47.27. Deem held the 3rd spot in 9:54.76. Ellis closed well to
take control of 4th with a 9:58.24. Duez easily held the 5th spot in 10:01.76. Jarrell held
the 6th position at 10:15.62.
RunWV's Current Score: 30 of 36.
110 Meter High Hurdles
A fantastic battle between Poca's Shawn Arthur and Keyser's Deavonta Johnson
resulted in a 0.01 win by Arthur. Arthur led the entire way, but Johnson was continually
in his peripheral. Arthur scored a 15.18 to Johnson's 15.19. Grafton's Tristenn Cochran
was the only other one to go under 16 seconds with a 15.81.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 42.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Keyser's Deavonta Johnson led from the gun, but it got interesting as he clubbed the
hurdle coming out of the turn. That stumble closed up the race, but Johnson recovered to
hold the lead and ran clean the rest of the way and win it in 40.32. Grafton's Tristenn
Cochran was in 5th coming out of the turn, but closed well to move into 2nd in 40.64.
Lincoln's Cordell Nix joined them under 41 seconds with a 40.91. East Fairmont's
Michael Gaskill hit a 41.30 for 4th. Sissonville's Chris Cottrell and East
Fairmont's Andrew Slusser were also under 42 seconds in taking the final two positions.
RunWV's Current Score: 40 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Keyser's squad of Maleik Garland, Christian Ravenscroft, Brady Ours, and Deavonta Johnson
took the win with a shuffled lineup made necessary by a pulled hamstring suffered in the 4x200.
Their 44.32 outdistanced Robert C. Byrd's 44.62. No one else was close. Weir received a
terrific anchor leg from Donavon Spencer to move from 7th to 3rd in 45.35. Mingo Central
was right behind in 45.45. Fairmont Senior and Bridgeport were also under 45.70 in 5th and
6th, respectively. Bluefield was in the lead, or close to it when a pulled hamstring took
them out of contention, but then they got hit with a DQ anyway.
RunWV's Current Score: 44 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
This was a war of attrition as one team got felled by a pulled hamstring and three others got
disqualified. Bluefield was in the lead when a botched hand-off took them out. That put
Keyser in the lead, and they had the pulled hamstring. Despite the blown handoff, Bluefield
was across the line first, but that handoff took place outside the zone, and they were disqualified.
Fairmont Senior's group of Benjamin Stewart, Brian Curry, Michael Nuzum, and Joseph Bundy
took the win in 1:33.37, winning by over a second. Petersburg passed at least two teams on
the final leg to move into 2nd at 1:34.49. Robert C. Byrd edged East Fairmont for 3rd 1:34.83
to 1:34.84.
RunWV's Current Score: 47 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
Nicholas took the lead on the first leg, lost it very briefly on the 2nd leg before edging back
away at the end of the 2nd leg at 1:45. East Fairmont was in 2nd at 1:46 with Keyser 3rd, also
in 1:46. Ritchie was in 4th at 1:48. On the 3rd leg, Nicholas took control, stretching the
lead to about 2 seconds at 2:38. East Fairmont was in 2nd at 2:40. My notes say that Ritchie
had edged ahead of Keyser for 3rd. On the final leg, East Fairmont cut the gap about in half
over the first 200, but Nicholas pulled back away to end up winning by over 3 seconds with the
group of Oliver Amick, Jackson Reed, Jacob O'Dell, and Cody Kelley taking the win in
3:30.35. East Fairmont easily held the 2nd spot in 3:33.37. Keyser moved back into the 3rd
position with a 3:35.32. Berkeley springs edged past Ritchie right before the line to take
4th in 3:36.66 to Ritchie's 3:36.98. Lincoln took the 6th spot in 3:39.11.
RunWV's Current Score: 51 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
Ritchie led much of the first leg, but Oak Glen took the lead at about 650 meters and had
the lead after a 2:01 opening leg from Canyon Colson. Berkeley Springs also crossed
in 2:01 after a strong close from Matt Chapman. Ritchie was in 3rd at 2:03. Bridgeport
was in 4th at 2:04. Roane was in 5th at 2:06, and Webster was in 6th at 2:08. On the 2nd leg,
Ritchie again moved to the front, but Berkeley Springs made the pass at the beginning of the
backstretch and got another 2:01 leg, this time from Brady Price. They led after two
legs at 4:02. Ritchie held the 2nd spot at 4:07. Webster had moved into 3rd at 4:09 on a 2:01
leg from Austin Hayes. Bridgeport was in 4th at 4:11. Oak Glen was in 5th at 4:12.
East Fairmont had moved into 6th at 4:13. On the 3rd leg, Bridgeport made up the gap and made
the pass into the lead shortly before the handoff. My notes say at 6:15 with Berkeley Springs
having the same time in 2nd. East Fairmont had moved into 3rd at 6:17. Webster was in 4th
at 6:19 with Ritchie in 5th with the same time. I believe Oak Glen was in 6th at 6:20. The final
leg saw a fantastic battle between Bridgeport's Ian Frailey and Berkeley Springs' Steven
Shetler. Frailey led it through the first lap, but Shetler stayed right on his shoulder.
Things remained the same on the backstretch. Frailey edged out a little and Shetler closed.
Coming out of the turn, it remained the same, but down the stretch, Frailey had a little more.
His 1:57 leg giving the Bridgeport squad of Timothy Kinney, Coleton Marsh, Jimmy Lacaria, and
Ian Frailey the win at 8:11.94. Shetler split 1:58 in getting securing 2nd for Berkeley
Springs in 8:12.93. Ritchie got a 2:00 leg from Daniel Cooper move up to 3rd in 8:19.81.
East Fairmont was 4th in 8:21.25. Oak Glen came back up to 5th in 8:26.57. Webster took the
final position in 8:34.08.
RunWV's Current Score: 56 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Keyser's group of Deavonta Johnson, Brandon Tranum, Ethen Whitlock, and Robert Horner
took the title in 59.15 and were the only ones to go under 60 seconds. Fairmont Senior crossed
2nd but got hit with a DQ. Nicholas was the only other team under 1:01 in taking 2nd. PikeView
scored a surprise 3rd place finish from the 2nd heat with a 1:01.33. North Marion and Bridgeport
were under 1:02 in taking 5th and 6th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 59 of 78.
High Jump
Poca's Shawn Arthur soared over 6'6 to take the event by 4". Keyser's Brady Ours
and North Marion's Franklin Thomas cleared 6'2 to take 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Roane's Austin McGinnis was the only other jumper to clear 6'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 64 of 84.
Pole Vault
Ritchie's Austin Garrett cleared 14'6 to repeat as champion. That vault, along with
prior State Meet Performances gives him the 4th Best All-Time Class A-AA State Meet Performance.
Roane's Haden Coon was the only other one to clear 12'6. Robert C. Byrd's Zach
Hoskinson was the only other one to clear 12'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 70 of 90.
Long Jump
East Fairmont's Michael Gaskill came out on top of a close contest that saw the top
3 separated by just 4". Gaskill sailed 21'2.25 to just edge out Keyser's Amonte Johnson
also hit 21'0 in taking 2nd. Poca's Shawn Arthur went 20'10.25 for 3rd. Independence's
Marcus Guy was 4th with a jump of 20'3. Mingo Central took the final two spots with
Garrett Moore and Aaron Banks both jumping 20'0.75. In a rare occurrence, all
6 of my predicted placers actually placed in the long jump.
RunWV's Current Score: 76 of 96.
Shot Put
Poca's Chase Dotson easily outdistanced the field with his throw of 55'0. That
gave him the win by nearly 7 feet. Braxton's Lucas Bonnett was 2nd with a throw
of 48'2. Robert C. Byrd's Juwan Jones-Wright threw 47'00.25. Only Keyser's Cole
Weaver with a 45'9.25 was over 45' among the rest of the field. 2 of my predicted placers
didn't make the final.
RunWV's Current Score: 79 of 102.
Discus
Poca's Chase Dotson again easily outdistanced the field with a throw of 157'1, taking
the event by nearly 13'. Keyser got a huge 2nd place finish from Cole Weaver, who threw
144'3, which was his top throw of the year by over 13'. No one else topped 135'. Bridgeport's Christopher Trent
and Oak Glen's Kellen Tropeck topped 133' in taking 3rd and 4th, respectively. Philip
Barbour's Gerrik Vollmer threw 131'9 to take 5th. No one else threw over 124'. Weaver's
performance in the two throwing events, along with Ours in the High Jump and Turner in the
Long Jump resulted in 28 points for Keyser compared to a predicted 2 points in those 4 events,
were instrumental in Keyser's team championship. Field events won the day.
RunWV's Current Score: 83 of 108.
The final score of 83 of 108 means that just 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.
Bryce McGee, Philip Barbour -- 200 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Mingo Central -- 4x100 M (not picked, got 4th)
(Taylor Thornsbury, Deonte Joplin, Garrett Moore, Aaron Banks)
Petersburg -- 4x200 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
(Zack Rohrbaugh, Nick Valkos, Stone Hymes, Cody Southerly)
Robert C. Byrd -- 4x200 M (not picked, got 3rd)
(Dustin Skiviat, Tariq Bailey, Jacob George, Brandon Cook)
Berkeley Springs -- 4x400 M (not picked, got 4th)
(Josh Hartman, Matt Chapman, Brady Price, Steven Shetler)
PikeView -- Shuttles (not picked, got 3rd)
(Sebastian Mann, Josh Hager, Tyler Lafferty, Liam Deason)
Brady Ours, Keyser -- High Jump (not picked, got 2nd)
Amonte Turner, Keyser -- Long Jump (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Cole Weaver, Keyser -- Shot Put (not picked, got 4th)
Cole Weaver, Keyser -- Discus (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Kellen Tropeck, Oak Glen -- Discus (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class AA Boys Keyser +22 Philip Barbour +11