Class AAA Boys
100 Meter Dash
In a downpour, Hurricane's James McDougale didn't take the lead until about half-way, but eased on
ahead for the win in 11.07. Shady Spring's Stephen DeMoss had the best start and
parlayed that into a 2nd place finish in 11.13. Brooke's Gavin Lewis was 3rd in 11.19,
just ahead of Cabell Midland's Kyler Burgess in 4th with an 11.22. Lewis' Damien
White hit 11.30 for 5th and Martinsburg's Juwan Green ran 11.39 for 6th. One of
my predicted placers didn't run the final after pulling a hamstring toward the end of the
trials. Another of my predicted placers didn't run at all, and another didn't make the finals.
RunWV's Current Score: 3 of 6.
200 Meter Dash
Hurricane's James McDougale again proved to have more in the last half of the race than
his competitors as he took the event in 22.20. Shady Spring's Stephen DeMoss again
used a strong start to take 2nd in 22.31, just holding off Hedgesville's Kyrae Ramos'
22.32. They were over 0.4 ahead of the rest of the field with Cabell Midland's Daniel
Jarrell taking 4th in 22.77, Hurricane's Chandler Basham5th in 22.83 and Buckhannon-Upshure's
Andrew Nesselroade 6th in 22.88. One of my predicted placers didn't run and another
didn't make the final.
RunWV's Current Score: 7 of 12.
400 Meter Dash
Cabell Midland's Daniel Jarrell led pretty much the entire race in taking the event
as the only one under 49 seconds with his 48.86. In a contrast with the 100 and 200, this
time Shady Spring's Stephen DeMoss used a strong finish to move up to 2nd in the last
100 with a 49.58. Buckhannon-Upshur's Andrew Nesselroade joined them under 50 seconds
with a 49.80. Only Greenbrier East's Jodice Shanklin was under 51 seconds among the
rest of the field with his 50.97. Ripley's Logan McKinney was 5th in 51.46, and University's
Geandre Jones scored a 6th place from the 1st heat in 51.67.
RunWV's Current Score: 11 of 18.
800 Meter Run
Things got out fairly quickly with Woodrow Wilson's Jagger Harvey taking the early
lead before bing overtaken by University's Geandre Jones. Jones led the field through
the first lap in a healthy 56. Harvey was in 2nd also with a 56. Cabell Midland's Will
Sheils was in 3rd at 58 seconds. I believe the Cabell Midland's Nick Salmons was
in 4th, and I think I see Ripley's Logan McKinney in 5th, but it could be Morgantown's
Colby Gresak also. One the 2nd lap, Jones continued to lead through the turn with
Harvey continuing to shadow him. They still held a 5-6 meter lead on Sheils. Down the
backstretch, Harvey made a move into the lead and opened a slight gap on Jones. Harvey took
that lead into the final turn about 2 meters ahead of Jones, who was about 3 meters up on
Sheils. Sheils started to move about halfway into the turn. With 100 meters to go, Harvey
still had the lead, but Jones was pulling up to his outside shoulder and Sheils was moving
out to Jones' outside shoulder. With about 80 meters to go, the three were pretty much even.
That is when Sheils started to pull away, pulling steadily away over the last 60 meters to
take the win by over a second in 1:55.37. Jones would edge awa from Jagger for 2nd to finish
in 1:56.50. Jagger held 3rd in 1:57.14. The three were never threatened as 4th was about 1.7
seconds back. Woodrow Wilson Freshman Miles Kominsky surged up for 4th in 1:58.85,
just getting ahead of Jefferson's Asher Personett who finished at 1:58.90 in 5th.
Salmons finished 6th in 1:59.17, with Gresak also getting in under 2:00 for 7th.
RunWV's Current Score: 15 of 24.
1600 Meter Run
The field went out reasonably with Cabell Midland's Will Sheils taking the early lead.
He led the way through the first lap in 1:04. Morgantown's Connor Riley was in 2nd
at 1:05. University's Seth Edwards was in 3rd, also at 1:05. Winfield's Aaron
Withrow was in 4th at 1:05 at well. I think Buckhannon-Upshur's Austin Carpenter
was in 5th, also at 1:05. University's Philip White was in the 6th spot at 1:06. The
pace slowed on lap two, and the field bunched up even more. Sheils continued to lead, coming
through in 2:15. Edwards was right on his shoulder with the same time. Riley was in 3rd also
at 2:15. Withrow was just off his shoulder. George Washington's Jacob Birurakis was
in 5th with University's Alex Minor in 6th, at 2:16. On the backstretch of the 3rd lap,
Edwards moved to the front with Riley also moving past Sheils. Coming out of the turn and
into the last 60 meters of lap 3, Minor made a move into the front. Sheils started to move
with about 10 meters to go in the lap. Minor led the way into the final lap, though, in 3:23.
Edwards was in 2nd with Sheils moving into 3rd and Riley in 4th, each at 3:23 as well. Carpenter
was in 5th, and Withrow was in 6th. On the final lap, Edwards moved around Minor into the
lead at about midway into the first turn. Edwards continued to accelerate out of the turn.
Just into the backstretch, Sheils moved past Minor into 2nd. Late in the backstretch, Riley
made the pass into 3rd. Heading into the final turn, it was Edwards with about a stride lead
over Sheils with Riley 2 strides back. Edwards held the lead through the turn, but Sheils made
the pass with about 90 meters to go. He edged away from Edwards down the final stretch to
take the win. 4:22.77, taking the final lap in 59 seconds. Edwards easily held the 2nd spot with
his 60 second close to finish in 4:23.35. Riley kept the 3rd spot
at 4:25.82. Things were really close for the final three spots down the stretch with 4th
through 8th decided by just 0.4 seconds. Withrow closed well to move into 4th in 4:26.91.
Birurakis also finished strong down the stetch to move into 5th in 4:27.08. Hedgesville's
Daniel Beavers took the final spot at 4:27.18. Minor and University's Philip White
were just short at 4:27.26 and 4:27.31, respectively. I'll mention Carpenter as well as he
also ran under 4:30.
RunWV's Current Score: 19 of 30.
3200 Meter Run
With the rain still coming down, the 3200 field set off. They remained very bunched through
200 meters. University's Seth Edwards moved out away from the pack in the turn and
led the field through the first lap in 1:05. University's Alex Minor was in 2nd also
in 1:05. Winfield's Aaron Withrow held the 3rd spot at 1:06. I think it was St.
Albans' Josh Endres in 4th with University's Philip White and Cabell Midland's
Coy Smith in 5th and 6th, respectively each also at 1:06. On the 2nd lap, Minor moved
alongside Edwards, and then the pack bunched back up. At the end of 2, it was Minor and
Edwards crossing together at 2:17. Withrow and Cabell Midland's Austin Jordan were at 2:18.
George Washington's Jacob Birurakis was in 5th with Smith in 6th. On lap 3, things
finally started to spread out a little. It was still pretty much a single pack, but it stretched
a lot longer than it had before. At the end of 3, Minor had a slight lead on Edwards with
both passing in 3:30. Jordan and Smith were in 3rd and 4th, respectively, with both at 3:31.
Birurakis was in 5th at 3:33 with Withrow in 6th, also at 3:33. On the 4th lap, Edwards moved
back to the front just before crossing the line to take the lead at 4:43 with Minor matching
that time in 2nd. Jordan and Smith continued to hold the next two spots at 4:45. White had
moved back into the picture, moving into 5th at 4:46. Birurakis was in 6th at 4:47. On lap
5, White made a move to join his teammates at the front while the front 10 opened a gap on
the remainder of the field. At the end of the 5th lap, it was Edwards in the front at 5:59
with Minor matching that time. White was in 3rd at 6:00 with Jordan matching that time.
Smith was in 5th in 6:01 with Birurakis matching that time. On the 6th lap, the University
trio started to pull away from the field a bit. At the end of 6, it was Edwards, Minor, and
White leading the way at 7:14. Birurakis had moved into 4th at 7:15. Withrow had moved back
into 5th at 7:16 and Smith was in 6th at 7:17. Lap 7 saw the University crew solidify their
lead even further. At the bell it was Edwards leading the way into the final lap at 8:24.
Minotr was right behind also at 8:24. White was right there as well in 8:25. Withrow just
edged past Birurakis into 4th before the start of the final lap with both at 8:28. Smith was
in 6th at 8:30. On the final lap, Minor made a move to try to take the lead toward the end
of the first turn, but Edwards fended him off. The three held form down the backstretch with
Minor a step behind Edwards and White a step behind Minor. Down the final stretch, Edwards
had more left in the tank and pulled away from his teammates for the win in 9:25.54, taking the
final lap in 61 seconds. Minor held off White for 2nd, 9:26.31 to 9:26.32 as all three were
62 or better for their closing lap. This 1-2-3 finish matched the University girls who earlier
also went 1-2-3. Six top 3 positions available in the AAA 3200 Meter Run, and University took
them all. A tip of cap has to be given to Coach Ed Frohnapfel. I haven't researched
it, but I doubt that has been done before. One side or the other may have gone 1-2-3 (I'm pretty
sure St. Marys boys did it in the early 80's), but I don't think both have. Withrow closed
well to hold 4th in 9:34.30. Smith also closed well on the final lap to move into 5th in
9:35.65. Hedgesville's Daniel Beavers put together a strong final lap to move into
the 6th spot with a 9:36.76. No one else ended up under 9:40. 9 were 9:45 or better.
RunWV's Current Score: 25 of 36.
110 Meter High Hurdles
Wheeling Park's Richard Cummings> had the lead by the 2nd hurdle and easily sped away
from his competition to win in 14.62. Everyone else was at least 0.75 behind. Huntington's
Dezmon Bradshaw edged away from the rest of the field to take 2nd in 15.37. Woodrow
Wilson's Logan Haga moved up to 3rd in 15.49. Lewis' Austin Lee surprised from
lane 8 to take 4th in 15.56. Morgantown's Brady Hatch and Parkersburg's Erik Musgrave
were also under 15.70 in taking the final two spots. One of my placers got a DQ in the trials.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 42.
300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Wheeling Park's Richard Cummings took the lead coming off the first hurdle in the
homestretch and pulled away to win convincingly in 39.09. Brooke's Jacob Kennedy was
the only other one to go under 40 seconds with a 39.83. Parkersburg's Erik Musgrave
was battling for 2nd when he stumbled coming off the next-to-last hurdle. He recovered just
well enough to hold off Ripley's Ridge Dalrymple for 3rd, 40.25 to 40.27. Dalrymple
led the first 2/3 of the race before settling for 4th. Jefferson's Cortez Jenkins
was the last to come in under 41 seconds with a 40.91. Huntington's Dezmon Bradshaw
just missed the mark in 41.01.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 48.
4x100 Meter Relay
Wheeling Park's foursome of Justin Levelle, Richard Cummings, Jamez Coles, and Elijah Bell
just held off the late charge of Hedgesville to take the win in 43.30 to Hedgesville's 43.34.
Morgantown held off Cabell Midland for the 3rd spot 43.65 to 43.73. Woodrow Wilson and Jefferson
also made it in under 44 seconds in taking the final two spots with Woodrow nipping Jefferson
43.97 to 43.99.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 54.
4x200 Meter Relay
Hurricane took the lead on the 2nd leg and had a pretty fair lead heading into the final leg,
but a slightly botched handoff closed things back up. But they were able to maintain the lead
through the handoff, and when you have the 200 Meter Dash Champion as your anchor, that's all
you need. The squad of Ben McCallister, Chandler Basham, Brandon Howard, and James McDougale.
were the only ones to make it in under 1:30 with their 1:29.66. Hedgesville was the only team
close in 1:30.26. Everyone else was nearly half a second behind with Buckhannon-Upshur taking
3rd in 1:31.72. Brooke edged Cabell Midland for 4th with both getting 1:32.65. Cabell Midland
did their damage from the first heat. Winfield was 6th in 1:32.69. The top 8 were under 1:33.
RunWV's Current Score: 43 of 60.
4x400 Meter Relay
Things were pretty tight on the first leg with it appearing that Winfield, Buckhannon-Upshur
and Hurricane were about even. On the 2nd leg, Buckhannon-Upshur pushed into the lead on
the backstretch and opened a gap. They held that lead through the exchange in 1:43. Hurricane
was in 2nd in 1:44. Winfield held the 3rd spot at 1:45 with Spring Mills and Cabell Midland
also at 1:45 and Jefferson in 6th at 1:47. On the 3rd leg, we hit the 200 mark with
Buckhannon-Upshur, Winfield, Hurricane, and Spring Mills all within about 3 meters of each
other. Buckhannon-Upshur pulled away down the stretch heading into the exchange to lead in
2:35. Hurricane was in 2nd at 2:37. Winfield was in 3rd at 2:38. Spring Mills was in 4th
at 2:39. Cabell Midland was in 5th and Jefferson in 6th. On th efinal leg, Buckhannon-Upshur
continued to hold the lead with the others not really gaining. Down the stretch, things held
form with Buckhannon-Upshur not being threatened as they held their margin to give the unit of
Marcus Lofton, Evan Roylance, Andrew Nesselroade, and Elijah Cerchiai the win by over
a second and a half in 3:26.79. Hurricane held the 2nd position in 3:28.36. Winfield just
slipped past Cabell Midland for 3rd in 3:29.56. Cabell Midland had moved from 5th into 3rd
before Winfield got back by just before the line as they finished in 3:29.61. Spring Mills
finished 5th in 3:30.17. Jefferson took the 6th spot in 3:35.22.
RunWV's Current Score: 49 of 66.
4x800 Meter Relay
The question coming in was if Cabell Midland could give University a run for their money as
University had won the battle soundly at the Gazette Relays. University's Alex Minor
held back a little on the first lap, and then buried the second lap to move from 5th to 1st
and give University the lead with a 1:58.6 leg. Woodrow Wilson got a strong 2:00 leg from
Jagger Harvey to hold the 2nd position. Morgantown was in 3rd at 2:01 with Cabell Midland
in 4th at 2:02. Jefferson was in 5th at 2:03. Hurricane was in 6th at 2:03. On the 2nd
leg, University held the led throughout and maintained the lead, coming through at 4:01. Cabell
Midland had moved into 2nd at 4:04. Morgantown was holding close in 4:05. Hurricane was in
4th at 4:07 with Jefferson right behind. Parkersburg had moved into 6th at 4:08. On the 3rd
leg, University received a 2:00 leg from Seth Edwards to maintain the lead. Morgantown
made the pass on Cabell Midland on the first lap, but Cabell Midland had taken it back by the
beginning of the 2nd lap. University came through at 6:01. Cabell Midland received a 1:59 leg
from Nick Salmons to move into control of 2nd at 6:03. Morgantown held 4th at 6:07
with Jefferson right behind in 6:08. Winfield had moved into 5th at 6:11 with Hurricane right
behind in 6:12. The top two 800 guys were on the anchor legs for University and Cabell Midland,
but with a cushion at the start, it would be unlikely for Midland to make up ground. University
made sure that the comeback couldn't happen with a 1:55.5 leg from Geandre Jones. Cabell
Midland gave a good chase with a 1:56 leg from Will Sheils. University cracked the 8:00
mark with the unit of Alex Minor, Philip White, Seth Edwards, and Geandre Jones crossing
at 7:57.34, which is the 7th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 7th Best
All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Cabell Midland just missed the mark with an
8:00.08 in taking 2nd. Morgantown held the 3rd position in 8:09.58. Winfield held off Hurricane
for 4th, 8:12.98 to 8:13.39. Jefferson held off Parkersburg for 6th, 8:15.52 to 8:16.43.
Everyone else was at least 10 seconds behind.
RunWV's Current Score: 55 of 72.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Wheeling Park's group of Timmy Goldbaugh, Jake Pedelose, James Colez, and Richard Cummings
took the lead on the 3rd leg and Cummings brought it home to take the win in 57.00. Brooke
gave a good chase at 57.69. Parkersburg South led through two legs before settling for 3rd
in 58.72, just ahead of Ripley's 58.80. Woodrow Wilson scored 5th wtih a 59.56. Huntington
got the final spot from the 2nd heat in 1:00.64.
RunWV's Current Score: 60 of 78.
High Jump
Nitro's Luke Nichols was the only jumper able to clear 6'6 in taking the win. Martinsburg's
Juwan Green was the only other jumper to go higher than 6'0 with his 6'4 jump. The
7 placers were the only ones to clear 6'0.
RunWV's Current Score: 64 of 84.
Pole Vault
Capital's Tristan Slater again repeated as champion, this time with a vault of 16'0.
Having set a new All-Time best over the winter, there was a chance that he'd break the State
Meet record of 17'0. He made the attempt, but came up just short, but his 16'0 clearance is
still the 2nd Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 2nd Best All-Time Class
AAA State Meet Performance. Ripley's Zane Griffith
cleared 14'0 for 2nd. Spring Mills got a surprise 3rd from Tristan Rowland who cleared
13'6. Parkersburg's Jacob Bussey, Winfield's Michael Null, and Hedgesville's
Jonathan Garver took the final 3 spots with vaults of 12'6.
RunWV's Current Score: 69 of 90.
Long Jump
Martinsburg's Juwan Green soared 21'6.75 to take the win. Woodrow Wilson's Kelshawn
Grant was the only other jumper to top 21'0 with his jump of 21'1.75. Capital's Tristan
Slater was 3rd with a 20'10.50 just a touch farther than Jefferson's Jefferey Gaskins
who was 4th with 20'10. St. Albans' Jaylen Snyder was 5th at 20'8.25. Buckhannon-Upshur's
Marcus Lofton was 6th with 20'5.25.
RunWV's Current Score: 77 of 96.
Shot Put
Hurricane's Colton Donathan took the win with a throw of 51'6. Point Pleasant's Cody
Mitchell and Jefferson's Phillip Keller joined him over 50'0 with throws of 50'8
and 50'6.25, respectively. Cabell Midland's Hunter Hicks just missed the mark with a
throw of 49'11 in taking 4th. Huntington's Hunter Ashley threw 48'0 for 5th. Everyone
else was nearly 3' behind.
RunWV's Current Score: 81 of 102.
Discus
Point Pleasant's Cody Mitchell continued his late season consistency of excellence
with his throw of 173'6 that stands as the 8th Best All-Time State Meet Performance
and the 4th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. He needed most of it as
Cabell Midland's Hunter Hicks popped a thrwo fo 167'5 for 2nd and good enough to be the
10th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Huntington's Hunter Ashley
was 3rd in 155'1, just ahead of Jefferson's Phillip Keller's 155'6. Hurricane's Colton
Donathan was 5th with 152'4. Parkersburg South's Hunter Nolan was also over 150'
in taking 6th with a throw of 150'6.
RunWV's Current Score: 84 of 108.
The final score of 84 of 108 means that 77.8% of the people picked to place did indeed place. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.
Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed my predictions by 3 or more places and deserve special mention.
James McDougale, Hurricane -- 100 M (picked 4th, got 1st)
Stephen DeMoss, Shady Spring -- 100 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Kyler Burgess, Cabell Midland -- 100 M (not picked, got 4th)
Miles Kominsky, Woodrow Wilson -- 800 M (not picked, got 4th)
Connor Riley, Morgantown -- 1600 M (not picked, got 3rd)
Logan Haga, Woodrow Wilson -- 110 HH (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Austin Lee, Lewis -- 110 HH (not picked, got 4th)
Morgantown -- 4x100 M (not picked, got 3rd)
(Javohn Moore, Kody Shearer, Benjamin Waibogha, Theo Tolliver)
Buckhannon-Upshur -- 4x200 M (not picked, got 3rd)
(Andrew Nesselroade, Marcus Lofton, Jacob Bennett, Evan Roylance)
Buckhannon-Upshur -- 4x400 M (picked 4th, got 1st)
(Marcus Lofton, Evan Roylance, Andrew Nesselroade, Elijah Cerchiai)
Winfield -- 4x400 M (picked 6th, got 3rd)
(Eric Johns, Hayden O'Dell, Kyle Machel, Michael Null)
Dane Flanagan, Musselman -- High Jump (picked 6th, Tied for 3rd)
Tristan Rowland, Spring Mills -- Pole Vault (not picked, got 3rd)
Jefferey Gaskins, Jefferson -- Long Jump (not picked, got 4th)
Hunter Hicks, Cabell Midland -- Discus (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Phillip Keller, Jefferson -- Disucs (not picked, got 4th)
The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.
Class AAA Boys Hurricane +12.50 Cabell Midland + 9 Martinsburg + 9 (2nd straight year on this list) Morgantown + 8