100 Meter Dash
Summers' Abigayle Persinger powered away from the rest of the field over the final 30 meters to claim the win in a strong 12.51. This also ties her for the 7th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Tucker's Lela Wright led after the half-way point and held the 2nd spot in 12.65. Doddridge's Payton Currey just held off St. Marys' Laney Watkins for 3rd, 12.73 to 12.74. Valley Wetzel's Laken Dawson joined them under 13 seconds with a 12.89 for 5th. One of my predicted placers false started in the trials.
RunWV's Current Score: 7 of 8.

200 Meter Dash
Valley Wetzel's Laken Dawson just edged past Doddridge's Payton Trent in the final 30 meters to take the win, 26.48 to 26.61. Summers' Abigayle Persinger used a strong close to move into 3rd in 26.74. She was no better than 6th coming out of the turn. Moorefield's Parvatee Snyder was just behind her in 26.76. Wahama's Destiny Barnette was also under 27 seconds in 5th with a 26.93.
RunWV's Current Score: 14 of 16.

400 Meter Dash
St. Marys' Laney Watkins used a strong close to pull into the lead with just about 30 meters to go and take the win in 59.69. Ravenswood's Riley Sotomayor moved into 2nd just before the line, finishing in 1:00.61. Doddridge's Payton Trent used an aggressive start to secure 3rd in 1:00.70. These three were well clear of the field with no one else under 1:02.50. St. Marys' Avry Bennett and Braxton's Bethany Payne were the only other two under 1:03, and 1:04.
RunWV's Current Score: 20 of 24.

800 Meter Run
Charleston Catholic's Bella Boggs got out quickly and led the field out of the break. She was overtaken on the backstretch by teammate Hannah Fisher. She would hold the lead through the first lap as the front four separated themselves from the rest of the field. Fisher led at 1:10.26 with Boggs in 2nd at 1:10.61. St. Marys' Anna Bennett was in 3rd at 1:10.98 with Ravenswood's Riley Sotomayor in 4th at 1:11.28. Braxton's Laura Cain led the remainder of the pack at 1:13.55 with Braxton's Leah Payne in 6th at 1:13.71. Doddridge's Kaitlyn Key was in 7th at 1:14.57, and Ritchie's Bentlee Williams was in 8th at 1:14.93. Just before coming out of the turn, Boggs made the move into the lead and Sotomayor made a pass on Bennett into 3rd. Boggs generated a bit of separation as Sotomayor closed in on Fisher on the backstretch. Sotomayor made the pass on Fisher with about 220 meters to go. Boggs held the lead through the turn, but Sotomayor was closing. Sotomayor started the pass with about 80 meters to go, and gradually pulled away down the stretch to take the w in in 2:21.00. Boggs easily held the 2nd spot in 2:21.95. Fisher maintained the 3rd position in 2:25.09. Bennett was not challenged for 4th, finishing in 2:26.30. Payne moved into the 5th spot in 2:31.71 with Cain taking 6th in 2:32.37. Key held the 7th spot in 2:33.27. Doddridge's Bailey Holden used a strong 2nd lap and made a trio of passes in the final 150 to move into 8th in 2:33.51.
RunWV's Current Score: 27 of 32.

1600 Meter Run
Charleston Catholic's Bella Boggs wasted no time asserting herself taking a lead of over 3 seconds in the first lap, coming through in 1:14.92. Ritchie's Bentlee Williams led a close group battling for 2nd at 1:18.05. St. Marys' Anna Bennett was in 3rd at 1:18.31. Summers' Avery Lilly was in 4th at 1:18.80. Madonna's Sophia Soly was in 5th at 1:19.40 with St. Marys' Natalie Bartrug in 6th at 1:19.77. Doddridge's Kaitlyn Key was in 7th at 1:20.20 with Braxton's Laura Cain in 8th at 1:20.30. On lap 2, Boggs really stretched out her lead, taking it to over 9 seconds, coming through in 2:35.18. Williams continued in the 2nd spot at 2:44.31 with Bennett remaining right behind at 2:44.58. Lilly continued to hold the 4th spot at 2:47.09. Key had moved into 5th at 2:48.55 with Cain up to 6th at 2:48.91. Soly was holding the 7th spot at 2:49.07 with Bartrug now in 8th at 2:49.58. On lap 3, Boggs further asserted her dominance, coming through at 3:56.49, a lead of over 17 seconds. Bennett made the pass on Williams mid-way down the final stretch of the lap to move into 2nd at 4:13.54. Williams was in 3rd at 4:14.28. Lilly maintained the 4th spot at 4:16.94. Cain had moved into 5th at 4:18.49 with Key in 6th at 4:19.23. Doddridge's Bailey Holden had methodically moved her way up the field into 7th at 4:19.92. Bartrug was in 8th at 4:22.41. Boggs maintained on that final lap to take the win in 5:17.50. Bennett closed with a strong lap to hold the 2nd spot in 5:30.22. She needed it, too, as Lilly closed up on Williams on the backstretch and they battled all the way to the finish, closing the gap on Bennett. Williams fended Lilly off for the 3rd spot 5:31.90 to 5:32.35. Holden used a strong final lap to move into the 5th position in 5:39.98 with Cain in 6th in 5:42.45 and Key in 7th in 5:43.28. Tucker's Estoria Chase used a strong close to move from 10th to 8th on the final lap, making the final pass with about 5 meters to go to take the 8th spto in 5:52.52.
RunWV's Current Score: 32 of 40.

3200 Meter Run
Charleston Catholic's Arabella Boggs took the lead early and led the field through the 1st lap in 1:16.68. Ritchie's Bentlee Williams was in 2nd at 1:20.26. St. Marys' Natalie Bartrug was in 3rd at 1:21.25. Braxton's Laura Cain was in 4th at 1:21.85. Wood County Christian's Elliot Handley was in 5th at 1:21.87. Summers' Avery Lilly was in 6th at 1:22.52 with Tucker's Estoria Chase in 7th at 1:23:15 and St. Marys' Savana Burd in 8th at 1:23.52. Boggs had built a lead of over 10 seconds by the end of lap 2, coming through at 2:37.36. Williams and Cain had established a small gap on the rest of the field with Williams in 2nd at 2:49.39 and Cain in 3rd at 2:50.04. Bartrug was in 4th at 2:52.59. Chase had moved into 5th at 2:52.85. Handley was in 6th at 2:52.94. Lilly was in 7th at 2:53.32 with Burd in 8th at 2:54.73. On lap 3, Boggs pushed the lead to almost 19 second, passing at 4:00.65. Williams and Cain further distanced themselves from the pack with Williams at 4:19.41 and Cain at 4:19.80. Chase had moved into 4th at 4:26.96 with Handley up to 5th at 4:27.63. Lilly was in 6th at 4:28.21. Bartrug was in 7th at 4:29.00, anc Wood County Christian's Amber Perkins had moved into 8th at 4:31.08. At the mid-way point, Boggs came through at 5:25.13. Williams continued to hold her slight edge over Cain for 2nd 5:51.10 to 5:51.44. Chase remained in 4th at 6:03.33 with Handley still in 5th at 6:03.88. Lilly was still in 6th at 6:04.44. Bartrug remained in 7th at 6:06.68. Perkins remained in 8th at 6:07.29. Boogs continued to stretch her lead on lap 5, coming through at 6:51.30. Williams had opened a small gap on Cain for the 2nd spot with Williams at 7:25.15 and Cain at 7:26.25. Chase remained in 4th at 7:41.74 with Handley still in 5th at 7:42.27. Lilly was in 6th at 7:42.53. Doddridge's Bailey Holden had moved into 7th at 7:43.90 with Bartrug in 8th at 7:44.88. After 6 laps, Boggs led at 8:17.41 with Williams in 2nd at 8:59.26 and Cain in 3rd at 9:01.58. Chase continued to hold the 4th spot at 9:19.47 with Lilly moving up to 5th at 9:19.83. Handley was in 6th at 9:20.46, and Holden was in 7th at 9:21.19. Bartrug remained in 8th at 9:23.51 but had lost contact. After 7 laps, it was Boggs in the lead at 9:44.85 with Williams taking full control of the 2nd spot 10:33.52. Cain was in 3rd at 10:37.54. Lilly had moved into 4th at 10:51.82 with Chase in 5th at 10:53.55. Handley was in 6th at 10:54.14 with Holden in 7th at 10:57.20. Bartrug remained in 8th at 11:01.41. On the final lap, Boggs cruised home for the win in 11:08.41, which is the 9th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Williams easily held the 2nd spot in 11:57.03. Cain was never threatened for 3rd, taking the spot in 12:05.32. Lilly, Handley, and Chase battled over the course of the final lap, with Lilly and Handley getting away from Chase with about half a lap to go. Lilly was able to break away late to take the 4th spot in 12:13.68. Handley took the 5th spot in 12:15.69. Holden used a strong kick in the final 100 to steal the 6th spot away from Chase just before the line with Holden in 12:21.17 and Chase in 12:21.52. Bartrug was never challenged for the 8th spot and took it in 12:32.39.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.

100 Meter High Hurdles
East Hardy's Madison Kerr and Paw Paw's Shayla Tanouye took over early, and it was Kerr first to the line in 15.49. Tanouye was the only one within a second of her, taking the 2nd spot in 15.70. Clay-Battelle's Magnolia Lemley and Tyler Consolidated's Lily Dillaman were the only other ones under 17 seconds in taking 3rd and 4th with Lemley at 16.73 and Dillaman at 16.94. One of my predicted placers had the top qualifying time in the trials but scratched the final and another of my predicted placers scratched the event entirely.
RunWV's Current Score: 45 of 56.

300 Meter Low Hurdles
Paw Paw's Shayla Tanouye took the lead early, but it was still close coming out of the turn. She powered down the stretch to pull away to win by over 2 seconds in 45.55. That was strong enough to be the 5th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Clay-Battelle's Magnolia Lemley held on for the 2nd spot in 47.77. Charleston Catholic's Hannah Fisher edged out St. Marys' Avry Bennett for 3rd, 48.70 to 48.90. Union's Chanelle Sutton and Wyoming East's Abi Baker were the only other ones under 51 seconds with matching 50.34 times.
RunWV's Current Score: 52 of 64.

4x100 Meter Relay
The Doddridge fourseome of Jaycee Lipscomb, Payton Trent, Kasey Underwood, and Payton Currey had a solid lead by the mid-way point of the race and sped to the win by nearly a full second in 51.05. That ties that group for the 9th Best All-Time State Meet Performance. Magnolia easily took the 2nd spot in 52.02. Tyler Consolidated easily held the 3rd spot in 52.80. Moorefield just edged past Gilmer at the line for the 4th spot, 53.54 to 53.55.
RunWV's Current Score: 59 of 72.

4x200 Meter Relay
The Doddridge group of Brooke DeHaven, Jaycee Lipscomb, Taylor Bodkin, and Payton Currey took control early and never looked back, taking the win by nearly 3 seconds in 1:48.93. Gilmer easily held the 2nd spot in 1:51.72. Moorefield was 3rd in 1:53.30. Summers snagged 4th from the 1st heat in 1:53.42. Magnolia was 5th in 1:54.06. Everyone else was at least 2 seconds behind.
RunWV's Current Score: 66 of 80.

4x400 Meter Relay
It looked like Braxton had a slight lead over St. Marys at the end of the 1st leg in 1:02, but St. Marys had moved to the front by the break line. At the end of the 2nd leg, St Marys was in control at 2:06.25. Braxton was in 2nd at 2:07.94. Charleston Catholic, from Heat 1, was in 3rd at 2:10.59. Magnolia was in 4th (also from Heat 1) at 2:13.63. Doddridge was in 5th at 2:17.56. Ritchie was in 6th at 2:18.77. Trinity Christian was in 7th at 2:20.16, and Tyler Consolidated was in 8th at 2:20.44. After 3 legs, St. Marys remained in front at 3:13.40 with Charleston Catholic now holding a slight virtual lead over Braxton for 2nd 3:15.37 to 3:15.97. Magnolia remained in 4th at 3:22.64. Trinity Christian was up to 5th at 3:26.03. Doddridge was in 6th at 3:26.92. Ravenswood had moved into 7th at 3:28.21, and Ritchie was in 8th at 3:28.44. St. Marys extended their lead to give the unit of Laney Watkins, Avry Bennett, Natalie Bartrug, and Anna Bennett the win in 4:15.94. Charleston Catholic held the 2nd spot in 4:19.83. Braxton kept the 3rd position in 4:21.74. Ravenswood moved from 7th to 4th on the 1:00.45 anchor leg from Riley Sotomayor, taking the spot in 4:28.66. Doddridge held the 5th spot in 4:30.59, just ahead of Magnolia from the prior Heat, who finished in 4:30.65. Trinity Christian was in 7th 4:31.15. Ritchie was 8th in 4:34.10.
RunWV's Current Score: 73 of 88.

4x800 Meter Relay
St. Marys got out to the early lead on a 2:25 leg from Anna Bennett. Charleston Catholic was in 2nd at 2:29. I think Braxton was in 3rd at 2:32 with Doddridge matching that in 4th. Those 4 were about 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Mountain Timing did not split this race, so I have to go from my notes, which are shaky at best. St. Marys stretched their lead on the 2nd leg, coming through at 5:04. Braxton was in 2nd at 5:11. Doddridge was in 3rd at 5:12 with Charleston Catholic in 4th at 5:13. This group was 15 seconds clear of the field. I'm not sure who was in 4th and 5th. I think it's Cameron and Wirt with Trinity Christian in 6th at 5:33. Charleston Catholic got a 2:25 leg from Hannah Fisher to move from 4th to 1st at 7:38. Braxton was in the 2nd spot at 7:43 with St. Marys close behind in 7:45. Doddridge had been dropped from the group but was easily in 4th at 8:03. Trinity Christian was in 5th at 8:17 with Cameron in 6th at 8:21 and Wirt in 7th at 8:28. Ravenswood was in the 8th spot at 8:30. On the final leg, Charleston Catholic was not challenged, and the group of Mary Rushworth, Aurelia Kirby, Hannah Fisher, and Bella Boggs took the win in 10:05.12. Braxton closed out 2nd place with ease, taking the spot in 10:10.92. St. Marys easily held the 3rd spot in 10:24.19. Doddridge was never threatened for 4th, finishing in 10:39.35. Ravenswood got a 2:23 anchor leg from Riley Sotomayor to move into 5th in 10:52.71. Cameron held 6th in 10:54.11 with Trinity Christian in 7th in 10:56.27. Wirt held the final spot in 11:27.58.
RunWV's Current Score: 80 of 96.

Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Tyler Consolidated took the lead on the 2nd leg and made it a commanding one on the 3rd leg and the foursome of Bridget Doak, Bella Garuccio, Addison Blosser, and Lily Dillaman took the win by over a second in 1:09.14. Clay-Battelle took the 2nd spot in 1:10.30. Wahama snagged 3rd from Heat 2 with a 1:11.44. Braxton was 4th in 1:12.00, while Charleston Catholic scored 5th from Heat 1 in 1:12.66. One of my predicted placers was fast enough to place but got hit was a DQ.
RunWV's Current Score: 86 of 104.

High Jump
Wyoming East's Abi Baker cleared 5'2 on her 2nd attempt to move from 3rd to 1st and take the win. Clay-Battelle's Magnolia Lemley was the only other one to clear 5'2 in taking 2nd. Braxton's Bethany Payne was the only other jumper to clear 5'0, doing so with no misses to take 3rd. Tyler Consolidated's Kathryn Grimm cleared 4'10 with no missed for 4th, while Doddridge's Brooke DeHaven cleared it on her 2nd attempt for 5th, and Clay-Battelle's Neveah St. Clair cleared it on her 3rd attempt for 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 94 of 112.

Pole Vault
St. Marys' Avry Bennett was already in the lead when she was the only one to clear 9'6, doing so on her 2nd attempt. She then cleared 9'8, 9'10, 10'0, and 10'2 to take the win. That stands as the 9th Best All-Time Class A State Meet Performance. Doddride's Jaycee Lipscomb cleared 9'0 on her 1st attempt to take 2nd, while Clay-Battelle's Farrah Ammons cleared that height on her 3rd attempt for 3rd. Tyler Consolidated's Ralynn Heintzman was the only other vaulter to clear 8'6 to take 4th, and Doddridge's Aleigh Cheeseman was the only other one to clear 8'0 in taking 5th.
RunWV's Current Score: 101 of 120.

Long Jump
Paw Paw's Shayla Tanouye went 16'0 on her very first jump, and no one was able to surpass it for the remainder of the competition. Valley Wetzel's Laken Dawson and Doddridge's Payton Trent were close at 15'11.25 and 15'10.75, respectively in 2nd and 3rd. Magnolia's Sienna McKeever was 4th with a 15'8'25. Greenbrier West's Shy Perkins was 5th with a 15'5.25. Tyler Consolidated's Addison Blosser was 6th with a 15'3, and Gilmer's Ariana Hoard was the last one over 15'0 with a 15'0.75 for 7th.
RunWV's Current Score: 106 of 128.

Shot Put
Doddridge's Brooke Burnside moved from 4th to 1st in the finals and took the win with a 33'0.75. Charleston Catholic's Telina Williams moved into 2nd on her final throw of 32'9.50. Tyler Consolidated's Juliana Lattea was 3rd with a 32'2.25. Wahama's Cadence Gerlach moved from 9th to 4th on her final throw of 32'2.25.
RunWV's Current Score: 111 of 136.

Discus
Ritchie's Natalie Henger sent her final throw 116'2 to move from 2nd to 1st and take the win. Pocahontas' Allyson Taylor held the 2nd spot at 115'0. St. Marys' McKenzie Armstrong took the 3rd spot at 111'3. Madonna's Rylee Birkheimer moved from 6th to 4th on her 5th throw of 111'2. Doddridge's Brooke Burnside was 5th with a throw of 108'6 with Petersburg's Ayden Mayfield in 6th with a 108'1. The top 8 all threw at least 104'0, and all return next year.
RunWV's Current Score: 119 of 144.

The final score of 119 of 144 means that 82.6 of the people picked to place did indeed place. That's 1 worse than last year, but a solid showing. There were only two events, High Jump and Discus, in which all 8 of my predicted placers 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.

Destiney Barnette, Wahama -- 200 M (not picked, got 5th)
Mayah Gross, Tucker -- 400 M (not picked, got 6th)
Laura Cain, Braxton -- 800 M (not picked, got 6th)
Avery Lilly, Summers -- 1600 M (not picked, got 4th)
Bailey Holden, Doddridge -- 1600 M (not picked, got 5th)
Avery Lilly, Summers -- 3200 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Joelle Boddy, Petersburg -- 100 HH (not picked, got 5th)
Wahama -- 4x100 Meter Relay (not picked, got 6th)
(Destiney Barnette, Aly Barnitz, Lylah Knopp, Katherine Johnson)
Ravenswood -- 4x400 Meter Relay (not picked, got 4th)
(Lily Stewart, Kadi Price, Zoie Meadows, Riley Sotomayor)
Wahama -- Shuttle Hurdle Relay (picked 7th, got 3rd)
(Sydney Rickard, Katherine Johnson, Adyson VanMeter, Aly Barnitz)
Charleston Catholic -- Shuttle Hurdle Relay (picked 8th, got 5th)
(Mia Lough, Mary Rushworth, Aurelia Kirby, Ella Green)
Bethany Payne, Braxton -- High Jump (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Brooke DeHaven, Doddridge -- High Jump (picked 8th, got 5th)
Shayla Tanouye, Paw Paw -- Long Jump (picked 6th, got 1st)
Shy Perkins, Greenbrier West -- Long Jump (not picked, got 5th)
Telina Williams, Charleston Catholic -- Shot Put (picked 6th, got 2nd)
Joselyn Smith, Paw Paw -- Shot Put (not picked, got 6th)

The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.

Class A Girls
Paw Paw            +12
Summers            +10