100 Meter Dash
With about 40 meters to go, there were 5 guys that still had a shot at the win, but it was Chapmanville's Trey Ward who was able to hold form and take the win in 10.92. That ties him for the 10th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. Wheeling Central's Braden McWreath was right behind in 10.94. South Harrison's Jaden Hatfield nipped Grafton's Jaxson Hall for 3rd with both recording an 11.01. East Fairmont's Lucas Messenger was a close 5th in 11.07 with Wheeling Central's Dominic Gianganeli. Buffalo's Caleb Cales was also under 11.25 with an 11.22 for 7th.
RunWV's Current Score: 6 of 8.

200 Meter Dash
Hampshire's Vinnie Greear moved to the lead right after coming out of the turn and powered away from the field to win in 21.91, which is the 7th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. South Harrison's Jaden Hatfield fended off a challenge from Grafton's Jaxson Hall for 2nd 22.31 to 22.37. Williamstown's Carson Brundige took the 4ths spot in 22.70. James Monroe's William Jackson edged out Weir's Landon Haught for 5th, 22.87 to 22.90. Sissonville's Connor Pritt was also under 23 seconds with a 22.98 for 7th.
RunWV's Current Score: 11 of 16.

400 Meter Dash
Heat 1 put up strong times to put pressure on Heat 2. James Monroe's William Jackson had the lead coming out of the turn, but Frankfort's Keiton Nestor pulled even with about 70 meters to go, and the duo battled all the way to the line with Nestor getting the slight edge with a 50.77 to Jackson's 50.78. Wheeling Central's Dominic Gianangeli and Point Pleasant's Anthony Bertagnoli dueled in Heat 1 and scored 3rd and 4th place with Gianangeli getting a 51.16 and Bertagnoli a 51.49. Shady Spring's Seth Farmer was a close 5th in 51.50, and Hampshire's Adrian Litchfield, who was part of that Heat 1 battle, was 6th in 51.52. Frankfort's Charlie Fairley, also in the Heat 1 battle, was 7th in 51.76.
RunWV's Current Score: 16 of 24.

800 Meter Run
I think it was PikeView's Tyler Huffman that led the field out of the break. Then Keyser's Luca Altobello moved to the front. Then Grafton's M.J. Niggemyer moved to the front coming out of the turn and held it through the mid-way point, taking the line at 58.53. Frankfort's Ryan Hughes was in 2nd at 58.53. Huffman was in 3rd at 58.90. Altobello was in 4th at 58.99. Williamstown's Frank Conner was in 5th at 59.33. Elkins' Bobby Valentine was in 6th at 59.63. PikeView's Matt Murphey was in 7th at 1:00.18 with Frankfort's Gavin McDonald in 8th at 1:00.25. The first 12 were under 1:01. On lap 2, Hughes made a move for the lead as they came out of the first turn. Conner had started his move and shot up into 3rd, and then pulled just about even with Hughes. Niggemyer fought back. Conner made a play for the lead before the 200 mark, but Hughes held him off. Niggemyer was a step behind them, and Huffman was about 2 meters back. With 150 to go, Niggemyer passed Conner into 2nd, but Hughes was getting away. Hughes opened up a gap in the first half of the homestretch and maintained it to the finish line to take the win in 1:56.63, which gives him the 10th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. Niggemyer held the 2nd spot in 1:57.58. Huffman just got by Conner right before the line to take 3rd in 1:59.18. Conner was 4th in 1:59.36. Altobello held the 5th spot in 2:01.27. Valentine took the 6th spot in 2:02.45. Murphey just held off McDonald for 7th with Murphey at 2:03.09 and McDonald at 2:03.13.
RunWV's Current Score: 22 of 32.

1600 Meter Run
The race went out controlled, and they were 5 wide coming to the breakline. Grafton's M.J. Niggemyer and Keyser's Luca Altobello moved to the lead on the backstretch, then Williamtown's Frank Conner moved to the front just before the 200 meter mark. Then Frankfort's Ryan Hughes moved alongside Conner as they exited the turn. The pack stayed very bunched through this lap with the front 9 all within 1 second and all 16 within 2 seconds of the lead. Altobello was the first to the line at 1:06.99. Hughes was in 2nd at 1:07.04. Conner was in 3rd at 1:07.04. Nicholas' Luke Barr was in 4th at 1:07.22. Niggemyer was in 5th at 1:07.41. PikeView's Matt Murphy was in 6th at 1:07.50. Frankfort's Gavin McDonald was 7th at 1:07.55, and Elkins' Trevor George was in 8th at 1:07.78. On lap 2, a group of 11 started to get away from the remainder, and that pack stayed together through the mid-way point. Hughes moved to the lead just before the end of the lap and led the field through at 2:15.67. Conner was in 2nd at 2:15.87. Altobello was in 3rd at 2:16.05. George had moved up to 5th at 2:16.12. Murphy was in 5th at 2:16.28. Niggemyer was in 6th at 2:16.49. Elkins' Josh Bodkins had moved up to 7th at 2:16.56. McDonald was in 8th at 2:16.82. 11th was just over half a second back from that. Early in lap 3, the front 7 started to generate a little gap on the rest. Altobello moved to the lead on the backstretch. Hughes made a move into the lead with about 80 meters to go in the lap, and the final racing began. Hughes led through lap 3 at 3:21.76 with Conner in 2nd at 3:21.99. Altobello was in 3rd at 3:22.31. Niggemyer was back up to 4th at 3:22.48. Murphy was in 5th at 3:22.97. George was in 6th at 3:23.28. Bodkins was in 7th at 3:23.53, and McDonald was in 8th at 3:24.65. With 300 to go, Hughes accelerated and started to open a gap on Conner. With 200 to go, he had opened about a 5 meter lead. That lead just continued to grow as Hughes ended up touring the final lap in an incredible 58.99 to win the event in 4:20.75. He went 2:15 front end, 2:05 back end. Altobello made the pass on Conner with about 60 meters to go and ran away for 2nd in 4:24.40. Conner held the 3rd spot in 4:26.06. George used a strong kick to get by Niggemyer for 4th with George going 4:27.21 and Niggemyer 4:27.61. Bodkins was 6th in 4:28.93 with McDonald coming up for 7th in 4:29.86 and Murphy holding the 8th spot in 4:30.26.
RunWV's Current Score: 29 of 40.

3200 Meter Run
Keyser's Luca Altobello led the field out of the turn and held it through the first lap, leading at 1:09.92. Hughes was in 2nd at 1:10.17. Williamstown's Frank Conner was in 3rd at 1:10.37. Elkins' Trevor George was in 4th at 1:10.55. Frankfort's Gavin McDonald was in 5th at 1:10.68. Grafton's M.J. Niggemyer was in 6th at 1:10.75. Elkins' Benjamin Tenney was in 7th at 1:10.96, and Williamstown's Julian Johnson was in 8th at 1:11.05. The entire field was within 2 seconds of the lead. Altobello led through lap 2 as well, at 2:23.66. Hughes was still 2nd at 2:23.91. Conner remained in 3rd at 2:24.20. George remained in 4th at 2:24.44. Nicholas' Johnny Walkup moved up to 5th at 2:24.77. Niggemyer was in 6th at 2:24.82. McDonald was in 7th at 2:24.90, and Herbert Hoover's Dylan Straight was in 8th at 2:25.13. The entire field was still within 2.3 seconds of the lead. On lap 3, Hughes moved to the lead at 3:35.19. Altobello was right behind in 2nd at 3:35.25. Conner remained in 3rd at 3:35.49. Walkup moved up to 4th at 3:35.58. George was in 5th at 3:35.68. Niggemyer was in 6th at 3:36.13. Tenney was in 7th at 3:37.12, and McDonald was in 8th at 3:37.27. The field was starting to spread, but there was still only just over 2 seconds between 1st and 8th. On lap 4, the front 6 started to break away from the rest. George made a move to the front heading into the homestretch and led at the mid-way point at 4:48.38. Altobello was in 2nd at 4:48.51 with Hughes in 3rd at 4:48.57. Walkup was in 4th at 4:48.90. Conner was in 5th at 4:49.22 with Niggemyer in 6th at 4:49.37. Tenney was in 7th at 4:51.16, and McDonald was in 8th at 4:51.50. On lap 5, Hughes moved back to the lead as they entered the homestretch and started to pick up the pace. He went through at 6:00.05. Altobello was 2nd at 6:00.43. George was in 3rd at 6:00.84. Niggemyer was in 4th at 6:01.32. Walkup was in 5th at 6:01.52. Conner was in 6th at 6:02.56 and was starting to lose contact with the group. Tenney was in 7th at 6:06.33. McDonald was in 8th at 6:06.56. The lead 8 had put about a 3.5 second gap on the trailers, and it looked like our 8 placers were pretty much set. On lap 6, Hughes, who had sped up by a second and a half on lap 5, sped up another 3 and a half secnods on this lap and opened a gap on the field, coming through at 7:07.89. Altobello was still in 2nd at 7:10.48 with George still in 3rd at 7:11.09. Walkup was in 4th but had dropped off the front 3, coming through at 7:13.30. Niggemyer was in 5th at 7:17.36. Tenney moved up to 6th at 7:21.43. McDonald was in 7th at 7:21.67 with Conner in 8th at 7:21.86. On lap 7, Hughes stretched his lead by another 6 seconds, going through at 8:16.27. Altobello was still in 2nd at 8:24.96 with George still right on him at 8:25.27. Walkup was still in 4th at 8:28.97, and had gotten a nice gap on the rest. Tenney had moved up to 5th at 8:34.63 with McDonald up to 6th at 8:35.59. Niggemyer was in 7th at 8:35.89 but was fading. Conner was in 8th at 8:39.44. Hughes buried the final lap in just over 62 seconds to take the win in 9:18.33, which is the 7th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. He went front end 4:48, back end 4:29. Altobello pulled well away from George on the final lap to take 2nd in 9:29.28. George easily held the 3rd spot in 9:34.67. Walkup was not threatened for 4th, getting a 9:37.82. McDonald closed well to move up to 5th in 9:41.80. Tenney held the 6th spot in 9:43.80. Conner kicked his way back into 7th in 9:47.17, and Niggemyer held the 8th spot in 9:48.35.
RunWV's Current Score: 37 of 48.

110 Meter High Hurdles
Bluefield's Milton Byard led through the first 7 hurdles, but he was overtaken over the final 3, and Point Pleasant scored the hat-trick, which probably sealed their team title. Grant Barton took 1st in 14.71. Reece Hunt was a very close 2nd in 14.75, and Evan Bailes scored 3rd in 14.90 to give them the 1-2-3 finish. Lincoln's Aidan Rice was a very close 4th in 14.92, and Byard was a very close 5th in 14.95. Keyser's Davin Richardson also made it in under 15.50 in taking 6th in 15.47.
RunWV's Current Score: 43 of 56.

300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles
Roane's Lane Watson broke open a close race down the stretch as he powered away from the field to win in a very nice 39.26. He plowed through the final hurdle, but it did not slow him down. Point Pleasant scored 2nd and 3rd with Reece Hunt in 2nd in 40.38, and Grant Barton in 3rd in 40.47. Sissonville's Jaunti Evans was 4th in 40.85. East Fairmont's C.J. Brandli was the last one in under 41.50 with a 41.33 for 5th. Point Pleasant's Evan Bailes scored 6th in 41.55 with Shady Spring's Garren Armentrout taking 7th in 41.70 with those two coming from Heat 1. East Fairmont's Jaden Dawson made it all 8 placers under 42 with a 41.80.
RunWV's Current Score: 50 of 64.

4x100 Meter Relay
The Wheeling Central group of Caleb Golden, Dominic Gianangeli, Joey Hall, and Braden McWreath had the lead heading into the final leg and held the win in a very strong 43.29, which is the 2nd Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. The Hampshire unit of Adrian Litchfield, Vinnie Greear, Colten Fleming, and Trenton Timbrook kept it close, and their 2nd place time of 43.59 is the 6th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. Elkins just nipped Weir for 3rd, 44.06 to 44.08. The next 4 spots were decided by just 0.02 with Chapmanville in 5th and Frankfort in 6th with both in 44.06. Williamstown was 7th, and Bluefield was 8th as they duked it out in Heat 1 with both recording a 44.08.
RunWV's Current Score: 56 of 72.

4x200 Meter Relay
The Hampshire squad of Adrian Litchfield, Vinnie Greear, Ben Riggleman, and Trenton Timbrook just held off a fast-closing Wheeling Central for the win in 1:30.47, which ties them for the 9th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. Wheeling Central was 2nd in 1:30.49. Point Pleasant was solidly in 3rd in 1:31.40. Heat 1 had an excellent battle, and teams from that Heat took the next 3 spot with Weir in 4th in 1:32.17, Williamstown in 5th in 1:32.94, and Bluefield in 6th in 1:33.18. Herbert Hoover was 7th in 1:33.33 with East Farimont 8th in 1:33.51.
RunWV's Current Score: 62 of 80.

4x400 Meter Relay
It looked like Point Pleasant had a slight lead at the first exchange at 53 seconds. I think Frankfort was in 2nd. The two were very close as Frankfort was closing better than Point. But it was Weir that led the field out of the break with Frankfort in 2nd, Grafton in 3rd, and Point Pleasant in 4th. Point Pleasant rolled down the backstretch and took the lead with about 180 meters to go in the leg, and they carried that lead through the exchange at 1:46.43. Frankfort was in 2nd at 1:46.93. Weir was in 3rd at 1:47.56. Elkins and Grafton were both at 1:47.92 for 4th and 5th. PikeView was in 6th at 1:48.46. Hampshire was in 7th at 1:49.16, and East Fairmont from Heat 1 was in 8th at 1:50.46. Point Pleasant maintained that lead through the 3rd leg at 2:38.94. Frankfort was in 2nd at 2:39.82. Weir was in 3rd at 2:42.00. Elkins was in 4th at 2:42.29. Grafton was in 5th at 2:42.56. PikeView was in 6th at 2:42.88. Hampshire was in 7th at 2:43.93, and Ripley from Heat 1 was in 8th at 2:44.59. 3rd through 6th was separated by less than a 0.6 seconds setting up a nice battle on the anchor leg. Point Pleasant got out quickly, and a 50.71 anchor leg from Anthony Bertagnoli secured the win in 3:29.64. Frankfort held the 2nd spot on a 50.82 leg from Keiton Nestor to finish in 3:30.64. Who won that battle for 3rd through 6th? It wasn't any of the teams that were in 3rd through 6th at the exchange. Hampshire got a stellar 49.09 anchor leg from Vinnie Greear to move them from 7th to 3rd with a 3:33.01. Grafton moved to 4th on a late kick to finish in 3:34.09. Elkins was 5th in 3:34.39. Weir was 6th in 3:34.40. PikeView was 7th in 3:34.55. So those 4 teams went from being separated by 0.59 at the exchange to being separated by 0.46 at the finish. Fun. Ripley took the 8th spot at 3:38.20.
RunWV's Current Score: 69 of 88.

4x800 Meter Relay
Someone took off very fast and had a noticeable lead by the breakline. I think it was Buffalo. They were 2 seconds ahead after one lap. But they got reeled in and swallowed up on the backstretch, falling to 6th by the 200 mark. PikeView and Keyser had opened a gap on the field. PikeView led through the exchange on a 2:00 leg (possibly under) from Tyler Huffman. Keyser was in 2nd at 2:01. Elkins was in 3rd at 2:03. Frankfort was in 4th also at 2:03. Williamstown was in 5th at 2:04. Grafton was in 6th at 2:06 with Shady Spring in 7th, also at 2:06. I think Buffalo was in 8th. It was the team that led early. On the 2nd leg, Elkins made the move into the lead late in the 1st lap. They established a gap on the field, coming through at 4:06. PikeView was in 2nd at 4:10 with Keyser in 3rd, also at 4:10, and Williamstown in 4th at 4:11. Frankfort was in 5th at 4:13. I think Roane was up to 6th at 4:18. On the 3rd leg, Elkins continued to hold a gap on the field, coming through at 6:11. Williamstown moved into 2nd at 6:18 with PikeView in 3rd at 6:19. Keyser was in 4th at 6:21 with Frankfort in 5th at 6:22. I think Roane was still in 6th at 6:29. On the final leg, Elkins was never threatened, getting a 2:01 anchor from Trevor George to seal the deal in 8:12.66 for the the group of Josh Bodkins, Bobby Valentine, Gavin Brown, and Trevor George. PikeView made an early pass on Williamstown on the leg, but Williamstown went back around with about 300 meters to go. Frank Conner gave them a 1:57 anchor leg to take that spot in 8:15.50. Frankfort came up for 3rd in 8:20.29 on a 1:57 or 1:58 leg from Ryan Hughes. PikeView held the 4ht spot in 8:22.19. Keyser was 5th in 8:32.38 with Roane in 6th in 8:38.65. Shady Spring was 7th in 8:42.36, and Lincoln had been ahead of them, but their anchor ran out of gas and flailed before stumbling and falling just meters before the line. By the time he got up, Lewis County had taken the final spot in 8:45.02.
RunWV's Current Score: 75 of 96.

Shuttle Hurdle Relay
It was very close through the 1st leg, but Point Pleasant blew the race open on leg 2 and went on to win by nearly 3 seconds. The foursome of Reece Hunt, Isaac Creel, Evan Bailey, and Grant Barton put down a 56.48, giving them the 2nd Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. A clubbed hurdle might be all that kept them from the record. Lincoln pulled away on the final leg for 2nd in 59.30. Bluefield was 3rd in 1:00.14 with East Fairmont in 4th in 1:00.82 from Heat 3. Hampshire was 5th in 1:01.63, and Keyser was 6th in 1:01.88.
RunWV's Current Score: 83 of 104.

High Jump
Nicholas' Isaiah Miner already had the lead, but he sealed the win by clearing 6'2 on his first attempt. No one else was able to clear the mark. James Monroe's Peyton Gardinier was the only other jumper to clear 6'0, doing so on his 3rd attempt. 6 others cleared 5'10 with only Point Pleasant's Lucas Beckett doing so on his 1st attempt to give him 3rd place.
RunWV's Current Score: 90 of 112.

Pole Vault
Keyser's Tanner Detrick cleared 13'6 on his 2nd attempt after vaulting cleanly through 13'0 to take the win. Point Pleasant's Cohen McDaniel also cleared 13'6, on his 3rd attempt, to take 2nd. 4 guys cleared 12'6 with Keyser's Alek Detrick and Williamstown's Tyrell Miller doing so on their first attempt. Detrick had fewer total misses to get the 3rd spot with Miller in 4th. East Fairmont's Mason Blauvelt and Point Pleasant's Gage Devault each cleared the mark on their 2nd attempt with Blauvelt winning the tie-breaker for 5th. East Fairmont's Cole Vangilder and Roane's Brandon Charles each cleared 12'0 to take 7th and 8th, respectively.
RunWV's Current Score: 98 of 120.

Long Jump
James Monroe's Cameron Crislip went 20'9.75 on his 5th attempt to take the narrow win over Poca's Landon Coleman who went 20'9 for 2nd. Oak Glen's Logan Murray went 20'5 on his 5th attempt to move from 8th into 3rd. Nicholas' Isaiah Miner went 20'3.25 on his final attempt to move from 6th to 4th. Point Pleasant's Isaac Creel went 20'0.25 on his final attempt to move to 5th. Buffalo's Cole Whittington went 20'0 for 6th.
RunWV's Current Score: 103 of 128.

Shot Put
Point Pleasant's Caden Hill threw 52'4.25 on his 1st attempt, and no one matched that the rest of the way. However, that was his shortest of 5 legal throws. His final attempt of 55'5.25 gave him the win by over 3' and give him the 9th Best All-Time Class AA State Meet Performance. Oak Glen's Orien Bone sent his 2nd attempt 52'3.75 to take 2nd. Nicholas' J.T. Williams sent his final attempt 51'9 to move into 3rd. Philip Barbour's Jeremy Horne threw 49'9.50 for 4th. Williamstown's Christian Lockhart threw 48'10.25 on his final attempt for 5th. Robert C. Byrd's James McMillion threw 48'7 for 6th. Shady Spring's Gabe Knoblet threw 48'6.50 on his final attempt for 7th, and Nicholas' Brady Smith threw 48'1.50 for 8th.
RunWV's Current Score: 110 of 136.

Discus
Point Pleasant's Caden Hill threw 172'3 on his 1st attempt, and no one came within 18' of that the rest of the way. His top throw of 175'2 is the 6th Best All-Time State Meet Performance. Williamstown's Christian Hoosier threw 153'10 on his final attempt for 2nd. He was already in 2nd, but that solidified it. Teammate Lynken Joy was 3rd with a throw of 151'7. Philip Barbour's John McGee threw 151'3 for 4th. Shady Spring's Colton Henderson Threw 146'6 for 5th. Everyone else was at least 8' behind.
RunWV's Current Score: 116 of 144.

The final score of 118 of 144 means that 80.6% of the people picked to place did indeed place. That's 2 worse than last year. I did get all 8 placers in the 3200, Shuttles, and Pole Vault. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.

Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceed the predictions by 3 or more places and deserve special mention.

Braden McWreath, Wheeling Central -- 100 M (picked 7th, got 2nd)
Lucas Messengers, East Fairmont -- 100 M (picked 8th, got 5th)
William Jackson, James Monroe -- 200 M (not picked, got 5th)
Landon Haught, Weir -- 200 M (not picked, got 6th)
Dominic Gianangeli, Wheeling Central -- 400 M (picked 7th, got 3rd)
Anthony Bertagnoli, Point Pleasant -- 400 M (not picked, got 4th)
Adrian Litchfield, Hampshire -- 400 M (not picked, got 6th)
Luca Altobello, Keyser -- 800 M (not picked, got 5th)
Luca Altobello, Keyser -- 1600 M (picked 5th, got 2nd)
Johnny Walkup, Nicholas -- 3200 M (picked 7th, got 4th)
Gavin McDonald, Frankfort -- 3200 M (picked 8th, got 5th)
Davin Richardson, Keyser -- 110 HH (not picked, got 6th)
C.J. Brandli, East Fairmont -- 300 IH (picked 8th, got 5th)
Chapmanville -- 4x100 Meter Relay (picked 8th, got 5th)
(Jeremy Collins, Keegan Craddock, Mahryon Corbett, Trey Ward)
Frankfort -- 4x100 Meter Relay (not picked, got 6th)
(Eli Hesse, Brady Twigg, Keiton Nestor, Charlie Fairley)
Weir -- 4x200 Meter Relay (picked 7th, got 4th)
(Landon Haught, Anthony Jeffers, Syncere Stevenson, Damir Mowder)
Williamstown -- 4x200 Meter Relay (not picked, got 5th)
(Will Sites, Jackson Kerr, Carson Haines, Carson Brundige)
Grafton -- 4x400 Meter Relay (picked 8th, got 4th)
(M.J. Niggemyer, Tyler Clemm, Jaxson Hall, Jonathan Maier)
Lucas Beckett, Point Pleasant -- High Jump (Picked 6th, got 3rd)
Tyrell Miller, Williamstown -- Pole Vault (picked 8th, got 4th)
Cameron Crislip, James Monroe -- Long Jump (not picked, got 1st)
Logan Murray, Oak Glen -- Long Jump (picked 7th, got 3rd)
Isaac Creel, Point Pleasant -- Long Jump (not picked, got 5th)
J.T. Williams, Nicholas -- Shot Put (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Jeremy Horne, Philip Barbour -- Shot Put (picked 7th, got 4th)
James McMillion, Robert C. Byrd -- Shot Put (not picked, got 6th)
Gabe Knoblet, Shady Spring -- Discus (not picked, got 6th)

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

Class AA Boys
Point Pleasant    +19
James Monroe      +15
Keyser            + 9