CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Winfield girls track team must make room in a crowded trophy case while the Point Pleasant boys are celebrating their first title in 35 years. The Generals and the Big Blacks claimed Class AA team titles on the middle day of the WVSSAC Track and Field Championships at University of Charleston Stadium.
Winfield (159 points) won nine of the eighteen events. Sprinter Allie Germann added first place finishes in the 100 meter (12.6) and the 200 meter (26.9) runs to her victory in the 400 (59.7) on Thursday. She also won the long jump (17 feet, 1 1/4 inches) en route to high point honors.
Distance runner Rachel Withrow added a 1600 meter title (5:19.79) to her first place finish in the two-mile (11:21.67) Thursday.
Diana Goodman authored a state-record performance in the pole vault. She set a new mark at 12 feet, 2 inches.
Rylee Hinkle added another win for the Generals in the 100 hurdles (15.81). The title is their eleventh in school history and they completed a successful defense of their 2019 championship.
“It never gets old,” said Winfield head coach David Bailey. “It gets better. These kids work so hard. They deserve everything they get. I am more than proud of them and it is an exciting time for these kids.”
North Marion (55 points) is the Class AA runner-up. The Huskies received an event victory in the 4 x 200 meter relay (1:48.54 – Trinity Hine, Cierra Parker, Rylee Delovich & Abby Masters).
Addy Cottrell was a double winner for Point Pleasant, claiming wins in the discus (133-9) and the shot put (38 1/4). Elicia Wood (5-2) also scored a title for Point with a win in the high jump.
Other individual winners in Class AA were Oak Glen’s Isabelle Barganski in the 300 hurdles (48.81), Nicholas County’s Natalie Barr won the 800 meter (2:24.51) , Fairmont Senior took the title in the 4 x 100 relay (51.95 – Payton Neal, Maddie Aubrey, Marin Parker & Gracie Lamb), Oak Glen won the 4 x 400 relay (4:19.78 – Phoebe Molish, Gracie Wright, Barganski & Kamela Ward), Elkins won the 4 x 800 relay (10:18.59 – Kileuy Edwards, Anna Belan, Samantha Sprout & Addison Bernie) and Sissonville crossed first in the shuttle hurdle relay (1:07.96 – Hailey Skeen, Amelia Compston, Sara Beckett & Zoey McCutcheon).
The boys team competition went down to the final event. Point Pleasant (86 points) held on to win their second state championship and first since 1986. The Big Blacks claimed three event victories on Friday. They won the 4 x 100 (44.47 – Jonathan Griffin, Gavin Jeffers, Preston Taylor & Trey Peck) and 4 x 200 relays (1:33.32 – same team). And Cody Schultz won the discus (159-11) by nearly thirty feet.
“We just had a bunch of kids that got together and wanted to have a good track team in the middle of this whole mess (pandemic). And we are young. We don’t have a senior on the team. They’re all back. Things just kind of came together,” said Point Pleasant head coach David Darst.
Winfield (74 points) finished as the runner-up. Shaun Webb was a double winner for the Generals with victories in the 110 hurdles (15.56) and the 300 hurdles (41.23). Ian Johnson won a jump-off over Cael McCutcheon of Point Pleasant in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet.
Fairmont Senior had an impressive showing in the distance events. The Polar Bears won the 4 x 800 relay (8:19.2 – Elijah Hannig, Jayden Richardson, Tyler Hays), and Logan Zuchelli added victories in the 800 meter (1:58.37) and 1600 meter (4:15.9) to his two-mile win Thursday night. Zuchelli set a state record in the 1600, earning high point honors.
Ethan Bowers of Wayne was a double winner in sprint events. After winning the 400 meter on Thursday, Bowers added a win in the 100 meter (11.11) Friday.
Other individual event winners included the Oak Glen shuttle hurdle relay team (1:02.23 – Aiden Flowers, Gage Patterson, Dylan Conley & Cameron Tropeck), the Berkeley Springs 4 x 400 relay team (3:37.48. – Gabe McDonald, Tim Develing, Ben Golden & Tristan Romo), Braedon Murray of Sissonville in the long jump (21-9 1/2), Westside’s Daniel Reed in the high jump (6-0), Anthony Dunbar of Poca in the shot put (47-11 1/2), and Bluefield’s Jacorian Green sprinted to victory in the 200 meters (23.0).
Class AAA off and running
Two events in Class AAA were contested late Friday night. In the boys competition, Wheeling Park senior Torrence Walker won the 400 meter run in a time go 48.45 seconds. University junior Josh Edwards set a state meet record in the 3200 meter run (8:52.82).
Girls winners were Jefferson’s Loreli Bangit in the 400 (57.54) and Morgantown’s Irene Riggs in the 3200 (10:50.51).