The annual West Virginia track and field state championships will be held today and Saturday at the University of Charleston's Laidley Field. For a preview on Class AAA, read my Daily Mail article by clicking here.
Below, I'll do my best to give an event-by-event breakdown of area athletes and teams competing for titles and All-State honors. Good luck to all involved this weekend!
If I left anyone out, leave a comment or message me on Twitter @nickbrockman and I'll be sure to update the listings.
Boys
Jefferson enters as the No. 1 and three-time defending team champion. With balance across the board, Jefferson is the favorite to repeat. Cabell Midland, ranks second, maintains strength in the distance events and hurdles and should place a solid second, but it will be impossible to catch Jefferson without help. Parkersburg will look to take the third spot. Local teams with an aim at the top five include Point Pleasant and Huntington.
100: Point Pleasant's Marquez Griffin ranks fifth in the state and will look to sow up an All-State accolade. Huntington's Bryce Jones ranks ninth in the state. Other area competitors include: steven Handley (Hurricane), William Jackson (Riverside), John Hathaway (Winfield) and Colton Griffith (Winfield).
200: Locals will have a great shot at scoring in this event. Capital's Davon Tyson, Hathaway (Winfield) and Jones (Huntington) and Jacob Jackson, of George Washington, each rank in the state's top 10.
400: Spring Valley's Jacob Kilgore ranks fifth in the state with Jackson, of GW, sixth. Zach Canterbury (Point Pleasant) and Rasaan Harris (Hurricane) will also compete. Cabell Midland's Jacob Burcham has the eighth-fastest time in the state, but will not run this event at state.
800: Area athletes will look to sweep this event led by Midland. Burcham is the odds-on favorite as the defending champ and event record holder. Knights teammates Brian Lawhon and Mason Dino rank second and third in the state behind Burcham. Caleb Riffle, of Point Pleasant, Kilgore (Spring Valley) and Winfield's Preston Sheldon each rank in the top 10, as does Huntington's Sam Smith. Other locals include Kilgore (Spring Valley) and Ripley duo Antonio Jones and Chad Longanacre.
1600: Burcham, the record holder and defending champ, is the favorite. George Washington's Matt Brafford should take second. Other locals competing include Avery Campbell and Jeremy Waugh, both of Midland, Michael Ruhnke and Marshall Sharp, both of Capital, and Winfield's Sheldon.
3200: Burcham, again the record holder and defending champ, is expected to cruise to victory, with Brafford taking second. Avery (Midland), Jack McGee (Huntington) and Chad Hollandsworth (GW) will also compete.
110H: Nate Moore, of Midland, holds the state's fastest time as Knights coach Chris Parsons told me Moore is the best athlete he's ever coached in this event. Huntington's Ryan Gatrell should finish second. Midland's Niles Dailey will also be among top threats for All-State status. Other locals competing include Ryan Gregory (Ripley), Anthony Bady (Winfield) and Will Walker (GW), son of Patriots track coach Brent Walker.
300H: Dailey and Moore, both of Midland, will be favorites to score for the Knights. Other local competitors include Gregory (Ripley), Walker (GW) and Bady (Winfield).
4x100: According to www.runwv.com, top-ranked Jefferson will not compete in this event, which opens the door for No. 2 Point Pleasant. Huntington and Capital are also favorites to score. Other local teams include Midland and Winfield.
4x200: Point Pleasant ranks third in the state. Other top 10 teams include Huntington, Capital and Winfeild.
4x400: Hurricane represents the top local team as the Redskins rank fourth-best in AAA. Other top 10 local teams include Point Pleasant, Huntington, Midland and Winfield.
4x800: With its distance strength, Midland is expected to win. Winfield, Hurricane, Ripley, Point Pleasant and Capital will compete, too.
Shuttle hurdles: Midland's other strength lies in hurdles and the Knights are favorites to win this event. Huntington ranks a solid second. Hurricane will compete as well.
High jump: Winfield's Christian Smith ranks ninth in the state as the top area athlete in this event. Gatrell (Huntington), Lucas Roberts (Capital) and Brian Hughes and Nathan Wendel, both of Hurricane, will compete too.
Pole vault: Capital's Tristan Slater and Chantz Rankin, of Hurricane, will battle for first. Other locals include Zane Griffith (Ripley), Chris Cochran (Winfield), Smith (Winfield), Andrew Ching (Huntington) and Eldrick Millares (Ripley).
Long jump: Gregory (Ripley) and Smith (Winfield) are expected to place among the event's best. Other local competitors include Hurricane's Wendel and Michael Molina.
Shot put: No locals rank in the state's top 10. Area athletes in this event include Tannor Hill (Point Pleasant), Zach Namey (Winfield), Nick Peyette (GW) and Jacob Lomax, of St. Albans.
Discus: Runwv.com predicts Matt Berlo (Point Pleasant) to finish fourth, though I do not see his name among the state's top 10. St. Albans' Travis Vickers ranks fourth in the state. Hill, of Point Pleasant, ranks sixth, with Lomax (St. Albans) ninth. Other locals include Namey (Winfield) and Cody Mitchell (Point Pleasant).
Girls
No. 1 Morgantown and second-rated Buckhannon-Upshur will battle for the top spot. Winfield, Washington and John Marshall will contest for spots three through five. Hurricane will look to exceed its No. 9 ranking.
100: St. Albans sophomore Anacia Hines ranks third in the state as the best local athlete in this event. Other contenders to score include Winfield's Emily Cole and Anika Shah. Sarah Allred (Winfield) and Shakira Bowman (Riverside) will also compete.
200: Hines ranks fourth in the state. Huntington's Safiyyah Mitchell is a top threat for All-State status too, as is Midland's Jakeya Perrin. Other locals competing include Cole, Shah and Mary Zulauf, all of Winfield, Bowman (Riverside), Allison Smith (Point Pleasant), Zhakiya Brown (South Charleston) and Audra Thomas (Ripley).
400: Perrin (Midland) lists among favorites to score in this event as she ranks seventh in the state. Winfield's Barkley Castro, Brown (SC) and Laura Blake (Midland) will also compete.
800: This event is loaded with talented area athletes, led by Castro (Winfield) who is favored to win as she ranks first in the state. Porter (Point Pleasant) and Alex Ellis (Midland) also rank in the top 10 and should be threats to score. Kassidy Lemons (Spring Valley) Adrienne Arnold (GW) and Marie Abiqwe (SC) will also compete.
1600: Hurricane senior Emily Schwendiman and Capital sophomore Peyton Panger will battle for the top local athlete in this event as both rank in the state's top five. Porter (Point Pleasant) ranks ninth in the state. Other locals include Schwendiman's twin sister Natalie Schwendiman (Hurricane), Rachel Englund (Winfield) and Amy Stewart (Spring Valley).
3200: Another Emily Schwendiman-Panger battle for local athlete supremacy. Both runners list top six in the state and are expected to earn All-State status. Joie Johnston (Hurricane), Englund (Winfield) and Brittney McMillion (Winfield) will also compete.
100H: Both Hines (St. Albans) and Makenzi Niebergall (Midland) rank top five in the state and will be serious contenders to place top three, or definitely five, with solid performances. Midland's Haley Hall, Morgan Hensley (Huntington) and Tatiyanna Wood (Capital) all rank top 10, too. Other local competitors include Audrey Barber (Hurricane), Molli Cunningham (Ripley), Kennedy Young (Point Pleasant), Josee Erlandson (Winfield) and Holly Farkosh (Ripley).
300H: Winfield's Erlandson ranks second in the state as the top local athlete in this event. Generals teammate Mackenzie Arthur ranks eighth with Hurricane's Barber 10th. Other locals include Micharae Thompson (Winfield) and Cunningham (Ripley).
4x100: Winfield ranks second in the state, though www.runwv.com gives second-rated Morgantown the edge in this event. Maybe, there's some bulletin board material to fire up the Generals girls. Huntington ranks eighth. Other competing local teams include Point Pleasant, Midland and Hurricane.
4x200: In this event, Winfield ranks third in the state, but www.runwv.com picks the Generals to win. Midland lists eighth. Other teams include Point Pleasant, Ripley, Huntington and Hurricane.
4x400: Winfield ranks fifth, with Midland eighth. Others local teams in the event include Spring Valley and Point Pleasant.
4x800: Hurricane ranks fourth in the state, with Winfield sixth. Other local teams competing include Midland, Spring Valley and GW.
Shuttle hurdles: Locals load this event with Midland ranked second in the state. Huntington lists fifth, with Winfield sixth. Hurricane is eighth and Point Pleasant ninth. Ripley will also compete.
High jump: No locals rank in the state's top 10, though there are several competing. Siera Grose, Mackenzie Cassidy and Anna Sheils will represent Midland. Hannah Cartwright (Winfield) and Maleah Penn (Riverside) will also compete.
Pole vault: Hurricane's Lauren London ranks seventh in the state and will contend for All-State honors. Other locals include Ripley's Maddi Randolph and Erica Gibson, Caroline Smith (Hurricane), Maggie Lafear (Huntington) and Whitney Layton (Point Pleasant).
Long jump: Cassidy (Midland) and Hensley (Huntington) both rank in the state's top 10. Other locals include Cole (Winfield) and Mitchell (Huntington).
Shot put: Hurricane's Abby Watson and Huntington's Ericka Budd each rank in the state's top 10. Lachelle Guin (Nitro) and George Washington freshman Lillie Jacobs will also compete.
Discus: Watson (Huricane) and Jacobs (GW) both rank in the state's top five and should lock up All-State status with solid showings. Other locals competing include Budd (Huntington) and Shelby Yancey (Winfield).
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