CHARLESTON — The West Virginia High School Track and Field Championships begin tonight at Laidley Field and conclude with a sold-out Saturday.
The two local teams together may not be enough to overtake defending champion Winfield, but rivals Weir and Oak Glen could compete for the Class AA runner-up spot. be.
The Golden Bears won the Region I championship with 99 points, Kaiser's 97, and Weir third with 96 points.
“It's going to be a tough battle, and it's probably going to be two Hancock County teams competing for second place,” Weir head coach Jeff Lewis said. “But there are some teams right behind us who have had great seasons, so it's going to be difficult to claim runner-up spot.”
Weir will compete based on the strength of his relay team. The Red Riders' 4×100 team was the only one not to qualify for the state meet, but among the 4×200, 4×400, 4×800 and shuttle hurdle teams, Weir had the top time or two to qualify for state. Holding the second time. meet.
The Red Riders also received points from Olivia Baker in the 100m and 200m, Mia Kaufman in the 400m hurdles, Mareiha Stromile in the 100m hurdles, Gabriela Spickard in the 200m hurdles and Naomi Young in the 800m hurdles. I look forward to winning.
“All of our top runners are committed to the relays, which feeds us,” Lewis said, noting the 4×400 team is the defending AA champion. “But we also have Olivia in 100th and 200th, and she ranks in the top three in each event. We have Mare in the 400 and Naomi in the 800.”
Weir's main obstacle was that the Red Riders were unable to qualify for any of the field events, leaving the riders' hopes entirely in the running events.
Meanwhile, Oak Glen should see senior Hannah Kleiner score a ton of points herself.
Kleiner finished fourth and seventh in the distance events as a junior, but owns the top times on the performance list in both major distance events and ranks third in the 800 meters. His teammate Lacey Cameron could also score in both the 800 and 1,600 meters. The Golden Bears had four of their five relay teams qualified and had a chance to challenge for first place in both sprint relays.
Kensington McConachie in the long jump and Leeselyn Craig in the shoot should score some points, as well as Aubrey Stoica in the 3,200 meters.
On the men's side, the Riders once again qualified in many relay events, but were unable to post as many times as the women.
Devan Colson was ranked in both the 100 and 200 meters last season and entered Friday's meet in first place in the 100 (11.26) and third in the 200 (23.01). His main rival for both events will be Frankfort's Cohen Arbogast. The two competed in regional competitions, with Colson winning the 100th and Arbogast the 200th.
Anthony Zorbini of the Riders has qualified and will compete in both the shot put and discus. Jacob Taylor will join Colson in the sprint event and has a good chance of finishing in the top 200.
Oak Glen senior Alex Dennis holds the fourth-best record entering the discus, but will need to hit 160 or higher to win.
Teammates long jumper Logan Murray and shot putter Orien Bourne should both place. Cody Willey has a good record in the discus throw, giving him a shot at a medal. Although the Golden Bears have not qualified for any open running events, the Bears have the 10th best time in the shuttle.
Class A
Madonna's Alaina Baker has the seventh-best time in the Class A Open 400 meters. Riley Burkimer has the best time in the shot put, 12th at even 31, but the distance between No. 12 and No. 7 is not perfect, which could put PR Burkimer on the medal stand.
However, Birkimer should win a medal in his specialty, the discus throw. She owns the third best throw at 103-08. The Blue Dons shuttle team has her 10th best time.
On the men's side, Andre Crosland qualified in two events, posting the 11th best time in the high jump with 5 wins and 10 losses, and the 6th best time in the 400 meter hurdles. Teammate Jonah McKay posted the sixth time in the 300-meter hurdles.
Class AAA
Brook's Gavin Scott competed in the 800 meters, teammate Jude Blake in the shot put and Blake Stewart in the 100 meters with the Bruins' 4×400 relay team.
All four entries have times in the bottom half of the list and need a PR to win a medal.
The Brook girls did not qualify for the state tournament.