Live Webcast of the WVIAC Championships    (If you missed Day 1, watch day 2)

WVIAC Meet Schedule

WVIAC Day One Results

West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats lead both the men and women team standings after Day 1. The women lead 2nd place Seton Hill by 34 points and the men lead 2nd place Seton Hill by 57 points.

Please check out the results posted under Meet Coverage on the right side of the home page.

We will have full results, pictures and write-up tomorrow after the conclusion of the meet.

Karissa Knabenshue of Buckhannon-Upshur, Mark Britton of Ritchie County and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland have achieved Milesplit US First Team Elite Gold Standards.

Knabenshue heaved the shot put 41' 6" at Elkins last week to take over the State's best mark. She now leads the State in the discus (124'4") and the shot put.

Britton of Ritchie County seems to have a personal best every time he competes. He keeps raising the standard and with his latest throw of 173' 4" in the discuss at the Cline Stansbury Invitational earned a National Gold Standard. To achieve a gold first team standard, a throw of 170' is required.

Burcham earned his Gold standard at the Eastern Relays in the 1600m with a nations best freshman time of 4:16.40. Please see the two articles regarding the Eastern Relays for more coverage on this freshman's amazing race and time.

Milesplit First Team Elite Standards

 Congratulations to our West Virginia athletes on these outstanding accomplishments.

Breaking News! Live Results from Kentucky Eastern Relays

File Photo Courtesy of Cabell Midland

Freshman sensation Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland placed 2nd in the 1600m at the Eastern Relays at the University of Louisville in a West Virginia State best 4:16.40 just minutes ago. Burcham has already gone under 2 minutes in the 800m and sub 10 minutes in the 3200m. Burcham is establishing himself as one of the best freshman in the United States.

Boys 1600 Meter Run
1 Ryan Eaton Greenwood 4:15.57
2 Jacob Burcham Cabell Midland 4:16.40
3 Robbie Scharold Campbell County 4:20.64
4 Andrew Stewart North Hardin 4:21.12
5 Jake Wildeman Trinity 4:22.22
6 Jacob Thomson Holy Cross (Lou.) 4:22.99
7 Justin House Apollo 4:23.12
8 Austin Carter St. Xavier 4:23.57
9 Adam Kahleifeh Bardstown 4:24.88

Brandon Doughty Leads Rankings in Three Events

Pictured is Kaitlyn Clark of Jefferson clearing 10' in the Pole Vault

A pair of long jumpers highlighted this weekend’s top performances. Anthony Abston a junior from Robert C. Bryd High School leaped to a Milesplit National Silver Elite 22’ 7” at the Harry Green State-Wide Invitational and sophomore Alexandri Allen of Morgantown set sail with another Silver Elite jump of 18’ 1” also at the Harry Green State-Wide Invitational. Abston takes over the West Virginia state lead by over a foot and a half over Brendan Kacor of Magnolia.

There were 5 other state best marks or times from the weekend from which results have been submitted. Marty Zangus of Weir set the new standard in the 300m high hurdles with a time of 40.86 at the Shadyside Relays. Khiry Timbers of Martinsburg posted the fastest 400m time in 49.74 at the John Handley Invitational. Mark Britton continues his torrid pace while setting another state best discus throw with a mark of 169’ 5” at the Ritchie County Pizza House Invitational. For the ladies, Karissa Knabenshue of Buckhannon-Upshur established the discus new mark with a throw of 122’ 5” at the Mylan Pharmaceuticals Invitational held on Tuesday. Kaitlyn Clark of Jefferson set the State’s best in the pole vault while clearing 10’ 0” at the Jefferson Tri Meet on Wednesday. Brandon Doughty of Jefferson posted the fastest 800m clocking in 1:57.2 at the Jefferson Tri Meet. Doughty now leads the rankings in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m.

(More weekend coverage in article)

At the Chup Robinson Memorial Classic held in Gilmer on April 10, 2010, Mark Britton of Ritchie County had two National Standard Elites while throwing the State’s best marks in the discus and shot put with throws of 169’2” in the discus and 51’ 10” in the shot put.

Chup Robinson - National Elites

WV High School Boy Rankings  (To see rankings by classification: use the league option)

WV High School Girl Rankings

Please open the article for some other top times and marks from the weekend.

5 WVIAC Track and Field athletes have earned NCAA Division II provisional marks or times. Provisional marks or times do not guarantee acceptance in the NCAA National Championships. An invitation to participate in the NCAA Nationals will depend on the number of athletes earning provisional marks or times in each event. At this point no one has achieved an automatic mark or time.

Athletes that have earned NCAA DII provisional marks or times are:

Emily Taylor - JR - Wheeling Jesuit University - Discus - 147'1" -Bill Van Horne Invitational

Meghan Zayas - JR - West Virginia Wesleyan College - 3000m Steeplechase - 11:09.57- Duke Invitational

Ricky Kump - SR - West Virginia Wesleyan College - Decathlon - 6,569 pts. - Charlotte 49er Classic

Shawnee Carnett - FR - Concord University - 800m - 2:12.34 - Duke Invitational

Nick Spino - SO - Seton Hill University - 400m hurdles - 53.63 - Coastal Carolina Invitational

2009 West Virginia AAA Cross Country State Champion, junior Brandon Doughty, of Jefferson is taking over where he left off last year. Doughty ran a 9:31.66 3200m at the 11th Annual Dwight Scott Battlefield Blast to take over first place in the boys 3200m State rankings. In the process, Doughty achieved a Milesplit Second Team Elite Standard. Congrats to Brandon.

Brandon Doughty finishing last years State Cross Country Meet

Photo by Lance McDaniel

Tuesday at the Wetzel/Tyler Track League Meet Junior Matt Riggs of Magnolia achievement a National Elite Milesplit Second Team Standard in the discus with a throw of 151' 8.5", and  bettered his previous best of 141' 9" he threw earlier at the Richie County Quad Meet.  Congratualation to Riggzy.

He joins Mark Britton of Richie County (166' 4") and Christian Cummings (152' 3") of Fairmont Senior with throws over 150' (the second team standard). In order to achieve a first team standard, a throw of 170' is required. As of now, 35 throwers in the U.S. have attained a first team throw.

Here are the Milesplit standards. We have a few other athletes that have achieved National elite standards. For the complete list click on the rankings tab on the top bar.

Milesplit First Team Elite Standards

Milesplit Second Team Elite Standards

Barry Franklin photo courtesy of West Virginia Wesleyan

Barry Franklin of West Virginia Wesleyan College and Lance McDaniel of Concord University came into the Duke University Invitational ranked #1 and #2 in the WVIAC Conference 3000m Steeplechase. Franklin , ranked #1, had the previous West Virginia Wesleyan College Steeplechase record of 9:37.41. Franklin has also set personal bests marks in his last 5 races. McDaniel's previous best steeplechase time was 9:50 and the Concord University record was 9:46.60 set by Ryan Kent in 2008.  On Saturday, Franklin and McDaniel were in the same heat and both set school records as Franklin's school record time was 9:34.51 while McDaniel closed the gap on the two and set the Mountain Lions new record in 9:38.50. This looks to be one of the highly contested events at the WVIAC Conference championship.

Lance McDaniel after breaking the Concord 3000m Steeplechase record

Shawnee Carnett of Concord University continues to impress and break records when she steps on the track. Carnett won the 3rd heat of the 800m run by passing the entire field on the last lap as she went around the field in the 3rd lane in the first two turns and accelerated past everyone to stake her claim to another lady Mountain Lion record with a 2:12.34.

Megan Savioli of Concord University who is a powerful runner that gets up on her toes and goes did just that as she set the new Concord University 400m hurdle record in1:09.98.

Other West Virginia Wesleyan school records were set by Meghan Zayas in the steeplechase (11:09.57), Morgan Bennett in the 400 meter hurdles (64.02),  and Kevoy Douglas in the 200 meter dash (21.67).

Glenville State College also had a runner break a record on the day. Glenville State’s Ahkeem Figgs broke the Men’s 100 Meter dash with a time of 10.62 at the W& J  Invitational, the record was held by GSC Chup Robinson and Xavier Glenn with a time of 10.69.

Jacob Rollo winning the 100m - Photo by Danny Farley

Article revised due to initial error in long jump.

Senior Jacob Rollo of Sherman High School and Concord University bound won 4 events. Rollo leaped 20' 5" to easily win the long jump. He won the high jump with a jump of 6'. He won both the 100m and 200m dashes with times of 11.31 and 23.79.

Rollo is coming to Concord University for football, but will also be running track for the Mountain Lions.

All results and performances are posted and entered. Hopefully, some photos will be added soon by Danny Farley and others.

I have posted the results from last Saturday's first High School outdoor track and field meets including the Berkeley Springs Invitational and the Holzer Clinic Sports Medicine First Call Invitational from Point Pleasant. There are four week day meets that I am aware of for this week and they are being held Tuesday. Bridgeport Senior, Oak Hill, Point Pleasant, and Preston are the ones having home meets.

 (Update: Preston meet is cancelled)

Action picks up this weekend as numerous Invitationals will be hosted. I will be in Athens on Saturday for the Concord /Pikeview High School Invitational. Please look under the calendar for a complete list of meets.

To those that can, please send in results. You may upload your photos to the meet page. If you do so, let me know and if they are good I will post them on the home page with the meet.

I had the pleasure of watching and speaking briefly to the nations new phenom last night in Winston-Salem North Carolina as 7th grader and 13 year old Alana Hadley of Community Middle School in Charlotte, NC ran a world class 17:09.38 5000m while finishing 2nd at the Wake Forest Open. Hadley running unattached led most of the race but was beaten on the last lap by Jen Rawls of Rowan College in 17:04.38.

Confirmation is waiting to see if this is a new National record for 13 year old girls. Ususally 5000m races can be quite boring, but all eyes were fixated on this amazing young lady. She told me this was her personal best, but I suspect this new PR will not last long. I wish her the best.

Pictured with Alana is her father and coach Mark Hadley on the left. Photo by Jeff Siner.

This weekend you can follow your favorite college team on WV Runners. West Virginia University, Wheeling Jesuit University, and Concord University will be at the Wake Forest Open in Winston-Salem. Marshall University will be in Miami for the Hurricane Invitational. West Virginia Wesleyan College will be in Charlotte for the 49er Classic, and the University of Charleston will be in Roanoke competing in the Roanoke College Invitational.

Spring has finally arrived (well, almost)

Even though College outdoor track and field is in full swing, High School action begins this Saturday, March 20, 2010 with the Berkeley Springs Invitational and the Point Pleasant First Call Invitational. There is no better way to open the first day of Spring than to have an outdoor High School track meet.

I wish everyone a great year. You may upload your photos directly to the meet page. Please send in results or any information you want posted to WV Runners.

Please check the outdoor calendar and be sure your meets are listed. I have tried to post every meet that I am aware of.

I will be posting middle school meets if they are sent to me. Thank you all.

Daddy Doug

Shawnee Carnett Sets New School Record in the 800m

Concord University men and ladies relays teams set four school records at the Coastal Carolina University Invitational on Friday during day one of the two day meet.

On Saturday Shawnee Carnett blazed to a first place finish in the 800m run in a new school record time of 2:14.18 eclipsing the old record by nearly 5 seconds.

The Lady Mountain Lions 4 x 800m relay team placed 2nd with a school record setting time of 9:39.64. The 4 x 800 team was comprised of Rachel Williams, Lindsey DeVaughn, Chelsea Calloway, and Dani Pye.

The men's 4 x 800m relay team set the school record with a time of 7:55.59 while finishing 3rd. The relay team was led by Szymon Rola (pictured) as he ran a 1:55 flat first leg. The other strong legs were run by Nathan Rees, Craig Pritt, and Robbie Peters.

The ladies 4 x 200m relay team ran a record 1:46.59 while placing 10th. Brittany Pratt, Lydia Powell, Erin Barnett, and Shawnee Carnett were members of the shool record setting team.

The men's 4 x 200m relay team also placed 10th, but it was good enough to set a new school record with a time of 1:33.66. The team members are Dennis Cole, Orlando Bryant, Jason Brackett, and John Gadomski.

The Mountain Lions will be competing today in hopes for some more strong showings.

The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC) has posted the 2010 Track and Field Region Alignments and meet information. 

Please open the article for AA and A.

Are you ready for Spring? I hope everyone is having a nice break between Cross-country and Track and Field. I have added High School regular season outdoor meets to the outdoor calendar. If any meets are missing or if you want your meet added, please e-mail me at dmcdaniel@milesplit.us.

The Point Pleasant First Call Invitational on 3/20/2010 is the first scheduled meet I have.

I will be adding High School post season and College meets soon.

Also, if I have missed any indoor meets that you have participated in, let me know.

Concord University Men took  team honors at the Marietta Open #1 as several WVIAC teams were in action. The Mountain Lions claimed first place with 126 points while holding off a challenge by Roanoke College of Virginia with 114 points. Wheeling Jesuit placed sixth with 52 points and Alderson-Broaddus finished 7th with 15 points.

Winning their respective races for Concord were RJ Anderson in the 55M dash in 6.49, Nathan Rees took the 800m in 2:05.52, Robbie Peters claimed the mile in 4:33.87, and Sterling Snyder completed the 5000M in a winning time of 15:53.76.

Ashton Boger of Wheeling Jesuit took 1st in the pole vault with a height of 13-05.75.

On the ladies side, the women of Concord University came in 3rd place with 117 points, Wheeling Jesuit University was 6th with 46 points, University of Charleston placed 7th with 29 points and Alderson-Broaddus took 8th with 15 points.

WVIAC individual lady winners were Rachel Williams of Concord in the mile with a time of 5:42.46, Sherry Borsos of Alderson-Broaddus won the 5000m in 19:45.28, Brittany Pratt of Concord leaped to 16-01.50 to take the long jump event, and Megan Pratt threw 51-07.25 to claim the weight throw.

Concord University ladies also claimed two relay races as they won the 4 x 200m relay in 1:51.39 and the 4 x 400m relay in 4:25.95.

Several WVIAC teams will be back at Marietta College this Saturady to compete in the Marietta Open #2.

After a long holiday break, many West Virginia Colleges and Universities are back in action at various indoor meets this weekend. Alderson-Broaddus, University of Charleston, Concord University, and Wheeling Jesuit  will be in Marietta, Ohio for the Marietta Open #1. Marshall will be traveling to the University of Kentucky for the Kentucky Invitational while West Virginia will be at Penn State University for the Penn State Northeast Challege.

Due to a lack of interest in both the WVU Invitational (Saturday, January 9th), and the WV Flyers Winter Series #2 (Friday, January 8th) the meets are cancelled. 

With many schools still out of session following the holiday break, most teams and individuals are not travelling that weekend.  WVU will still be hosting the State Farm Games on Jan. 23rd, as well as the #3 and #4 meets of the WV Flyers Winter Series.  For those who had either shown interest in competing or were thinking of competing in either the Jan 8th or Jan 9th meet, please think of entering the WVU meets later in the season.

Indoor Track Season began this weekend and most West Virginia Universities and Colleges opened their Indoor Track schedule at various meets. TheThundering Herd from Marshall University participated in the Oiler Opener held at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. West Virginia University Mountaineers hosted the WVU Holiday Classic. In addition to WVU, others participating were Glenville State College, West Virginia Wesleyan, and WVIAC member Seton Hill. The Marietta College First Glimpse had WVIAC members Concord University, Mountain State University, University of Charleston, and West Liberty State College.

Check out the results.

West Virginia Runners are signing up for the Foot Locker South Regional to be held at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday November 28. The first race of the day which is the Open race begins at 8:00. Meet Director Max Mayo sent an e-mail stating AAA State Champions Alex Dent, senior from Hurricane, and junior Brandon Doughty of Jefferson along with AAA State runner-ups senior Chelsea Clark of Fairmont Senior and Cody Pelliccioni a junior from Morgantown have signed up for the Foot Locker South Regional.

Mr. Mayo said we would get an up to date list of all runners as soon as possible.

Foot Locker South Entries as of Nov. 25

 I hope as many West Virginia runners can make this great event, and I know you will represent West Virginia well. 

Foot Locker Cross Country South Regional Official Web Site

We are pleased to recognize the top 10 girls and boys of the AAA State Cross Country Meet which earned All-State honors.

Top 10 Girls in AAA Achieving All-State in Cross Country

Alex Dent, a senior, from Hurricane in her last attempt at a State title came away with the victory in a heavy downpour in the first race of the day with a convincing 26 second finish with a time of 19:16. Dent came in as one of the favorites and pulled away from a strong field. Senior Chelsea Clark of Fairmont Senior nudged 2 time defending State Champion Letita Propst, a junior, from Elkins as they both crossed in 19:42.

Jorden Thornton, the only freshman in girls AAA to claim All-State and representing the host school of Cabell Midland took 4th place 4 seconds back in 19:46. 5th place went to Lydia Martinelli, a senior from University, with a time of 19:48. Senior Andrea Nickerson of Jefferson would be the first of 3 girls from State Champion Jefferson to earn All-State with her 6th place finish in 19:54. Bridgeport sophomore Erica Voreh was the last runner under 20 minutes in 19:59 claiming 7th place. 

8th and 9th place runners from Jefferson were senior Alyssa Boucher and junior Lindsey Hash with identical times of 20:03. Earning the last All-State title by 8 seconds over the 11th place finisher was junior Carissa Guyer of Hampshire in 20:07.

Top 10 Boys in AAA Earning All-State in Cross Country

Taking the top spot in West Virginia's largest classification was junior Brandon Doughty of Jefferson. Doughty came into the race seeded 3rd, but had made continued improvements during the year and his victory was only a minor upset. Doughty's time of 16:32 in a pouring rain produced a victory margin was 19 seconds as he pulled away from defending State Chammpion Cody Pelliccioni, a junior, of Morgantown in the last 800 meters. Pelliccioni was a gracious runner-up and took the 2nd spot in 16:51.

The 3rd consecutive junior to finish, 2nd seeded Dayton McVicker of  Fairmont Senior, was the last runner to break 17 minutes in the horrid conditions with a time of 16:56. 4th seeded Lucas Greza a senior from Morgantown took 4th place in 17:00. 5th place belonged to senior Logan Wojcik of Wheeling Park with a time of 17:08. Cabell Midland runners freshman Jacob Burcham and sophomore Tyler Salmons took 6th and 7th only 1 second apart in 17:10 and 17:11 respectively.

Grabbing the 8th spot was Patrick Stanton a Fairmont Senior junior with a time of 17:20. Senior Andy Bailey (17:24) of St. Albans and junior Austin Rigsby (17:25) of Musselman gathered in the last two spots on the podium.

Congratulations to the AAA All-State designation earners.

We are pleased to recognize the top 10 girls and boys of the AA-A State Cross Country Meet which earned All-State honors.

Top 10 Girls in AA-A

The AA-A girls All-State honors are headed by State Champion Maggie Drazba, a freshman, from St. Marys. She won the meet by 18 seconds in a time of  20:08.50.

Molly Summers a senior of Grafton took 2nd place in 20:24.76. Summers was followed junior Sarah McCauley of Philip Barbour with a time of 20:29.97. Directly behind in 4th place was Desiree Roseberry an 11th grader from Shady Spring with a time of 20:31.68. Next were two freshman, Sami Harris (21:13.84) of Charleston Catholic and Brianna Waybright (21:25.69) of Philip Barbour. The 7th place finisher was sophomore Macy Houck of Berkeley Springs in 21:26.55.

Sarah Evans of Trinity, a sophomore, claimed the 8th spot in 21:29.59. In 9th place was sophomore Bethany Carroll of Doddridge County in 21:30. Claiming the last All-State designation was junior Chelsea East of Pikeview with a time of 21:35.94.

Top 10 Boys AA-A

Leading the way for the top 10 boys achieving All-State honors is Drew Woodford of Grafton. Woodford, a junior, pulled away for a 16 second win in the mud with a time of 17:09.02 to claim the individual State Championship title. Senior John Mundey of Berkeley Springs was runner-up with a time of 17:25.03.

In 3rd place was Derrick Chaffin, a senior, from Richwood with a time of 17:36.46. Claiming the 4th spot of the podium was junior Matt Knowlton of Ravenswood in 17:45.04. Jordan Weitzel a senior from Pikeview took the 5th position in 17:45.94. The next three spots were also taken by seniors.  Riley Freeman (17:48.98) of Philip Barbour, David Rhodes (17:49.66) from Tucker County, and Chris Toompas (17:57.09) of Philip Barbour.

Grabbing the 9th spot was junior Daniel Clevenger of Doddridge County with a time of 17:58.30. Earning the last place on the podium as one of the elite was junior Jake Wise of Berkeley Springs with a time of 18:02.08.

Congratulations to all earning All-State honors.

The 2009 WV State Cross Country Meet was run in a steady rain and muddy conditions, and produced a few surprises. Results and performances are posted. Photos by Lance McDaniel are posted. 

Congratulations to Jefferson Girls and the host Cabell Midland boys on their AAA State Championship trophies.

Cabell Midland Boys AAA State Champions

Jefferson Girls AAA State Champions

Alex Dent,  a senior from Hurricane, upset 2 time defending State champion Letitia Propst of Elkins to take the individual spoils in the AAA girls race. Propst finished in 3rd.

Alex Dent - Photo courtesy of www.tristaterunnur

Junior Brandon Doughty of Jefferson pulled away from defending State Champion and #1 ranked Cody Pelliccioni of Morgantown. It was reported prior to the race that Pelliccioni was under the weather.

 Brandon Doughty - Photo by Lance McDaniel

Congratulations to St. Marys girls and Grafton boys in capturing the AA-A State Championship hardware.

St. Marys Girls AA-A State Champions

Grafton Boys AA-A State Champions

Freshman Maggie Drazba of St. Marys took the AA-A girls title and Drew Woodford, a junior from Grafton, claimed the top prize for the boys AA-A race.

Maggie Drazba

Drew Woodford - Photos by Lance McDaniel

 WV State Meet Coverage Page

I am pleased to post this extensive analysis by Josh Weekley on the WV State XC Meet predictions.

Announcement from Coach Parsons:

Congratulations to all that qualified for the West Virginia State Cross Country Championships to be held at Cabell Midland High School. Also, congratulations to all runners. Cross country is a grueling sport. Here is an announcement from Coach Parsons of Cabell Midland and a list of all that qualified for the State meet. Please keep checking the direct link for any changes.

The 2009 West Virginia Cross Country Region Meets will be held on Thursday, October 22. The 8 different meets will determine which teams and individuals advance to the West Virginia State XC Championship to be held at Cabell Midland High School in Ona, WV on Saturday, October 31.

Schools participating in Group AAA Region IV:  Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, Ripley, Hurricane, Cabell Midland, Huntington, Spring Valley, LincolnCounty, and Winfield.

The 2009 West Virginia Cross Country Region Meets will be held on Thursday, October 22. The 8 different meets will determine which teams and individuals advance to the West Virginia State XC Championship to be held at Cabell Midland High School in Ona, WV on Saturday, October 31.

Letitia Propst of Elkins is back in familiar territory. She is sitting on top of the individual High School rankings for girls. Propst, a junior, from Elkins is the two time defending State champion in Cross Country in the AAA division. At the NCAC Meet this past weekend, Propst set a season best 19:05 to capture first place. Propst's 5K personal best is 18:28 which she set last year at the West Virginia State Championships at Cabell Midland High School.

Propst looks prepared to go after her 3rd consecutive State title. As usual there are several challengers and it is never easy to repeat.

  High School Girls Rankings

Cody Pelliccioni, a junior, from Morgantown continues to dominate this 2009 Cross Country season. He has taken on all challenges and has come out on top. This past weekend, Morgantown traveled to the great State of New York and went head to head with some pretty good schools.  Pelliccioni took the McQuaid Invitational 3 mile AAA seeded race in 14:53 defeating Jay Boychuck of Ontario, Canada. Pelliccioni's time was the fastest of all competitors at the McQuaid Invitational which is a huge meet with 2,123 boys running in various 3 Mile races. To make it more amazing, Pelliccioni raced 4 days earlier in a conference meet.

Pelliccioni has had a season for the history books. Earlier in the year, Morgantown traveled to Pennsylvania and he took 2nd at the Red, White, and Blue Classic. Morgantown also traveled to Virginia and Pelliccioni took the crown at the Oatlands Invitational.