A Pair of Good Starts

Patriots, Maroon Knights boys second

By MIKE HUGHES
CHARLESTON — The main question regarding the Class AAA boys’ 3200-meter run Friday wasn’t if Wheeling Park’s Ryan Beabout was going to win. The question was, would he break the state record in doing it?

Beabout led from start to finish in setting a blistering pace, pulling well ahead of the main pack by the start of the second lap to capture the 3,200 championship.

But his time of 9:27.35 fell short of the state mark of 9:17.30 set by Oak Hill’s Mike Kominsky.

There’s not much more the University of Tennessee recruit has left to accomplish individually, so when a nagging injury started to bother him at the beginning of the week, Beabout decided to run to win and save himself for the 1,600 and 800.

‘‘My hamstring has been bothering me all week and I decided just to go for the win and get through this race,’’ said Beabout following the final race of Day 1 at the West Virginia Track and Field Championships at Laidley Field. ‘‘I just tried to work hard and push myself and score some points for the team.’’

Teammate Russell Mulley displayed a strong kick during the final 300 meters to come in sixth at 10:01.83.

The Patriots, the defending state champions, currently sit in second place with 29 points, while Cabell Midland leads the way with 41 points.

The Knights picked up a few points on Park after capturing the 3,200-meter relay in 8:08.96 and the shuttles in 56.22. The Patriots were fourth in the 3,200-relay at 8:18.58 and fourth in the shuttles at 58.80.

John Marshall’s Mark Sampson appeared as if he’d advance through his heat in the 110-meter hurdle trials, only to take a spill clearing the final hurdle.

Park’s Seth Myers came in second in the discus with a throw of 148-2.

On the girls’ side, Wheeling Park’s Courtney Yeager held off a competitive field and pulled away on turn three of the final lap to capture the 3,200 in 11:07.73. Her final kick was more than Preston’s Jordan Hamric, who finished in 11:10.26, could keep up with.

‘‘I was expecting a good race,’’ Yeager said. ‘‘A lot of the top girls were from our region, but a few others were able to stay on the lead.

‘‘There were different girls surging the entire race and it made it really exciting.

‘‘This is definitely one of those races you will never forget.’’

Neither will the Park girls’ shuttle team.

After posting the top mark in the state coming into the meet, the Patriots broke the state record with a 1:04.52. The team of Miranda Rios, Ashley Dolan, Alicia Bonar and Hannah Gompers held off John Marshall for first. The Monarchs finished in 1:07.20. Ironically enough, the old record was held by John Marshall at 1:04.53.

Dolan and Gompers both advanced to the 100-meter hurdle finals.

Class AA

Weir’s Stewart Jones was probably the happiest athlete at the Laidley Field oval.

Last season, Jones was cut off on the final lap of the 3,200 and finished in second. But after a disqualification, Jones was awarded first place. But it just didn’t feel right.

So this season, he wanted to earn his first-place medal and did just that, finishing in 9:40.17.

Webster County’s Sklyer McCoy made him work for it, sticking right with him the final four laps and actually pulling ahead to start the eighth lap.

Jones turned on the jets at turn three and blew past McCoy, holding him off down the stretch.

‘‘I thought he’d get tired and fall back but he didn’t,’’ Jones said. ‘‘I kept thinking that he was going to get me, but he didn’t.’’

The Red Riders’ Cameron Brown posted the second-fastest qualifying time in the 200.

Oak Glen’s Drake Compton finished fifth in the 200 trials, while Matt Ritchie tied for third in the high jump with a leap of 5-10.

Tyler Consolidated’s Cullen Grover took the last spot to advance to today’s 110-meter hurdle finals.

Finally, Magnolia’s 3,200-relay team finished fourth in 8:30.87.

The girls’ side in Class AA was somewhat uneventful locally, with only Oak Glen’s 3,200-relay team finishing fifth and Weir’s shuttle team coming in sixth.

The Red Riders did push two into the 100-hurdle finals in Kandis Castelli and Alexandra Bobalik.

Class A

The Wheeling Central boys are within striking distance of Class A frontrunner Richwood after five events scored. The Maroon Knights are second with 26 points, one behind the leader. Doddridge County is three back at 24.

Central’s 3,200-relay team of Cyrus Harijiran, Jordan Palmer, Rob Bonenberger and Ryan Herron crossed the line in 8:32.04 for a first-place finish.

Bonenberger came in fifth in the 3,200, an event won by the Bulldogs’ Levi Grandt. Grandt’s time of 9:22.26 broke the 2005 record of Wheeling Central’s Bobby Herron.

Freshman Aaron Schneid had a solid showing in his first state meet, finishing second in the discus and third in the shot put with throws of 138-4 and 45-7, respectively.

The Maroon Knights’ Chris Martin posted the top times in both the 110-hurdle and 200-meter trials. Chris Klemm advanced to the 100 finals with a 11.90 in his heat.

Bishop Donahue’s L.A. Hampton, along with Valley’s Haden Kocher and Clay Dallison also moved on in the hurdles, as did the Bishops’ Matt Schrumpf in the 100 and 200. Central’s Xavier Whetzel’s seventh-best time in the 200 was also good enough to move on.

The Lumberjacks are in fourth place with 20 points, bolstered by the team of Kocher, Dallison, Danny Brisendine and Dalton Willis’ first-place finish in the shuttles. Valley clocked a time of 1:02.47 as Kocher’s anchor leg helped pull away from runner-up Doddridge.

Valley also picked up a few points in the weight events, with Jerry Mason and Justin Slider finishing third and fifth, respectively, in the discus. Mason also claimed fifth in the shot.

Not to be outdone, the Central girls’ team of Claire Caruso, Jesse John, Jaclyn Niggemyer and Kelly Mortakis finished in 10:15.87 to win the girls’ 3,200 relay.

John led on two different occasions before falling back to third in the open 3,200.

Weirton Madonna’s shuttle team finished in fifth.

Bishop Donahue’s Lacey Hampton posted the fastest time in the 100-hurdle trials at 16.44, with Paden City’s Amanda Sellers clocking a 16.72 for fifth.

Sellers also advanced in the 100.

Field events begin 9 a.m. with the running events slated to start at 10 a.m.