KIDWELL, W.Va. - Fans in attendance at Friday's Little Kanawha Conference track and field meet at Tyler Consolidated High School didn't leave disappointed.
Not only did St. Marys standout junior distance runner Maggie Drazba eclipse an all-time state record for girls in the 2-mile, but the Williamstown girls won back-to-back LKC crowns while the Doddridge County boys of head coach Bobby Burnside tasted their first LKC title in more than a decade.
As expected, the Yellowjacket girls of head coach Zach Hall ran away from the field as Williamstown posted a 175-105 win versus runner-up St. Marys. The Doddridge County girls followed the Blue Devils with 100 points while Ritchie County (55) and Roane County (47) rounded out the top five.
Two-time defending boys champion Ritchie County had to settle for second place after posting 97 points, well behind the Bulldogs' winning effort of 124. St. Marys nipped Williamstown, 84-83, for third place while Roane County's 49 points placed the Raiders fifth, just ahead of Tyler Consolidated (42) and Braxton County (40).
"First, I'd like to thank all four coaches," said Burnside, who watched Daniel Plaugher break a meet record in the 300 intermediate hurdles with a time of 39.98, which just broke former Ritchie County standout Zach Linville's mark of 40.00 set back in 2005. "We all work together with the boys and girls in our specific areas.
"The athletes deserve all the credit. They just came out and performed well. It was one of our team goals at the beginning of the year and it feels good. Our last LKC title was in 1998 and it's an honor to be the LKC champion in any sport."
Fact Box
2012 Little Kanawha Conference
Track Meet at Tyler Consolidated
Boys
Team scores: Doddridge County 124, Ritchie County 97, St. Marys 84, Williamstown 83, Roane County 49, Tyler Consolidated 42, Braxton County 40, Gilmer County 17, Wirt County 11, Ravenswood 4, Calhoun County 4, South Harrison 2
100: Easton Hutton (Braxton) 11.34; Corey Aichele (Doddridge) 11.62; Alex Doak (Tyler) 11.67; Dylan Cottrell (Roane) 11.69; Jordan Lacy (Braxton) 11.88; Nathan Cosgrove (Calhoun) 12.09
200: Alex Doak (Tyler) 23.05; Easton Hutton (Braxton) 23.47; Dylan Cottrell (Roane) 23.48; Derek Renner (St. Marys) 23.55; Corey Aichele (Doddridge) 23.80; Cameron Litviak (Calhoun) 24.54
400: Derek Renner (St. Marys) 50.96; Zack Cottrill (Doddridge) 51.75; Clint Hardman (Ritchie) 51.82; Jessie Hilvers (Ritchie) 52.64; Troy Fisher (Roane) 52.68; Jarric Hoskins (Williamstown) 53.10
800: Clint Hardman (Ritchie) 2:02.17; Jordan Whitehair (St. Marys) 2:05.49; Jessie Hilvers (Ritchie) 2:07.81; Grant Delancey (St. Marys) 2:08.56; Jason Lockhart (Williamstown) 2:09.92; Raymond Ruckman (S. Harrison) 2:10.93
1600: Jordan Whitehair (St. Marys) 4:38.54; Charlie Drazba (St. Marys) 4:39.23; Johnny Hogue (Ritchie) 4:47.78; Caleb Moore (Doddridge) 4:49.29; Luke Sadecky (Ravenswood) 4:50.29; Glenn McMillan (Wirt) 4:50.37
3200: Charlie Drazba (St. Marys) 9:53.16; Johnny Hogue (Ritchie) 10:02.06; Caleb Moore (Doddridge) 10:11.13; Glenn McMillan (Wirt) 10:34.54; Matt Zorn (Doddridge) 10:37.19; Caleb Pell (Roane) 11:13.21
110HH: Daniel Plaugher (Doddridge) 15.53; Dillon Muhly-Alexander (Doddridge) 16.08; Will Thaxton (Doddridge) 16.52; Jayden Allender (Ritchie) 16.92; Anthony Aviles (Gilmer) 17.30; Matt Roberts (Wirt) 17.33
300IH: Daniel Plaugher (Doddridge) 39.98 (new meet record, broke 2005 time of 40.00 by Ritchie's Zach Linville); Jessie Hilvers (Ritchie) 41.10; Dylan Cottrell (Roane) 42.27; Dylan Fetty (St. Marys) 42.52; Matt Roberts (Wirt) 43.34; Johan Aasland (Tyler) 43.65
4x100: Williamstown (Aaron Jones, Jarric Hoskins, Trace Hart, Michael Shawver) 45.46; Ritchie 45.95; Roane 46.05; Doddridge 46.09; Braxton 46.41; Tyler 47.01
4x200: Doddridge (Zack Cottrill, Jeffrey Bonnell, Daniel Plaugher, Corey Aichele) 1:33.24; Williamstown 1:34.59; Ritchie 1:35.34; Roane 1:38.46; Calhoun 1:39.61; St. Marys 1:41.60
4x400: Williamstown (Chase Brown, Mitchell Goertler, Aaron Jones, Jarric Hoskins) 3:36.06; Roane 3:40.29; Ritchie 3:42.36; St. Marys 3:49.89; Doddridge 3:52.46; Wirt 3:58.50
4x800: St. Marys (Grant Delancey, Derek Renner, Charlie Drazba, Jordan Whitehair) 8:21.69; Ritchie 8:45.75; Williamstown 8:53.92; Tyler 9:01.49; Doddridge 9:02.77; Roane 9:13.04
Shuttles: Doddridge (Jeffrey Bonnell, Dillon Muhly-Alexander, Will Thaxton, Daniel Plaugher) 1 20; Ritchie 1:03.52; Roane 1:03.54; Williamstown 1:04.18; Wirt 1:09.50; South Harrison 1:24.64
High jump: Anthony Aviles (Gilmer) 6-2; Dillon Muhly-Alexander (Doddridge) 6-2; Ronnie Carroll (Braxton) 6-0; Dylan Romine (Tyler) 5-10; Jayden Allender (Ritchie) 5-8; no 6th
Pole vault: Alex Marchetti (Williamstown) 14-0; Hunter LeMasters (Tyler) 13-6; Dyllon Hayes (Doddridge) 13-0 and Paige Haught (Ritchie) 13-0; Cody Hall (Ritchie) 13-0; Kyle Raines (Roane) 12-0
Long jump: Dylan Fetty (St. Marys) 21-00.50; Dillon Muhly-Alexander (Doddridge) 20-10.75; Easton Hutton (Braxton) 19-9; Austin Nichols (Roane) 19-4.75; Patrick Watson (Ravenswood) 18-10.75; Anthony Aviles (Gilmer) 18-9.5
Shot put: Devon Carr (Williamstown) 55-0; Evan Smith (Williamstown) 49-2.50; Slade Dillon (Tyler) 45-2.25; Reed Ratliff (Gilmer) 44-1.50; Logan Raines (Williamstown) 42-2.25; Clayton Yeager (Doddridge) 38-11.50
Discus: Isacc Britton (Doddridge) 150-6.50; Devon Carr (Williamstown) 142-2.50; Jordan Lacy (Braxton) 140-6.50; Evan Smith (Williamstown) 127-4; Slade Dillon (Tyler) 124-10; Jimmy Jemison (St. Marys) 124-1
High-point award (all-LKC, top 14): Dillon Muhly-Alexander (Doddridge) 26.5 points, Daniel Plaugher (Doddridge) 25, Easton Hutton (Braxton) 24.5, Jordan Whitehair (St. Marys) 21.5, Charlie Drazba (St. Marys) 20.5, Jessie Hilvers (Ritchie) 20, Clint Hardman (Ritchie) 19.5, Devon Carr (Williamstown) 18, Dylan Cottrell (Roane) 17.5, Johnny Hogue (Ritchie) 17.5, Derek Renner (St. Marys) 17.5, Alex Doak (Tyler) 16.25, Dylan Fetty (St. Marys) 15, Corey Aichele (Doddridge) 13.5
Girls
Team scores: Williamstown 175, St. Marys 105, Doddridge County 100, Ritchie County 55, Roane County 47, Tyler Consolidated 29, Ravenswood 17, Braxton County 12, Gilmer County 12, Wirt County 5
100: Andrea Chidester (Williamstown) 12.96; Kyle Hammer (Williamstown) 13.46; Hunter Sodaro (Braxton) 13.68; Nicole Boggs (Roane) 13.99; Jessica Welch (Gilmer) 14.07; no 6th
200: Andrea Chidester (Williamstown) 26.55; Madelin Gardner (Williamstown) 27.20; Rachel Taylor (St. Marys) 28.20; Hunter Sodaro (Braxton) 28.55; Morgan Litton (Wirt) 28.57; Jessica Welch (Gilmer) 29.29
400: Andrea Chidester (Williamstown) 59.49; Madelin Gardner (Williamstown) 1 76; Hailey Miller (Ravenswood) 1:02.16; Allie Robinson (Williamstown) 1:02.22; Rachel Taylor (St. Marys) 1:02.54; D'Andra Swiger (Doddridge) 1:03.25
800: Maggie Drazba (St. Marys) 2:19.83 (new meet record, broke 2000 time of 2:21.94 by Roane's Stephanie Eastman); Cami Mossor (Williamstown) 2:32.13; Bethany Carroll (Doddridge) 2:32.43; Beverly Knight (St. Marys) 2:34.25; Nele Frey (Doddridge) 2:34.66; Carley Ellison (Williamstown) 2:34.91
1600: Maggie Drazba (St. Marys) 5:34.67; Nele Frey (Doddridge) 5:38.87; Jenny Brewer (St. Marys) 5:41.72; Bethany Carroll (Doddridge) 5:44.08; Cami Mossor (Williamstown) 5:50.15; Beverly Knight (St. Marys) 5:53.17
3200: Maggie Drazba (St. Marys) 10:27.42 (new meet record, broke own 2011 time of 11:06.87; established a new all-time girls state record breaking Preston's Kaylyn Christopher's time of 10:33.02 set in 2006 at the Gazette Relays); Jenny Brewer (St. Marys) 12:10.92; Nele Frey (Doddridge) 12:32.36; Bethany Carroll (Doddridge) 12:39.59; Taylor Treadway (Ravenswood) 12:57.97; Brittani Gaskins (Wirt) 13:18
100H: Sarah Ferguson (Doddridge) 15.73; Lincoln Postlewaite (Williamstown) 16.18; Kylie Hammer (Williamstown) 16.47; Haylea LeMasters (Tyler) 16.95; Janessa Adams (Ritchie) 17.24; Andrea Lamp (Ritchie) 17.68
300H: D'Andra Swiger (Doddridge) 47.34; Sarah Ferguson (Doddridge) 48.40; Ali Johnson (St. Marys) 48.59; Haylea LeMasters (Tyler) 50.68; Janessa Adams (Ritchie) 50.73; Allison Wable (Tyler) 52.08
4x100: Williamstown (Kylie Hammer, Andrea Chidester, Liz Flowers, Madelin Gardner) 51.50; Ritchie 54.76; St. Marys 54.79; Roane 56.04; Ravenswood 56.36; Gilmer 56.43
4x200: Ritchie (Janessa Adams, Amanda Davis, Mykayla Garrett, Tristin Toman) 1:55.32; Williamstown 1:56.00; Roane County 1:56.59; St. Marys 1:57.86; Tyler 1:58.59; Ravenswood 2:01.72
4x400: Williamstown (Talia Edge, Kathleen Cornell, Carley Ellison, Allie Robinson) 4:22.09; St. Marys 4:26.04; Doddridge 4:26.78; Ritchie 4:34.00; Tyler 4:41.34; Wirt 4:41.76
4x800: St. Marys (Maggie Drazba, Olivia Taylor, Beverly Knight, Ali Johnson) 10 0 (new meet record, broke Ravenswood's 1990 time of 10:12.90); Williamstown 10:17.88; Ravenswood 10:49.72; Gilmer 10:54.75; Ritchie 10:55.65; Tyler 11:01.99
Shuttles: Williamstown (Kylie Hammer, Jessie Kerns, Madelin Gardner, Lincoln Postlewaite) 1:07.15; Ritchie 1:08.84; Tyler 1:09.81; Gilmer 1:14.02; Doddridge 1:15.52; Wirt 1:23.64
High jump: Megan Steele (Williamstown) 5-2; D'Andra Swiger (Doddridge) 5-2; Kylie Gump (Ritchie) 5-0; Taylor Pickens (St. Marys) 4-10; Makayla Clegg (Tyler) 4-8; Anna Cokeley (Ritchie) 4-8
Pole vault: Lincoln Postlewaite (Williamstown) 10-6; Liz Flowers (Williamstown) 9-6; Haylea LeMasters (Tyler) 8-0; Tristin Toman (Ritchie) 8-0; Kenzie Smith (Williamstown) 8-0; Shania Lloyd (Roane) 7-6
Long jump: Sarah Ferguson (Doddridge) 16-8.75; D'Andra Swiger (Doddridge) 16-6.25, Mykayla Garrett (Ritchie) 16-4.75; Lincoln Postlewaite (Williamstown) 16-2; Hunter Sodaro (Braxton) 15-6.25; Courtney Daughety (Tyler) 14-6.25
Shot put: Emily McClain (Roane) 34-1.50; Hunter House (Williamstown) 33-10.50; Britney Henson (Roane) 33-5.50; Courtney Taylor (Williamstown) 31-11.50; Audra Clark (St. Marys) 31-10.50; Alexis Cayton (Doddridge) 31-1.25
Discus: Mikala Nicholson (Roane) 108-7; Audra Clark (St. Marys) 104-2; Britney Henson (Roane) 96-4; Tori Stevens (Doddridge) 95-8.50; Alexis Cayton (Doddridge) 95-1.50; Mikayla Little (Ritchie) 92-8
High-point award (all-LKC, top 14): Andrea Chidester (Williamstown) and Maggie Drazba (St. Marys) 32.5 points each; Sarah Ferguson (Doddridge) 29.5, D'Andra Swiger (Doddridge) 27, Lincoln Postlewaite (Williamstown) 24.5, Madelin Gardner (Williamstown) 21, Kylie Hammer (Williamstown) 19, Nele Frey (Doddridge) 17.5, Haylea LeMasters (Tyler) 15.5, Bethany Carroll (Doddridge) 15.5, Jenny Brewer (St. Marys) 14, Liz Flowers (Williamstown) 12.5, Hunter Sodaro (Braxton) 12, Cami Mossor (Williamstown) 12, Britney Henson (Roane) 12
All-LKC girls team: Chidester, Drazba, Ferguson, Swiger, Postlewaite, Gardner, Hammer, Nele Frey of Doddridge County, Tyler Consolidated's Haylea LeMasters, Doddridge County's Bethany Carroll, Jenny Brewer of St. Marys, Flowers, Braxton County's Hunter Sodaro, Williamstown's Cami Mossor and Roane County's Britney Henson.
All-LKC boys team: Muhly-Alexander, Plaugher, Hutton, Whitehair, Drazba, Ritchie County's Jessie Hilvers, Hardman, Carr, Roane County's Dylan Cottrell, Ritchie County's Johnny Hogue, Renner, Doak, Fetty and Aichele.
Plaugher also won the 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.53, defending his title from 2011, while Bulldog teammates Dillon Muhly-Alexander (16.08) and Will Thaxton (16.52) crossed next to give DCHS a one-two-three finish in the event. The runner-up effort by Dillon Muhly-Alexander was but one of his three. He also took second in the long jump and the high jump and ran a leg on the Bulldogs' winning shuttles squad (1 20 with Jeffrey Bonnell, Thaxton and Plaugher) to finish as the LKC high-point boy scorer with 26.5 points.
"I'd just like to say my Gazette performance last week wasn't that great, but I have the best teammates and coaches in the state," said the junior Muhly-Alexander. "They supported me this week and I came back out and more importantly we got the team victory.
"We've got eight more practices left. We just have to keep working. We'll go out, hit it hard and all we can do is try our best (to win a state title)."
Despite setting a state mark and two new LKC records, Drazba had to settle for a tie with Williamstown's Andrea Chidester at 32.5 points apiece when it came to LKC high-point honors.
Drazba once again swept the 800 (2:19.83), 1600 (5:34.67) and the 3200 (10:27.42) at the LKC championships. Her time in the 800 erased Roane County graduate Stephanie Eastman's mark of 2:21.94 out of the record books. In the 3200, Drazba crushed her old conference record of 11:06.87 and also broke the state 2-mile record which was set by current West Virginia University runner and Preston High School graduate Kaylyn Christopher, who went 10:33.02 at the Gazette Relays back in 2006.
Drazba also ran the opening leg on St. Marys' record breaking 4 by 800 team with Olivia Taylor, Beverly Knight and Ali Johnson. The quartet posted a winning effort of 10 minutes flat to break Ravenswood's former record of 10:12.90 set in 1990.
Chidester defended her title in the 100 (12.96) by besting teammate Kylie Hammer. Chidester also won the 200 (26.55) and 400 (59.49) as teammate Madelin Gardner was runner-up in both events. Chidester ran the open 400 for the first time this season.
The Williamstown girls also got repeat victories in the high jump from Megan Steele (5-2) and in the pole vault thanks to Lincoln Postlewaite's effort of 10 feet, 6 inches. The only other girl to have a repeat title from last year was Doddridge County's Sarah Ferguson, who won the 100 high hurdles with a clocking of 15.73. Ferguson also claimed the long jump crown (16-8.75) while teammate D'Andra Swiger posted a winning time of 47.34 in the 300 low hurdles.
Roane County claimed both of the throwing titles thanks to Emily McClain in the shot put (34-1.50) and Mikala Nicholson in the discus (108-7).
The only other boy to successfully defend a win in an event they had last year was Derek Renner of St. Marys, who went 50.96 in the open 400.
The Williamstown boys also had individual wins thanks to Alex Marchetti going 14 feet in the pole vault and Devon Carr throwing 55 feet to top everyone in the shot put. Dylan Fetty of St. Marys went 21-00.50 to nip Muhly-Alexander in the long jump.
The Yellowjacket boys of head coach Doak Markley won both the 4 by 100 (Aaron Jones, Jarric Hoskins, Trace Hart and Michael Shawver: 45.46) and the 4 by 400 (Chase Brown, Mitchell Goertler, Jones and Hoskins: 3:36.06).
Zack Cottrill and Jeffrey Bonnell joined Plaugher and Aichele to post a winning effort of 1:33.24 in the 4 by 200 while St. Marys won the 4 by 800 with a time of 8:21.69 thanks to Grant Delancey, Renner, Drazba and Whitehair.
Hammer, Jessie Kerns, Gardner and Postlewaite clocked in at 1:07.15 to win the shuttles. WHS also won the 4 by 100 (Hammer, Chidester, Liz Flowers, Gardner: 51.50) and the 4 by 400 (Talia Edge, Kathleen Cornell, Carley Ellison and Allie Robinson: 4:22.09).
Ritchie County, thanks to Janessa Adams, Amanda Davis, Mykayla Garrett and Tristin Toman won the 4 by 200 via a clocking of 1:55.32.
The all-LKC girls team consisted of Chidester, Drazba, Ferguson, Swiger, Postlewaite, Gardner, Hammer, Nele Frey of Doddridge County, Tyler Consolidated's Haylea LeMasters, Doddridge County's Bethany Carroll, Jenny Brewer of St. Marys, Flowers, Braxton County's Hunter Sodaro, Williamstown's Cami Mossor and Roane County's Britney Henson.
Muhly-Alexander was followed on the all-LKC boys unit by Plaugher, Hutton, Whitehair, Drazba, Ritchie County's Jessie Hilvers, Hardman, Carr, Roane County's Dylan Cottrell, Ritchie County's Johnny Hogue, Renner, Doak, Fetty and Aichele.
