Knowlton earns all state honors
South boys, girls finish seventh and ninth, respectivelyBy JIM BUTTA, jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
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ONA-It wasn't a 10th consecutive team title, but Matt Knowlton's fourth place effort in the Class AA-A boys championship kept alive Ravenswood's string of producing all state runners.
"He (Knowlton) ran very well," Red Devils head coach Bryan Canterbury explained. "With the weather and course conditions what they were, I thought he ran a great race today."
The Red Devils, winners of the last nine state titles, didn't fare as well in the team race, finishing eighth overall with 176 points. Winning the team title with 57 points was Grafton followed by Berkeley Springs (98), Scott (103), Richwood (106) and Doddridge County (108) in the top five.
Sixth place went to Magnolia with 138 points while the remainder of the 10-team field included Williamstown (160), Shady Spring (191) and Oak Hill (208).
Joining Knowlton on the all-state team was Doddridge County junior Daniel Clevenger. The Bulldog runner crossed the finish line in 17 minutes and 58 seconds in ninth place.
Ritchie County's John Perry (12th, 18:17), Williamstown's Mitch Waggoner (19th, 18:33), Doddridge's Tanner Mattie (20th, 18:34) and Tyler Consolidated's Aaron Estep (25th, 18:40) also posted Top 25 finishes.
In the Class AA-A girls race St. Marys won the closest race of the day, defeating runner-up Grafton by six points, 81-87. Third place went to Berkeley Springs with 88 points followed by Shady Spring (89), Philip Barbour (137), Ravenswood (152), Williamstown (156), Scott (161), PikeView (203) and Wheeling Central (212).
Blue Devil freshman Maggie Drazba won the individual title with a time of 20:08 and was joined on the all state team by Doddridge County sophomore Bethany Carroll (9th, 21:30).
Other Top 25 finishes went to the Bulldogs' Adalia Trudgeon (11th, 21:44), St. Marys' Ali Johnson (12th, 21:58) and Beverly Knight (21st, 22:23) and Williamstown's Emily Kittle (23rd, 22:29).
In the Class AAA division the girls from Jefferson took home its first-ever title in the sport with a 73-80 win over University while the Cabell Midland boys returned to the victory stand for the first time since 2004 with a 37-82 win over runner-up Jefferson.
Parkersburg South finished seventh in the boys' race with 168 points while the Patriot girls were ninth overall with 199 points.
Locals earning Top 25 finishes included Parkersburg's Madison Hill (17th, 20:38), Ripley's Preston Whitney (19th, 17:45) and Brandy Gandee (19th, 20:45), and Parkersburg South's Garret Lynch (25th, 18:04) and April Kirk (21st, 20:45).





