Doddridge County boys hold off Ritchie County for 3-peat at W. Va. Class A track
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CHARLESTON -- The Class A boys state track championship came down to one event Saturday at Laidley Field.
Ritchie County held a 78-76 lead over Doddridge County going into the 4×400 relay. Thanks in part to an incredible effort from anchor Leo Stinespring, the Bulldogs nipped St. Marys by three-tenths of a second to finish first and earn 10 points in the event. The Rebels came in fifth for two points, allowing Doddridge to jump them and win the state title 86-80.
"We knew it could come down to that last race," said Doddridge boys track coach Bobby Burnside. "It was back and forth. We really had a big day (Friday) to put us in position to make it tight. It was back and forth all meet. Every single point mattered. At the end, we had to dig deep. Everybody was tired, but we got the victory in exciting fashion."
Doddridge and Ritchie were knotted at 54-all with six events left to run. The two teams finished neck and neck in the 4×100. The Bulldogs (Eli Galagar, Jaycent Ash, Talyn Snyder and Stinespring) finished second with a time of 45.53 seconds, just ahead of the Rebels (Seth Hardy, Ethan Haught, Marlon Moore, Bodhi Utter) in third at 46.12. That gave Doddridge a 62-60 lead.
Moore got eight points for Ritchie with a runner-up finish in the 110 hurdles to put the Rebels ahead 68-62.
Stinespring put the Bulldogs back on top, 72-68, with a gold medal effort in the 200 with a time of 22.62.
Then, Ritchie County's shuttles team of Dom Worstell, Haught, Jonah Hamilton and Moore claimed a state title with a time of 1:01.39. Doddridge's group of Kaden Smith, Riley Curran, Gabriel Bates and Seth Richards finished fourth with a time of 1:04.03, putting Ritchie ahead 78-76 with one event remaining.
That's when Stinespring and teammates Snyder, Caleb Lloyd and Galagar came through big-time in the 4×4, besting Ritchie's quartet of Cayden Moore, Garrett Copeland, J.D.Henderson and Russell Owens.
"It feels really good," said Stinespring, who was also a state runner-up in the 100 (11.36). "Our team fought hard and we came out on top."
Added Snyder, "It's crazy. I can't really describe it. We're a family."
It's a three-peat for the Bulldogs, who have now won the last three single-A state titles dating back to 2019 -- there was no meet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's something precious," Burnside said. "It's something you never take for granted. Track for a lot of people is individual. For us, it's a team sport. All the events and the team points added up. Just a very special moment."
Doddridge got a big lift in the pole vault on Friday to set the tone.
Smith (12-feet), John Devinney (12-0) and Richards (12-0) placed 2-3-4 to score 18 points for the Bulldogs. Ritchie's Kodi Camp claimed the title in the event with a mark of 12-6, and Haught added another point for the Rebels with a sixth-place finish at 11-6. Tyler Consolidated's Sage Landis (11-6) was fifth.
"That was huge," Burnside said. "Our senior vaulter Kaden Smith, and two juniors, John and Seth, vaulting the best vaults of their careers. That positioned us to get into striking distance today."
Adam Burnside placed third in the shot put at 45-3 and fourth in the discus at 139-10. Richards was third in the 300 hurdles at 42.74. Trent Gola placed fourth in the 1600 (4:41.48) and 3200 (10:16.25) and the 4×200 team of Galagar, Richards, Snyder and Ash finished fourth with a time of 1:35.24 to round out the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Coach Burnside has nothing but respect for Ritchie County boys coach Rick Haught and their program.
"They're a great team and coach Haught does a great job," he said. "They have great athletes. My hat's off to them. Top notch. They put themselves in position to be here, too."
Haught watched as senior Gus Morrison tallied 32 points to claim boys high-point honors for the second year in a row. Morrison was a state champion in three events, including setting the state meet record in the long jump with a mark of 22-6.5. He also claimed gold in the 300 hurdles (39.67) and the 400 (51.06).
"I'm proud of all of them, but long jump probably the most," Morrison said. "That's the one I reached my goal on. I set that last year. All year, I've been working to try and get that record at this meet."
Morrison teamed up with Hardy, Haught and J.D. Henderson for a runner-up finish in the 4×200 (1:34.49).
"I was supposed to run (110 hurdles)," Morrison said. "I was going into regionals ranked first. I was in the finals and disqualified. I false-started. So, they put me in (the 4×200) to try to get some points back."
Coach Haught will miss having Morrison in a Ritchie County uniform.
"He's just a special talent," he said. "I think from last year to this year, what I've noticed about Gus is he's matured. He knows how to handle himself and prepare himself."
Marlon Moore tallied a runner-up finish in the 110 hurdles, finishing just behind state champion Braden Hashman of St. Marys. No times were recorded in the event due to a technical error.
Ritchie's 4×8 team of Cayden Moore, Heath Knight, Russell Owens and Alex Owens placed sixth (9:03.15) after a baton mishap.
"We were keeping score all day," coach Haught said. "I think the difference in the meet is the job Doddridge did in the pole vault (Friday). They outpaced us 18-11. I think the mishap in the 4×8 -- I had a group projected to win or at least place top three, but then there's a mishap at the finish line with a dropped baton and a guy falls down. That just kind of knocked us out of it. Those are the two things I look at where maybe it slipped away from us.
"It's not anything that our team really didn't do. It's just Doddridge stepped up and, to their credit, did a little bit more."
The St. Marys Blue Devils placed third in the team standings with 58 points.
Josh Roush was a state champion in the 100 (11.352, just ahead of Stinespring) and was runner-up in the 200 (23.03, just behind Stinespring).
"I knew it was going to be close," Roush said of facing Stinespring in the 100. "I always come out beating him out of the blocks. He usually catches me the last 30 meters, so I came out as hard as I could and gave it everything I've got."
Hashman, a champion in the 110 hurdles, was runner-up in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.33. Hashman and Roush joined up with Evan Doering and Peyton Girard for a runner-up finish in the 4×400 (3:37.16) and a third-place finish in the 4×200 (1:34.69).
St. Marys' 4×800 team also claimed a runner-up finish. Waylon Moore, Reece Westfall, Jay Mote and Ryan Kent clocked in at 8:49.71.
The next best performance by a local team came from Wood County Christian, which placed seventh with 30 points. Twenty of those came from Michael Cline, who was runner-up in the 3200 (10:09.44) and 1600 (4:36.32) and fourth in the 800 (2:06.32). Isaac Weekley tacked on a third-place finish in the 110 hurdles (no time) and a fourth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (43.10).
Gilmer County placed eighth with 18 points, all coming from Ean Hamric, who earned runner-up honors in the 400 (52.08). He also was third in the 100 (11.47) and fourth in the 200 (23.41).
Paden City was 10th with 16 points. Shane Anderson placed third in the high jump (5-10) and fourth in the 110 hurdles (no time), and anchored the shuttles team which placed third (1:02.78). Jasup Spragg, Julian Landauer and Logan Smith teamed up with Anderson in the event.
Magnolia was 12th with 15 points, earning a state championship in the 4×8 (8:44.73) thanks to the quartet of Lucas Zombotti, Landen Davis, Jordan Davis and Brady Renner. Renner also was sixth in the 800 (2:08.78) while Austin Beverlin was fifth in the long jump (19-7.5). The Blue Eagles also saw their shuttles team of Damien Gatian, Marcus Barnes, Beverlin and Renner place fifth (1:04.85).
Chase Trembly of Williamstown was third in the 3200 (10:13.37) and fifth in the 1600 (4:42.16) to account for all eight of the Yellowjackets' points.
Rounding out the local placers at the state meet were Tyler Consolidated's Jaden Holmes in the shot put (sixth, 42-10) and Ravenswood's 4×8 team of Brandon Haynes, Logan Moore, Thomas Nickerson and Wyatt Milhoan (fifth, 9:00.09). Milhoan also was sixth in the 400 (52.90).