Magnolia's Hunter Oates puts the Blue Eagles in first place during the opening leg of the Class A 4x800 Friday at the Class A state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

CHARLESTON – Magnolia fired a pair of opening salvos during the opening session of Friday’s West Virginia High School State Track Meet at Laidley Field in Charleston.

Fresh from rehab only a month ago from an ACL and a meniscus tear, Magnolia senior Matthew Anderson flirted with the school record while winning the Class A discus with a throw of 161-9.

“You know it’s a good one when it comes out,” Anderson said. “With that one, everything felt great. We’ve been chasing that boat for a while now. It’s definitely been a long journey coming back into it.”

Anderson suffered a season-ending injury midway through his senior year of football. Preliminary reports from his doctors thought Anderson would not return in time for the track season.

“It was definitely a painful process,” Anderson continued. “I can’t thank (coach Travis Emch) for everything he has done for me. He definitely wanted me to take it very slowly coming back.”

Williamstown pole vaulter Grace Boone clears 9-6 while placing runner-up at Friday's Class AA state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Several minutes prior to Anderson winning his event by a margin of 18 feet, his teammates on the Class A 4×800 were projected to place third. Yet, the Blue Eagles found their wild card with Hunter Oates – a sprinter who joined the relay only two weeks ago.

The foursome of Oates, Parker Werkau, Riley Dennis and Landen Davis turned in a winning time of 8:16.46 – an effort which blasted times from early to mid-season out of the water.

“At some meets this season, I didn’t even think we would make states – Hunter coming over was like a gift from God,” Davis said. “I don’t think anybody understands about believing in us. Our fourth was turning 2:20s and we were like, we are not going to win with this.

“Our coach (Kasey Sapp) he really pushed us through a lot of this. He kept our hopes up. So huge thanks to him

Magnolia shadowed frontrunner Doddridge County for the better part of the second half of the race until Davis went into another gear. Davis also won as a member of the 4×800 relay as a freshman.

Ritchie County's Bentlee Williams placed second in the Class A 3200 during Friday's West Virginia high school state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I was always a guy who ran the 400, 200 and 100,” said Oates, who ran the lead-off leg. “Today, I thought if I can stay close to the lead group then I knew my team had it, and that’s what they did. I had my trust in them.

“I’ve always been a baseball guy. I wanted to try track and dedicate myself.”

Dennis, who ran the third leg, added: “I saw it in Landen’s face. I knew he was going to get us that win

Several area athletes gave a strong showing in the field events. Doddridge County junior shot putter Brooke Burnside advanced to the Class A finals sitting in the middle of the pack. On her first attempt in the finals, she tossed a 33-0.75, and the distance stood.

“As soon as I threw it, I knew it was a good one,” Burnside side. “Honestly, it’s three feet less than my PR which is kind of disappointing, but it’s OK. IT’s awesome being a state champion.”

Natalie Bartrug from St. Marys, right, competes in the 4x800 during Friday's Class A state meet in Charleston. The Blue Devils placed third in the event. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Charleston Catholic’s Telina Williams finished runner-up at 39-9.50. Tyler Consolidated’s Juliana Lattea took third at 32-7.75, while A’Kaia Williams from DCHS placed fifth at 31-10.25.

In the same vicinity of the track at the Class AAA high jump, Parkersburg South senior Navi Hewitt cleared 6-8 and placed third. Hewitt almost made an earlier exit – missing his first two attempts at both 6-4 and 6-6.

“I was hurting today – I recently came down on my heal really hard, so I have been fighting that a little bit,” Hewitt said. “But I’m not trying to make excuses. I’m just blessed to be here. I can’t complain, made it to state in basketball and in track.”

In the girls Class AA pole vault, three Williamstown girls placed in the top 7 with Grace Boone placing runner-up at 10-0 followed by Izzy Zide fourth at 9-6 and Cate Berdine seventh at 8-6.

“The girl from North Marion is really good – it’s just a little unfortunate for Grace today,” Williamstown assistant coach Jason Buttrey said. “For Grace, 9-6 is her PR and Izzy matched her PR so there are a lot of positives there. Grace is one of the best pole vaulters in the state, it was just an off day.”

Parkersburg High School's Katie Rutherford sings the National Anthem prior to the start of Friday's state track meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

North Marion’s Maylie Bland won the event at 10-7 – the same girl Boone defeated at the regional meet. Ripley’s Dezzie Steeler finished fifth at 9-0.

Boone was clearly distraught by the outcome – a similar display of emotions shown by the Williamstown 4×800 which placed second in Class AA with a time of 10:00.08. Herbert Hoover on the strength of freshman anchor Maysen Fletcher won in a time of 9:51.00.

“This is disappointing – it’s something that we worked toward all season,” Williamstown’s Ava Lightfritz said. “We all had a good race. It just came down to that last leg. It’s not anybody’s fault on the team. That girl from Herbert Hoover (Fletcher) was insane during cross country and we knew she was going to be insane during track.

“We know not everything is handed to you even if you do work for things. Sometimes it doesn’t always go your way. It will change your mindset to work harder for the next time.”

In the girls Class A 4×800 field, St. Marys placed third in 10:24.19 despite establishing a lead provided by Anna Bennett. Charleston Catholic won in a time of 10:05.12.

Williamstown's Cassie Sites is comforted after the Yellowjackets' 4x800 placed third at Friday's Class AA state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Today wasn’t one of our days and I kind of wish it was,” Bennett said. “We gave it everything – to God and how we work.

“That first leg, I knew I had to go hard and make sure I do this for the team because I know they are counting on me to get out and get the lead.”

Parkersburg South high jumper Navi Hewitt placed third during Friday's Class AAA state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Doddridge County's Brooke Burnside placed first in the shot put during Friday's Class A state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Magnolia's 4x800 placed first during Friday's Class A state meet in Charleston. Members include, from left: Landen Davis, Hunter Oates, Parker Werkau and Riley Dennis. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Williamstown pole vaulter Grace Boone warms up for her event during Friday's Class AA state meet in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)