Williamstown's Cassie Sites, right, and Lexi Wynn finished one-two in the 3200 during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championship meet at St. Marys. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

ST. MARYS – Six meet records went by the wayside here Friday night at Bill Hanlin Stadium during the Little Kanawha Conference championships as the Williamstown girls and the Doddridge County boys continued their respective reigns of supremacy.

The Yellowjacket girls, who were without the services of three-time All-LKC honoree Alyssa Sauro, dominated the field with 176.5. The Bulldogs (93.5) finished second while the race for third went to Tyler Consolidated (71.5), which narrowly edged Braxton County (70) and St. Marys (69).

Leading the charge for the ‘Jackets was high-point award winner Shelby Smith, who won the 100 (12.57), 200 (25.63) and the 400 (56.61). In fact, the WHS senior erased her own 200 time of 25.83 she set in 2023 and knocked down her LKC record 400 mark of 57.16 from 2022.

Smith, who finished with 32.5 points and became a three-time All-LKC honoree, also anchored the 4×2 that won with a time of 1:49.42 with the help of teammates Addison Richardson, Izzy Zide and Audrey Lefebure.

Doddridge County’s boys established a pair of meet records in the 4×1 and 4×2 en route to a 163-130 victory against runner-up Williamstown (130) as Ritchie County (73.5), Wahama (73) and St. Marys (50) rounded out the top five.

Williamstown's Frank Conner, left, won the 3200 with a time of 9:29.78 as Tyler Consolidated's Amos Kimble finished runner-up with a 9:33.92 clocking. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

The Bulldogs have won every LKC championship since 2019 while the ‘Jacket girls haven’t been beaten since 2017 when they came up two points shy of DCHS.

Aiden James, Jerod Trent, Lyric Blake and Tommy Walters-Hickman ran a 43.83 in the 4×1 to erase the 44.84 held since 2003 by Williamstown’s Zane Bodnar, Kristopher Cox, Nick Pickrell and Ryan Jobes. In the 4×2, James, Walters-Hickman, Brycen Eidel and the anchor Trent crossed in 1:30.20, which removed the Yellowjackets’ 1:33.04 set in 2003 by Alan Tracewell, Bodnar, Kenneth Templeton and Shane Smith.

Wahama speedster Connor Lambert made his first and only LKC meet count as he ran a 10.58 in the 100 and 22 seconds flat in the 200, which broke the meet record of 22.64 held since 1999 by Ravenswood’s Chris Claudio and Sistersville’s Tom Still. Claudio also held the record since 1999 in the 100 with a time of 11.14.

Ritchie County’s Dylan Malolepszy (high jump, 6-6; 800, 1:58.14), Roane County’s Lane Watson (110H, 15.24; 300H, 40.41) and Williamstown’s Frank Conner (1600, 4:28.52; 3200, 9:29.78) joined Lambert as double-winners.

Although Smith was the only thinclad to win a trio of races, Roane County’s Josie Cox was the lone double-winner for the girls. The Raider ran a 15.97 in the 100 hurdles to top Bulldog Jaycee Lipscomb (17.39) and her time of 47.42 in the 300 hurdles was two seconds faster than Avry Bennett’s effort for the host Blue Devils.

Doddridge County's Payton Trent won the long jump with an effort of 15-5.25 on Friday at the Little Kanawha Conference championships at St. Marys. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Williamstown senior Kyndra Johnson capped her career with a fourth title in the shot put. She threw 37 feet, 10.5 inches to top the 34-11 of junior teammate Reagan Corbett, who beat the field for the third straight spring in the discus after securing a 117-3 to 114-5 triumph versus Ritchie County runner-up Natalie Henger.

If not for getting stepped on during the first lap of the 800 Anna Bennett of St. Marys might’ve gone home with a pair of gold medals. Although the Blue Devil ran a 5:33.82 in the 1600 to outpace Williamstown’s Ava Lightfritz (5:40.31) and Braxton County’s Laura Cain (5:42.83), she picked herself up and raced past Bulldog Kaitlyn Key (2:33.31) to finish in 2:32.79, but Ravenswood’s Riley Sotomayor crossed in 2:27.73.

Tyler Consolidated’s Katie Grimm cleared 4-10 in the high jump before Braxton County’s Bethany Payne did while Bulldog Payton Trent won the long jump crown for the second time in her career after going 15-5.25 to edge Silver Knights Addison Blosser (15-2) and Jules Lattea (15-0.5).

The Williamstown girls were aided in victory by a couple of other 1-2 finishes. In the pole vault, Grace Boone (10-6) and Zide (9-6) led the way as Blue Devil Avry Bennett cleared 9 feet for third. In the 3200, Cassie Sites (12:00.82) and Lexi Wynn (12:05.79) finished ahead of Eagle Laura Cain (12:08.61).

Trent had just enough in the 400 to hold off Malolepszy, 50.56 to 50.97, but the Rebel finished his last conference meet with high-point honors (29.5).

Wahama's Connor Lambert ran a 10.58 in the 100 during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championships at St. Marys, which broke the old meet record of 11.14 held since 1999 by Ravenswood's Chris Claudio. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Poca’s Landon Coleman, who watched teammate Jacob Legg tie Rebel Jenner Keen for third in the high jump (5-6), finished runner-up in the event (5-10) and topped the field in the long jump with a 21-2.75 effort as White Falcon Reezin Stitt (20-3.25) and Blue Devil Ryan Kent (19-7.25) followed.

Doddridge County nearly had a 1-2-3 showing in the pole vault, but Roane County’s Brandon Charles cleared 12 feet, 6 inches before Nathanael Loyd did. However, Tristan Swiger’s effort of 13 feet topped teammate Trey McDonough (12-6).

Williamstown watched Lynken Joy place first in the shot put (49-9) and second in the discus (145-3) while Christian Hoosier won the discus (159-3). Fellow Yellowjacket Christian Lockhart was runner-up in the shot put (47-11.25).

The St. Marys boys thanks to Logan Eddy, Reece Westfall, Kent and anchor Desmond Parks closed the meet with a 3:34.65 to win the 4×4 while the Blue Devil girls did the same after finishing in 4:26.23 with both Bennetts, Natalie Bartrug and Maddie Smith.

In the 4×8, Lightfritz, Bridget Kirby, Wynn and Sites ran a victorious 10:08.96 for the ‘Jackets.

Ritchie County's Dylan Malolepszy won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championships at St. Marys. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

WHS was just nipped in the 4×1 – 52.37 to 53.08 – by the Bulldog quartet of Lipscomb, Trent, Kasey Underwood and Payton Currey.

Tyler Consolidated’s shuttles team of Doak, Octavia Studenic, Addison Blosser and Bella Garuccio won with a time of 1:11.93.

Aside from the meet records in the 4×1 and the 4×2, Doddridge County also claimed the 4×8 (Gunner Kimball, Noah Bodkin, Colten Key, Cory Swentzel, 8:30.56) and the shuttles (Will Adams, Krystian Eidel, Lloyd, Brycen Eidel, 1:01.53).

Malolepszy was followed in the high-point race by Conner (25), Watson (22.5), Lambert (22), Walters-Hickman (21), Brycen Eidel (21), Trent (20), Kimble (18.5), Stitt (18), Coleman (18), Joy (18), South Harrison’s Jayden Hatfield (14.5), Bulldog Carter Sias (14 points, 800, runner-up, 1:58.92), Wahama’s Trace Simpkins (13), Silver Knight Travis Moore (13) and Westfall (12.5).

Trent made All-LKC honors for a third time. Earning their way for a second time were Malolepszy, Conner, Watson, Kimble, Joy, Hatfield and Sias.

Tyler Consolidated's Katie Grimm had the winning effort of 4 feet, 10 inches in the high jump during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championship at St. Marys. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Following Smith’s high-point effort were Cox (22.5), Avry Bennett (21.5), Grimm (20.5), Anna Bennett (20.5), Sotomayor (19.25), Trent (18.5), Buffalo’s Cami Samples (18), Corbett (18), Payne (16), Currey (15.5), Lipscomb (15.5), Cain (15), Wynn (14.5), Zide (14.5) and Sites (14).

Smith was joined as a three-time All-LKC performer by Trent, Corbett and Currey while Cox, Grimm, Lipscomb and Sites accomplished it for a second time.

Also earning runner-up efforts for the girls were Lefebure (100, 12.92), Samples (200, 27.40) and Sotomayor (400, 1:00.58).

The other bronze medalists for the girls were Blue Devil McKenzie Armstrong (discus, 110-0), Bulldog Brooke Burnside (shot put, 34-1.75), Gilmer County’s Kadessa Stitt (high jump, 4-8), Yellowjacket Makaela Bandy (300H, 50.80), Doak (100H, 17.54), Key (800, 2:33.1), Trent (400, 1:02.64) and Currey (200, 27.58; 100, 13.10).

Walters-Hickman (10.85) and Hatfield (11.09) also broke the record in the 100, but couldn’t catch Lambert and the same happened in the 200 with the Bulldog finishing just ahead of the Hawk (22.08 to 22.60).

Kimble had to settle for a pair of second-place efforts behind Conner in the 1600 (4:30.12) and the 3200 (9:33.92). It was the same for Brycen Eidel in the 100 (16.09) and 300 (41.57) hurdles.

Bronze medalists for the boys also included Wirt County’s Kaedon Sees (400, 51.27), Westfall (800, 1:59.30), ‘Jacket Julian Johnson (1600, 4:32.14), Moore (3200, 9:50.82), Simpkins (110H, 16.44), Webster County’s Isaac Cutlip (300H, 41.80) along with Rebel Chase Morris (shot put, 43-10) and Bulldog Braden Murphy (discus, 144-4).

Doddridge County’s Blake and James also earned All-LKC designation since they were on a record-breaking relay team.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Doddridge County's Trey McDonough cleared 12 feet, 6 inches, but had to settle for a runner-up effort in the pole vault behind teammate Tristan Swiger, who cleared 13 feet during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championships at St. Marys. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Williamstown's Shelby Smith, who broke her own meet record with a victorious time of 56.61 in the 400 during Friday's Little Kanawha Conference championships at St. Marys, explodes out of the blocks during the 100 prelims. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)