CHARLESTON – The 2023 WVSSAC state track and field meet concluded with day two on a cool, rainy Saturday at Laidley Field in Charleston.
After a strong showing on day one, the Morgantown girls team continued their momentum into day two, highlighted by senior Irene Riggs capturing two more state titles and senior Morgan Ryan earning the top spot in the pole vault.
Trinity Christian captured state championships for both the boys and girls on day two. Sophomore Chase Livengood set the tone early in the long jump just as the track events had gotten started. He jumped a personal best and new TCS school record length of 21 feet 1/4 inch to capture the state title in long jump for Class A.
“As a freshman, I jumped 19’7, and I knew I could improve on that this year,” Livengood said after his victory. “Like I said early in the year with the high jump, I wanted more consistency so I really worked hard on that.”
TCS coach Jason White says it was easy to tell how much potential Livengood showed coming in last year as a freshman, and that his hard work has led him to this success early on in his high school career.
“Chase is just a raw athlete, he came out last year and had some good jumps,” White said. “This year we got more technical with it and he has worked so hard and deserves every bit of this.”
The Warriors’ girls team captured the state championship in the 4×400 meter relay. The team of sophomore Cora Friend, senior Sofia Pancoast, junior Jenna Barnett, and sophomore Rylan Sharp posted a time of 4:19.53 for the top spot. Pancoast claimed third in the individual 400-meter dash earlier in the day.
The TCS boys finished in 7th overall with 28 points and the girls 6th with 29.
The University boys placed fourth overall after a strong showing in the 1600-meter run. The Hawks claimed the first, third, and sixth place spots in the race, with junior Drew Zundell posting an impressive time of 4:08.44 to claim the state championship.
For the Morgantown boys’ team, eighth place was earned with 29 points overall in the meet. Highlighting the boys’ success was senior Alex Tadros who captured the state title in the 300M hurdles on Saturday with a time of 40.32.
The MHS girls took home five state titles on the weekend in the 4×800, 800, 1600, 3200, and the pole vault. Riggs was responsible for three of those five titles in the individual races.
Ryan, a senior, entered the pole vault with the top regional height of 11 feet. It only took a height of 10 feet 6 inches on Saturday for Ryan to capture the elusive state championship she has eyed for three years.
“It’s amazing,” Ryan said through happy tears. “I’ve wanted this so bad and I couldn’t have done this without everyone helping me along the way. I’m honored to be a part of this class at MHS and to be able to be a state champion.”
MHS head coach Steve Blinco says this was one of the more-competitive state meets he can remember, and he praised the efforts of his athletes.
“Saturday’s competition definitely lived up to the billing,” he said. “We knew Jefferson would be the team to beat on the girls’ side and we set our sights high on taking them down. But for all the distance talk with us, the sprints and relays were ready and able to provide the necessary reinforcements.”
MHS and Jefferson tied for first place with 111 points each.
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