Morgantown girls lead team standings after first day of events
CHARLESTON — Day one of the 2024 WVSSAC state track and field meet was held at Laidley Field in Charleston on Friday with all five local-area schools making appearances.
The University High Hawks kicked off the meet in strong fashion by sweeping the boys’ and girls’ 4×800 meter relay races.
The UHS girls’ team of Haley Kramer, Abigail Rogers, Hellen Honecker and Adelyn Tager ran a time of 9:30.72, nearly a new state-meet record.
“It means so much to us after finishing in second last year,” Honecker said. “Being able to open the state meet this way with a big win is great for the team also. It really sets a tone for not only us but our entire team.”
It was a 1-2-3 finish in the girls’ relay for the area as Morgantown’s team of Sophie Renner, Lauren Hawkins, Allison Hawkins and Jennifer O’Palko finished in second in 9:37.76. Preston High took third overall as Hallie Simmons, Hannah Wolfe, Delilah Myers and Ella White clocked a 9:45.59.
In the boys 4×800, the Hawks’ team of Ethan Conroy, Jacob West, Tyler Umbright and Drew Zundell set a state meet record with a time of 7:47.66 to repeat as champions from last year.
“We all trust each other so much to just go out and do what we know to do,” said Zundell, a senior and Syracuse signee. “It’s been a pleasure to run with these guys, we just wanted to come out and have fun and enjoy the time we have here.”
Clay-Battelle senior and Glenville State signee Zac Hall was the top qualifier in the Class A boys 100-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 11.11.
MHS finished third overall in the girls shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1:06.84 for the team of Charlee Dunlap, Brynn Lewis, Harlyn Nelson and Josie Johnson.
Johnson also qualified as seventh-fastest in the girls 100-meter hurdles to put her in tomorrow’s finals.
Trinity Christian freshman Elicia McCurrie set two state meet records in the 100- and 200-meter dash preliminary rounds. She finished with a time of 12.27 in the 100, ahead of the previous record of 12.41. In the 200, she clocked a 24.87, nearly a full second ahead of the record of 25.61.
“I’m just out here having fun, I’ve been coming to the state meet since I was little and I’m just happy to finally be here,” McCurrie said.
To cap the evening, the girls’ 3200 came down to the wire as Morgantown senior and LSU signee Madeline Gump erased a 20-meter deficit in the final 100 meters to win the state title by .29 seconds over Ellie Hosaflook of Ripley in what could be the best finish of the weekend when it’s all said and done. Gump clocked a time of 11:01.35.
“My goal has always been to win, that’s all I’ve wanted to do,” Gump said. “I started slowing down a little and in my head I thought I didn’t have it but something clicked and I emptied the tank, as my coaches would say. It just means so much to me.”
Zundell, Umbright and West from UHS all finished in the top six of the boys 3200-meter run. Zundell finished second with a time of 9:09.86, Umbright with a 9:18.24 to finish in fourth, and West took sixth with a time of 9:28.91.
Heading into the second and final day, UHS sits in third overall in the boys standings with 26 points, while MHS is in sixth place with 13 points.
The MHS girls’ hold a lead after day one in the team standings with 39 points, 17 ahead of second-place Parkersburg with 22.
The Trinity boys’ have 12 points after day one and sit in eighth place in Class A.
Events will begin this morning at 9 a.m. from Laidley Field in Charleston.
Photos by Michael Switzer/For The Dominion Post
