MORGANTOWN—Two local athletes will compete at the 2024 Adidas National Outdoor Track and Field meet in Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend. Morgantown High School’s Seth Wisman and Joel Moreland qualified for the decathlon national finals on Saturday and Sunday, June 15-16.
Wisman, a rising senior, and Moreland, a rising junior, each qualified for the meet after earning points via their results in each event during the season.
The two-day decathlon competition is a true test of versatility and endurance, with ten events spread across the two days, five each day. On Saturday, the athletes will sprint in the 100 and 400-meter dashes, showcasing their speed and agility, before demonstrating their jumping and throwing skills in the high jump, long jump and shotput. Sunday will see them conquer the 110-meter hurdles, javelin throw, discus, pole vault and 1500-meter run, proving their stamina and determination.
Both Wisman and Moreland said they are excited about the opportunity to compete with some of the country’s best prep athletes while also seeing their progression in various events.
“Being able to see all the other athletes from around the country and competing with them is inspirational for me,” Wisman said. “It’s a new experience going to North Carolina and competing with all new people but one that I’m excited for and glad to be able to be a part of.”
Moreland echoed the words of his MHS teammate.
“I’ve been working really hard this season to put together a good qualifying score so I’m glad to be able to have made it,” Moreland said. “I’ve improved a lot on some of the events but the hardest part of the decathlon as a whole is putting it all together and putting on a strong, consistent performance.”
Wisman will look to make his move in the throwing events and hurdles, with his strongest coming in the discus. This season, he captured the 2024 5A OVAC title with a personal-record throw of 153-03.00.
“I was able to win OVACs for 5A which was a goal for me,” Wisman said. “I had good results during the season leading up to the final few meets but still wanted to keep trying to improve. I’ve worked hard to put together a score that I want and I feel that I’ve improved a lot on the events.”
Moreland, the school record holder in the high jump, says he decided to focus solely on track and field after clearing the 6-foot mark his freshman year and qualifying for freshman division nationals.
“I also played basketball but started to realize where I could take myself focusing on one sport,” he said. “Once I made it to nationals, I thought I might be able to have a future in this track thing.”
In West Virginia high school track and field, the javelin isn’t a sanctioned event, so Wisman and Moreland had to resort to practicing individually and also on events that they didn’t compete in for MHS, like the pole vault for Wisman.
“I would practice with Coach (Jeff) Core and the other vaulters and on my own when I could,” Wisman said.
MHS head coach Steve Blinco said the idea of the two athletes qualifying for the decathlon developed over time based on their showing promise in the spectrum of events.
“It didn’t come without some growing pains, however,” he said. “Balancing events in a real-meet situation creates many challenges. We worked with our individual coaches to share times in practice and in competition to help both of them achieve their goals and I think we found a good balance. Overall I think this is a great experience for both young men, and hope they continue down this path and pursue their dreams.”
Wisman and Moreland will begin the decathlon at the 2024 Adidas Outdoor Nationals on Saturday morning with the 100-meter dash.
