ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Oh. — Morgantown swept the boys’ and girls’ OVAC Class 5A Track and Field Championships again Saturday at Red Devil Stadium in St. Clairsville.
The boys finished with 120 points, well ahead of 5A runner-up Steubenville at 94. The Mohigans came in second overall, as 4A champion and host St. Clairsville ran away with the overall lead at 186.
On the girls’ side, the Mohigans won their third straight 5A championship and this time edged out St. Clairsville 122-120 for the overall crown.
The Mohigans set themselves up for Saturday glory by putting in the work during the qualifying round on Monday.
“With so many qualifiers across so many events on Monday, we knew our chances were going to be pretty good on Saturday,” Morgantown head coach Steven Blinco said. “Qualifying all of our relay teams is quite an accomplishment and we are so proud of all of our kids across their individual disciplines.”
The teams ended up with only one relay championship each — the boys in the 4×800 at 8:18.89 and the girls in the shuttle-hurdle relay at 1:07.61. But qualifying for Saturday’s finals meant automatic points and the Mohigans relay teams accounted for 36 total points for the girls, 34 points for the boys.
Morgantown’s bread and butter, the distance events, along with some field events also proved fruitful as Blinco’s teams produced pretty much where he thought they would.
It’s the consistency that carried the day.
“Almost all of what happened was expected,” Blinco said. “We just took care of our business and did it cleanly, zero mistakes. That’s how it has to be in the championship season and our kids always practice the little things to prepare for the big stage.”
Seth Wisman and Luke Plevich went 1-2 in the discus for the boys as Wisman unleashed a 153-03, more than 10 feet better than Plevich’s 142-01.
Wisman’s toss normally would have been tops across the board, however, Union Local senior Johnny Sabinski won the 3A competition with a stadium and conference record 188-09.
Joel Moreland tied Wheeling Park’s Mykel Davis in the high jump at 6-0, but Moreland cleared the mark first to take the title. Cooper Boone won the boys’ 100-meter finale in 11.34.
On the girls’ side, Madeline Gump and Maraid Johnson finished 1-2 in the 3,200 finale, with Gump turning in an 11:07.29. Finley Lorimer posted a 9:44.45 to hold off Warren’s Luke Retteberger to win the boys’ 3,200.
University’s girls finished in 14th overall with 58 points, good for fourth in 5A while the boys’ total of 36 was good enough for 21st overall and sixth in 5A.
Addison Kitzmiller and Madison McCoy finished 1-2 in the girls’ shot put, with throws of 36-08.25 and 33-04.50, respectively.
Tyler Umbright won the boys’ 800 in 1:57.91.
The Hawks 4×800 team held off Morgantown, 9:45.34 to 9:47.45 for first place.
Class 1A/2A
Trinity Christian finished 11th overall and second in 1A/2A on the girls’ side with 72 points while Clay-Battelle was 25th overall with 36. The boys saw Trinity come in 22nd with 34 points and Clay-Battelle total 20 points for 32nd overall.
The highlight of the day for Trinity, and for many fans at large, was the finals of the girls’ 100-meter dash. It featured three Division I signees — two going to Marshall and one to WVU — and all three crossed the finish line staring at the back of Warriors’ freshman dynamo Elicia McCurrie.
McCurrie not only won the 1A/2A title, but smoked the competition across the board, posting an 11.94. It didn’t break the stadium record, however. She did that earlier in the week in the qualifying rounds at 11.88.
She did, however, establish an all-time OVAC mark in the 400 later in the afternoon, posting a 56.32, one of only two runners to finish sub-one minute. The other was Dover’s Ava Zobel (58.69) in 5A.
To capture the sprint trifecta, McCurrie ran away with the 200, setting stadium records with a 24.91.
Teammate Jenna Barnett won the 1,600 with a 5:26.17 while finishing second in the 800 at 2:31.84
The Warriors received another first-place finisher in Chase Livengood, who won the long jump with a leap of 20-04.25.
The Cee-Bees team of Landon Savage, Brock White, Wyatt Sharples and Zac Hall came in first in the boys’ 4×800 in 1:37.71, anchored by Hall.
Hall came back and won the 100 in 11.08.
By MIKE HUGHES/For The Dominion Post
