BLACKSVILLE — You often hear the term “hat trick” thrown around when fans discuss soccer and lacrosse, but not so much with track and field.
Morgantown senior Alajuan Robinson decided it was time to change that.
Robinson swept the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes April 7, during the inaugural Morgantown Invitational in an impressive performance, as he helped lead the Mohigans to a second-place team finish.
“Usually I do my main four events, but today I cut high jump to focus on my three main sprints,” Robinson said. “I was just trying to work on my speed.”
Robinson was joined in victory by teammate Andrew Christy, in the 800, and the MHS 4×400 meter relay and Distance Medley Relay (DMR) teams also nabbed top finishes.
Ward Ries, of Preston, also dropped impressive performances at the meet, taking the top spot in the 1600 meter run and runner-up honors in the 800. Knight Cole Friend joined Ries in the 1600 for a 1-2 finish.
“We were both pretty disappointed, honestly; our places were good but our times were not where we expected them to be,” Ries said.
Weather played a factor in the distance races. What was set to be one of the top meets in the state in terms of competition took a hit as half the squads scheduled to compete backed out.
“We were looking forward to racing the competition and getting some really good times, but instead we ended up racing ourselves,” Ries said.
The Knights took fifth place as a team, just behind Clay-Battelle, in fourth. The Cee-Bees took home a trio of top-three finishes in individual events with strong performances from Logan Forquer, Nathan Swaniger and Gunner Brummage. In addition, the three sprinters teamed with Seth Casino for unner-up finishes in the 4×100 and 4×200 relays.
University rounded out the group of area squads at the meet, scoring a sixth-place team finish behind a runner-up performance from Robert Sanders, in the 100 dash, and a third-place result in the 4×800 relay.
GIRLS
Saturday was the first chance for the Morgantown girls to run the DMR (legs of 400, 800, 1200 and 1600 meters) on the season, and they decided to turn the jets on. MHS crossed the finish line first, over one minute faster than the closest opponent and just 18 seconds short of the New Balance Nationals qualifying standard.
“I thought we did a pretty good job for the first time running it. We’re starting to get the feel for it,” relay member Aleena McDaniel said. “It’s a lot of motivation. We’re really working out for states first, so we can win again, but then we’ll move on to nationals and show them what we can do.”
It was a typical performance for the MHS distance girls, as Amber Dombrowski notched runner-up finishes in the 400 and 800, and the 4×400 relay earned a first-place finish. The 4×800 also added a second-place performance.
Justice Washington also added a win in long jump to round out a trio of MHS wins on the afternoon, as the girls earned a runner-up finish in the team standings.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere without my coaches and teammates,” she said. “Now that I PR’d and now what I can do, I can build on that confidence.” (“PR” stands for personal record.)
University also had an impressive performance on the distance side, as Peyton Kukura and Emma Troischt finished first and second, respectively, in the 1600 meter run, while Zoe Shetty and Abigail Murray pulled a 1-2 finish in the 3200. Kukura, Shetty, Troischt and Caroline Kirby also scored a win in the 4×800 meter relay as UHS fought its way to a third-place team finish.
“I thought it was a good little race, and I was happy with it,” Kukura said of her 1600. “It was a good race to start off with, and I was only three seconds off my PR, which I was happy about.”
Clay-Battelle took fourth overall, with Addison Ammon topping off a day of four top-three finishes for C-B with a win in the pole vault. Preston rounded out the local schools with a sixth-place performance, led by top athlete Kirsten Brown, who finished second in shot put.
MHS coach Steven Blinco said he’d like to thank all the teams that attended the meet, and the volunteers from both C-B and MHS who helped it run smoothly.
