WVSSAC RUNNING HARD - Brooke's Gavin Scott runs in the boys 3A 1600-meter run.

Across Friday and Saturday, Wheeling Central piled up 113.5 team points, a comfortable distance from runner-up Saint Marys at 103.

The Knights’ second day out on Laidley Field in downtown Charleston was highlighted by success in the relays. On Friday, Central’s girls 4×800-meter relay team won gold, and on Saturday, three more Maroon Knights quartets grabbed first-place finishes, in addition to two individual gold medalists.

“Our girls were really focused and goal-driven to win as a team,” Wheeling Central head coach Courtney Droginske said. “Coming out of regionals, we knew we had a shot between us and St. Marys, and so we kept telling them, do what you got to do, do what you’ve been doing, keep working.

“They were really focused on knowing that we could win this as a team. It was going to be a hard two days, but they got points where we weren’t really expecting points, and that was a key. Plus, all our relays and other individuals all placing and qualifying and doing what they had to do. They did what they set out to do.”

Contributed ATOP THE PODIUM - Weir's 4x400 relay team of Ryann Jeter, Lea Young, Rachel Lazear and Gianna Siegal celebrate their win.

Wheeling Central’s 4×200-meter relay team and 4×100-meter relay team were both made up of the same four girls– Claire Kerr, Meredith Komorowski, Ally Jefferson and Maddie Steele. Both claimed first place, the 4×200 team finishing in 1:47.09, and the 4×100 team finishing in 51.47.

“Our 4×1 and 4×2’s are young teams all returning with Ally Jefferson, Claire Kerr, Maddie Steele, and Meredith Komorowski all focused and rooting for each other and just wanting to win for their team and for themselves,” Droginske said.

The Maroon Knights’ gold-medal 4×400-meter relay team was made up of Claire Kerr, Rylee Wright, Elizabeth Steel and Loni Kusic.

“Our 4×8 and 4×4’s are all very similar,” Droginske said. “Made up with Loni, Elizabeth Steele, Rylee Wright, Elah Conkle in the mix there, and Claire Kerr. They were crushing our distance, mid-distance relays and were really focused and wanting to win. And they did that. They crushed their legs and PR’d and shaved seconds off their times from the season.”

Kusic had a busy day Saturday, as a member of the 4×400-meter relay team and 4×800-meter relay team, in addition to taking home the top spot in Saturday’s 1A 400-meter run. Kusic, a sophomore, barely beat out Clay-Battelle’s Magnolia Lemley, clocking a 1:00.61 against Lemley’s 1:00.91. Elizabeth Steele finished third in the event with a 1:01.69.

“She’s incredible and she’s worked really hard to keep getting her times down, and she was also very focused and wanting to win and had a real close call there towards the end, but was able to pull it off,” Droginske said.

Steele also finished in third in the girls 1A 800-meter run at a 2:27.84.

Alexa Loy also earned a gold medal for her team Saturday, placing first in the 1A high jump with a bound of five feet.

“Alexa won high jump her freshman year, and so she just had this good feeling coming into her senior season, and this weekend, just wanting to win again, and she did. That was a huge win and a good boost for all of us.”

The title is Wheeling Central’s second in program history.

Wheeling Central’s boys also found success Saturday, with the team of Michael Steiniger, Dustin Sanner, Caleb Golden and Joey Hall finishing third in the boys 1A 4×200-meter relay, clocking a 1:35.06, just over one second separating them and first-place Saint Marys. The same boys team finished in third in the boys 1A 4×100-meter relay at 44.44.

Other track athletes making the trek to Charleston from the northern panhandle also turned in strong performances to conclude their spring seasons.

WEIR

Gianna Siegal finished third in the girls 2A 400-meter run, clocking a 1:00.39. The Red Riders took home two medals in the girls 2A 100-meter hurdles. Myleigh Clevenger took second place with a time of 16.88, and Ella Kaufman took third with a time of 16.92.

The team of Rachel Lazear, Ryann Jeter, Lea Young and Gianna Siegal won the girls 2A 4×400-meter relay event, cruising to a 4:16.32 to finish six seconds ahead of second-place Williamstown.

WHEELING PARK

Molly Brinker grabbed another gold medal on Saturday, finishing in first in the girls 4A 300-meter hurdles, finishing in 45.02. Teammate K’Lyn Neider finished in third at 46.76. Brinker also finished as state runner-up in the girls 4A 100-meter hurdles, clocking a 15.65. Rianna Farrow finished third in the girls 4A 400-meter run, a tightly contested race that saw the entire field finish within five seconds of each other. Farrow ran a 59.01. Farrow also finished in third in the girls 4A 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.73.

The Patriots’ girls relay team of Brinker, Neider, Farrow and Addison Reineke finished in second in the girls 4A 4×100-meter relay with a time of 49.77.

JOHN MARSHALL

Paislee Babiczuk came away with multiple medals between Friday and Saturday, including a first-place finish in the girls 3A discus Saturday, throwing 139-06, running away with the event and throwing 25 feet further than second-place.

VALLEY

Laken Dawson showed off her springs in the girls 1A long jump, taking first place with a 17-04.25. The senior also finished in second in the girls 1A 200-meter dash, speeding to a 25.71.

The Lumberjills’ team of Dawson, Elynn Derby, Kynnedi Dallison and Kendall Loy took second place in the girls 1A 4×200-meter relay at a 1:50.08

TYLER

Senior Amos Kimble continued to dominate distance races in Charleston, finishing first in the boys 2A 1600-meter run with a 4:29.21. Teammate Travis Moore finished in third with a 4:33.15. Later in the day, Kimble legged out another gold medal, racing Williamstown’s Vincent Zegrea down the home stretch in the boys 2A 800-meter. Kimble finished in 2:00.30, edging out Zegrea’s 2:00.35.

On the girls side, Ayo Buerger won the girls 2A high jump, clearing 5-02. The relay team of Eliana Winfrey, Andi Fiber, Addison Blosser and Kathryn Grimm took second place in the girls 2A 4×100-meter relay, finishing in 51 seconds flat, one-tenth of a second away from first-place Williamstown.

OAK GLEN

The Golden Bears’ Logan Murray finished as state runner-up in the boys 2A long jump with a bound of 21-03, and as state runner-up in the boys 2A 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.58.

MADONNA

Rylee Birkhimer muscled her way to a gold medal in the 1A girls shot put, throwing 34-11.25 to finish atop the field.

MAGNOLIA

Senior Jessa Anderson finished in third in the girls 1A long jump, leaping 16-01.25. Bella Sockman sped her way to a second-place finish in the girls 1A 100-meter dash with a 12.81, and a third-place finish in the girls 1A 200-meter dash at a 25.80.

The Blue Eagles’ team of Sockman, Anderson, Hallee Beisel and Sydney Quinet finished third in the girls 1A 4×200-meter relay at 1:52.60.