Pingley Fastest In Class-A Boys
At the West Virginia State Track Meet in Charleston May 17-18, Casey Pingley of Valley High School won two state Class-A titles and was fourth in total points. Pingley picked up the crown for the 100 meter run in 11.20.50 and for the 200 meter run in 22.94. He accumulated a total of 20 Class-A points.
No other Wetzel County teams won a state title, but the Magnolia boys, after taking the point lead in class-AA after the first day, ended the meet with a third place finish, losing to Ritchie County and Point Pleasant, respectively. The Valley boys placed sixth in Class-A, with Doddridge and Williamstown placing first and second, respectively.
Lumberjack Spencer Mason placed second in the shot and third in the discus, while the Eagles’ Stephen Rogalski was runner-up to Liberty’s Brandon Franklin in both the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter run. He also finished seventh in the high jump, while anchoring the 4×200 meter event with teammates Kage Rohde, Alex Pancake, and Drew Estep for second place. Rogalski was fourth in scoring in the boys class-AA with 18 points.
Rohde also placed behind first-place Franklin in the long jump, while teammate Tim Weekley placed fifth. Rohde finished fifth and Nick Blatt eighth in the 400 meter run.
Also placing second for Magnolia was Alec Hinerman in the 3,200 meter run, while teammate Bill Feeney finished fourth. Feeney finished fourth and Hinerman placed eighth in the 1,600 meter run. James Haught finished sixth in the 800 meter run, while teaming with Rohde, Blatt, and Drew Estep in the 4×400 meter relay for sixth place. Blatt, Feeney, and Hinerman in fourth place in the 4×800 meter relay.
Other Wetzel County athletes competing at the meet included Abigail Willey and Dani Hayes in the high jump and the long jump. Hayes scored for the Lumberjills with a fifth place finish. Renee Smith, Christa Harshberger, Jennifer Emch, and Lauren Cline competed in the 4×800 meter run. Cline also scored with a sixth place finish in the 800 meter run.
Taylor Parsons of Paden City finished third in the 300 meter hurdles and sixth in the 100 meter hurdles. She held down the anchor on both the 4×200 relay team with Logan Cosper, Josie Fox, and Hayley Hizer; and with Cosper, Fox, and Lynnsie Parsons in the shuttles.
In addition, Troy Hubbard competed in the 300 meter hurdles for Valley. He also ran with Dylan Edgell, Trey Smith, and Clay Ueltschy in the shuttles; and with Ueltschy, Pingley, and Charles Roberts in the 4×400 meter relay.
Edgell, Ueltschy, Pingley, and Jon Smallwood ran in the 4×200 meter relay event. From Paden City, Keith Hardbarger tossed the shot put and Kennedy Cain competed in the high jump. Cain, along with Brandon Cross, Kane Pyles, and James Baker, ran in the 4×200 meter relay.