Bruce McKean
Contributing Writer
Head Pocahontas County High School track team coaches Laurel Dilley and Abe Rittenhouse and assistant coaches Aaron Pugh, Eric Rose and Josh Abbott readied their squads for their first two meets at Elkins and Buckhannon.
The girls results at the EHS Irwin Invitational were: #1 Class AA North Marion – 167 points, #2 AA EHS – 82, #3 class A PCHS – 53, #4 AA Philip Barbour – 48 and #5 Tygarts Valley – 6. The North Marion and Philip Barbour girls teams are currently ranked #6 and #9 by runwv.com.
The boys placement at EHS was: # 1 EHS – 99, #2 PBHS – 92, #3 PCHS – 79, #4 NMHS – 53 and #5 TVHS – 35.
When the RunWV.com Class A Best Performances through meets held on April 1 and received by April 3 were released, we all learned that several PCHS athletes made those top-10 rankings based upon their efforts at Elkins.
Senior Ryan Irvine’s first place 131-11 disc throw at Elkins ranked him #5 in West Virginia. Freshman Rita Guamis’s #2 finish in the 100m (13.65) and #1 in the 200m (28.22) both ranked #10 in West Virginia. Junior Cora Hedrick’s #2 finish in the 1600m (5.52) ranked #7. Hedrick’s #2 in the 3200m (12.01) would have been the #1 time, but the times in the event were not ranked – probably due to a timing problem in that event at the Elkins meet. The girls 4x200m (Rita Guamis, sophomore Irish Simmons, Calhoun and Freshman Sage McLaughlin – 2:01) and the girls 4x400m (Calhoun, junior Lola Guamis, Rita Guamis and Hedrick – 4:53) both placed third and were both ranked #9 in West Virginia. The girls 4x800m (Lola Guamis, McLaughlin, Calhoun and Hedrick – 11:15) finished second at Elkins and were ranked #4 in WV.
Seniors Logan Davis (26 points) and Connor Pyles (24) and sophomores Jacob Jones (22) and Elijah Robertson (18) all scored in four events at EHS. Sophomores Hunter Shafer (11) scored in three events; senior Kyle Lester (18) and sophomore Logan Woodruff (8) scored in two: while seniors Danny Kimble, Ryan Irvine and Brady Jones scored in one.
Rita Guamis (22 points), Hedrick (22) and Calhoun (15) all scored in four events. McLaughlin (11) scored in three events. Junior Lola Guamis (10) and sophomores Irish Simmons and Bridget Carroll all scored in two events.
The girls placement at BUHS was: #1 Class AA Fairmont – 124 points, #2 AA EHS – 120, #3 AAA BUHS – 113, #4 A PCHS – 67, #5 AA Lincoln – 64, #6 AAA Preston – 55 and #7 A Pickens – 4. The boys placement at BUHS was: # 1 Lincoln – 119, #2 Fairmont – 118, #3 PCHS – 87, #4 BUHS – 80, #5 Preston – 77, #6 EHS – 72 and #7 Pickens – 1.
Several PCHS results at the BUHS meet would have been top-10 performances if they were in the current rankings, but they will be included in the next weekly version of the Best Performances on runwv.com.
Lester (28 points), Pyles (28), Davis (20) and Jacob Jones (26) all scored in four events at BUHS. Shafer (12) and Robertson (16) scored in three events; Kimble scored in two events: while Woodruff, senior Keith Harrah, Irvine and Brady Jones scored in one.
Rita Guamis (28 points), Hedrick (28) and Calhoun (19) all scored in four events. Lola Guamis (16) scored in three events. Senior Mary Kelley, freshman Cloey Sharp, Simmons, and McLaughlin scored in two events; and Carroll and freshman Sierra Rodriguez scored in one event.
The PCHS boys team includes nine seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen.
The girls team sports four seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
