TRIFECTA — Cullen Grover celebrates after winning the 300 meter hurdles state championship. He would also win the 110 hurdle event to become a state champion for the third time this year.

At the conclusion of the track and field state championships on Saturday, Tyler Consolidated’s boys and Paden City’s girls found themselves near the top of the leaderboards.

The Silver Knights turned in one of their top scores ever with 60 points, good for fourth place overall. The Lady Wildcats scored 32 points for a sixth place finish.

The story of the two-day event though came as a couple of Tyler Consolidated sprinters left as state champions in three events.

Cullen Grover became a two- and three-time state champion after winning the 110 and 300 meter high hurdles events to go along with his title from the wrestling season. He finished with a time of 14.8 in the 110 meter and 40.32 in the 300 meter.

“It’s really amazing to get one state title, but this is one I never expected to get,” said Grover after winning his first hurdle championship and referencing his wrestling title.

ROLLING TO NUMBER ONE — Nate Taylor raises his arms in victory after winning the state championship in the 200 dash.

“I never thought I’d get that one, and this worked out a lot in the same way. It’s really exciting to see all that hard work pay off. This is a hard race and I don’t feel like I’m built for it. I’m a lot bigger than a lot of guys that run this. Somehow it all worked out and I peaked at the right time during the season. It’s the best I could have hoped for. Everything worked out really well.”

Grover becomes the first two-time winner since Doug Dillaman in 2000, who also won the 110 meter and participated in the shuttle relay.

Nate Taylor also scored the gold medal after finishing first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.79, edging out Jacob Rollo of the Sherman Tide at 22.95.

“It feels pretty good. I’ve worked hard,” said an exhausted Taylor after crossing the finish line for his championship. “The last couple years have really paid off for me. It’s all I’ve been working for.”

Both finished in the top five for high point honors as Grover tallied 22.25 and Taylor posted 20 points

Of course, there were others that provided points for the Silver Knights en route to a top five finish.

Second place efforts came from the shuttle hurdle squad consisting of Nate Zills, Isaac Graham, Troy Wable and Grover. Their time of 58.13 would win a state championship in most years (the 2000 team won with a time of 59.37), but Keyser blew away the field with a state championship meet record of 56.41. It was one of four relay championships for the Golden Tornado, which ended up winning the team title with 93 points.

Jordan Smith also provided a second place finish with a pole vault height of 11’6, bested by Cody Masters of Ritchie County of 13′.

Taylor added a second place medal in the 400 meter dash with a time of 50.94. Oak Glen’s Derek Burch ran a 49.49 for first place honors. Taylor also scored points for the Knights in the 100 meter dash with an 11.72 time. Chapmanville Regional’s David Wiley won with an 11.34 time.

The other points Tyler Consolidated scored were via relays in the 4×100 and 4×200. In the shorter event, Zills, Dirk Fletcher, Aaron Matthews and Taylor raced around with a time of 45.19. The 4×200 team consisting of Grover, Fletcher, Wable and Zills finished with a time of 1:36.3 and sixth place.

Everything didn’t turn up roses for the Silver Knights as heat and warmup times put the athletes out of their usual rhythm.

“One of the problems with the state track meet is that there are so many kids down there,” said Coach Joe Semple. “They like to keep their time table as accurate as possible. So your kids get to warm up like any other track meet and then they corral them like cattle close to the starting line and you have to stand there for 15 minutes, so your middle distance kids lose basically all the warmup that they had while standing there. Our kids weren’t used to that either. You simply can’t do that and that hurt us a lot.”

Still, Semple was more than pleased with the way his team preformed in Charleston.

“We did really well. There were a lot that would have loved to have had what we had,” he said.

He also mentioned how others complimented on the team’s attitude going in and out of the state championships.

“I got a lot of comments on how well our kids are behaved,” said Semple. “I had superintendents and vice principals come up to me and tell me how impressed they were with our kids and their work ethic. People really notice that. Whether you win or lose, people notice if you’re doing things right. If you came to our facility two days after the state track meet, you’ll see kids doing things they need to do to prepare for next year.”

In the girls’ championships, Tyler Consolidated’s best finish came from Jackie Clark in the pole vault with a height of 8 feet. As it was in the boys event, the LKC also took the top three spots as Roane County’s Ashli Knotts and Ritchie County’s Vicky Bartlett took first and second respectively.

The Lady Knights shuttle hurdle relay finished in fourth. The team consisted of Tiffany Lohri, Hayley Acree, Jessie Earley and Lauren Cline.

Lohri also gave the Lady Knights points with a fifth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 17.5. Rheanna Foley did the same in the 400 meter run with a time of 1:01.82.

Paden City’s girls made some noise in Charleston by placing in six different events.

Amanda Sellers was had her hands, or feet, in most of that as she placed in all events she was involved in. She finished second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.43 and third in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 47.85. She was also involved in the 4×100 meter and shuttle hurdle relays.

The 4×100 team, also involving Sasha Newson, Shauna Durant and Allison Bertozzi finished third behind Williamstown and St. Marys with a time of 52.81.

The shuttle hurdle team involving Amanda Tallman, Dominique Craft, Taylor Parsons and Sellers finished fourth with a time of 1:11.78.

Paden City’s boys team placed in two events. Taylor Still placed fifth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.81, while the Wildcats’ 4×200 team with Josh Bennett, Braxton Herrick, Michael Glover and Still ran a time of 1:36.6.

CLASS AA BOYS

Boys 100 Meter Dash

1 David Wiley Chapmanville 11.34

2 Derek Burch Oak Glen 11.46

3 Jacob Rollo Sherman 11.62

6 Nate Taylor TC 11.72

Boys 200 Meter Dash

1 Nate Taylor TC 22.79

2 Jacob Rollo Sherman 22.95

3 Matthew Wilmer Keyser 23.13

Boys 400 Meter Dash

1 Derek Burch Oak Glen 49.49

2 Nate Taylor TC 50.94

3 Cole Starcher Ravenswood 50.95

Boys 1600 Meter Run

1 Nathan Rees Ravenswood 4:28.67

2 Skyler McCoy Webster Co. 4:30.83

3 Chase Nelson Scott 4:35.53

15 Aaron Estep TC 4:55.91

Boys 110 Meter Hurdles 39″

1 Cullen Grover TC 14.80

2 Jeremy Green Keyser 15.16

3 Marty Zangus Weir 15.44

Boys 300 Meter Hurdles 36″

1 Cullen Grover TC 40.32

2 Tristan Reneau Grafton 40.69

3 Wesley Washington Keyser 40.75

Boys 4×100 Meter Relay

1 Keyser 43.95

2 Oak Glen 44.22

3 Chapmanville 44.57

4 Tyler Consolidated 45.19

Nate Zills, Dirk Fletcher, Aaron Matthews, Nate Taylor

Boys 4×200 Meter Relay

1 Keyser 1:29.93

2 Oak Glen 1:31.88

3 Ritchie County 1:34.95

6 Tyler Consolidated 1:36.30

Cullen Grover, Dirk Fletcher, Troy Wable, Nate Zills

Boys 4×400 Meter Relay

1 Keyser 3:29.71

2 Philip Barbour 3:31.66

3 Ravenswood 3:36.91

9 Tyler Consolidated 3:42.19

Dirk Fletcher, Bryn Perkey Aaron Estep, Troy Wable

Boys 4×800 Meter Relay

1 Ravenswood 8:19.92

2 Philip Barbour 8:22.78

3 Keyser 8:25.31

11 Tyler Consolidated 8:55.54

Bryn Perkey, Travis Hoyes, Joe Semple, Aaron Estep

Boys 4×110 Shuttle Hurdle

1 Keyser 56.41

2 Tyler Consolidated 58.13

Nate Zills, Isaac Graham, Troy Wable, Cullen Grover

3 Point Pleasant 59.52

Boys Pole Vault

1 Cody Masters Ritchie Co. 13′

2 Jordan Smith TC 11’6

3 Derek Davis Roane Co. 11′

Class AA Boys Standings

1) Keyser 93

2) Ravenswood 77

3) Oak Glen 72

4) Tyler Consolidated 60

5) Ritchie County 37

High Point Honors

1. Nathan Rees Ravenswood 32.50

2. Cullen Grover Tyler Consolidated 22.25

3. Derek Burch Oak Glen 22

4. Mark Britton Ritchie 20

4. Matt Ritchie Oak Glen 20

4. Nate Taylor Tyler Consolidated 20

CLASS AA GIRLS

Girls 400 Meter Dash AA

1 Shakilya Cosby Oak Hill 57.68

2 Hailee Temple Oak Glen 1:00.53

3 Demi Kirk Sherman 1:00.61

5 Rheanna Foley TC 1:01.82

Girls 800 Meter Run AA

1 Hailee Temple Oak Glen 2:24.06

2 Chelsea Callaway Shady Spring 2:26.08

3 Kelsey Paine Shady Spring 2:26.70

14 Alaina McCoy TC 2:39.92

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles 33″ AA

1 Marteney Jacobs Philip Barbour 15.82

2 Kandis Castelli Weir 16.07

3 Mireya Cangemi Liberty (R) 16.88

5 Tiffany Lohri TC 17.50

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles 30″ AA

1 Marteney Jacobs Philip Barbour 45.69

2 Ashli Knotts Roane Co. 47.12

3 Kandis Castelli Weir 47.35

7 Tiffany Lohri TC 50.39

Girls 4×100 Meter Relay AA

1 Oak Hill 50.31

2 Roane County 52.50

3 Liberty (Harrison) 53.54

11 Tyler Consolidated 54.65

Hayley Acree, Rheanna Foley, Jackie Clark, Maddeline Schlabowski

Girls 4×200 Meter Relay AA

1 Oak Hill 1:48.99

2 Roane County 1:49.70

3 Independence 1:52.32

13 Tyler Consolidated 1:56.54

Hayley Acree, Rheanna Foley, Jackie Clark, Lauren Cline

Girls 4×400 Meter Relay AA

1 Weir 4:16.51

2 Grafton 4:18.17

3 Oak Hill 4:18.43

12 Tyler Consolidated 4:43.74

Hayley Acree, Rheanna Foley, Alaina McCoy, Jessie Earley

Girls 4×102.5 Meter Shuttle Hurdle AA

1 Oak Glen 1:08.85

2 Roane County 1:09.33

3 Weir 1:09.85

4 Tyler Consolidated 1:10.13

Tiffany Lohri, Hayley Acree, Jessie Earley, Lauren Cline

Girls Pole Vault AA

1 Ashli Knotts Roane Co. 10′

2 Vicky Bartlett Ritchie Co. 8’6

3 Jackie Clark TC 8′

Girls Long Jump

1 Marteney Jacobs Philip Barbour 17’10

2 Maranda Woodruff Oak Glen 16’4

3 Demi Kirk Sherman 15’8

8 Tiffany Lohri TC 14’9

Girls Discus

1 Brittney Thomas Oak Hill 121’2

2 Harlie Stotler Berkeley Springs 109′

3 Alanna Pritts Weir 106’9

8 Carlee Morris TC 96’2

13 Maddeline Schlabowski TC 84’11

Class AA Girls Standings

1 Oak Hill 80

2 Philip Barbour 68

3 Weir 51

3 Roane County 51

12 Tyler Consolidated 14

CLASS A BOYS

Boys 200 Meter Dash A

1 Cuylor Edgell Doddridge Co. 22.89

2 Xavier Whetzel Wheeling Central 23.15

3 Matt Schrumpf Bishop Donahue 23.37

5 Taylor Still Paden City 23.81

Boys 4×200 Meter Relay A

1 Charleston Catholic 1:34.23

2 Moorefield 1:34.66

3 Pocahontas County 1:35.74

5 Paden City 1:36.60

Josh Bennett, Braxton Herrick, Michael Glover, Taylor Still

Boys 4×400 Meter Relay A

1 Charleston Catholic 3:34.88

2 Moorefield 3:37.08

3 Saint Marys 3:37.85

14 Paden City 3:58.49

Josh Bennett, Braxton Herrick, Ethan Drain, Taylor Still

Boys rankings

1 Doddridge County 76

2 Wheeling Central Catholic 75

3 Williamstown 63

4 Charleston Catholic 47

16 Paden City 4

CLASS A GIRLS

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles 33″

1 Lacey Hampton Bishop Donahue 15.92

2 Amanda Sellers 16.43

3 Keeper Gray Williamstown 16.58

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles 30″

1 Ali Johnson St. Marys 47.08

2 Gretchen Lantz South Harrison 47.46

3 Amanda Sellers 47.85

Girls 4×100 Meter Relay

1 Williamstown 52.65

2 Saint Marys 52.75

3 Paden City 52.81

Sasha Newson, Shauna Durant, Amanda Sellers, Allison Bertozzi

Girls 4×200 Meter Relay

1 Saint Marys 1:50.24

2 Williamstown 1:50.97

3 Williamson 1:53.15

4 Paden City 1:54.36

Sasha Newson, Shauna Durant, Amanda Tallman, Allison Bertozzi

Girls 4×400 Meter Relay

1 Saint Marys 4:18.15

2 Doddridge County 4:21.39

3 Williamstown 4:22.18

9 Paden City 4:34.49

Shauna Durant, Sasha Newson, Amy Toman, Allison Bertozzi

Girls 4×800 Meter Relay

1 Saint Marys 9:53.72

2 Wheeling Central Catholic 10:17.97

3 Williamstown 10:32.12

11 Paden City 11:57.20

Erica Sapp, Amanda Heasley, Joni Myers, Dominique Craft

Girls 4×102.5 Shuttle Hurdle

1 Williamstown 1:08.93

2 Bishop Donahue 1:09.08

3 Saint Marys 1:10.14

4 Paden City 1:11.78

Amanda Tallman, Dominique Craft, Taylor Parsons, Amanda Sellers

1 Ali Johnson St. Marys 16’2.5

2 Catherine Butcher Gilmer Co. 15’8.5

3 Gretchen Lantz South Harrison 15’6.75

4 Sasha Newson 15’5.75

1 Cindy Hillberry Mount Hope 113’6

2 Ashley Sigler St. Marys 99’3

3 Alexandra Flowers Williamstown 93’10

9 Shauna Durant 77’11

Girls Standings

1) Saint Marys 166.50

2) Williamstown 72

3) Charleston Catholic 46

4) Doddridge County 38

5) Wheeling Central Catholic 36

6) Paden City 32