Live Webcast of the WVIAC Championships    (If you missed Day 1, watch day 2)   WVIAC Meet Schedule   WVIAC Day One Results West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats lead both the men and women team standings after Day 1. The women lead 2nd place Seton Hill by 34 points and the men lead 2nd place Seton Hill by 57 points.   Please check out the results posted under Meet Coverage on the right side of the home page.   We will have full results, pictures and write-up tomorrow after the conclusion of the meet.  

  WHEELING, W.Va.)---The 2010 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Track & Field portion of the Championships will be held April 30-May 1 at Wheeling Jesuit. The multi-event portion of the meet concluded last weekend as Seton Hill’s Erin Beattie won the 13-woman field and defended her crown in the heptathlon with a WVIAC record 4271 points. In addition the heptathlon, saw three individual event records fall over the two day competition. Freshman Cuylor Edgell of WV Wesleyan held off teammate and defending champion Ricky Kump to win his first decathlon crown with a total of 6313 pts. Edgell set a new WVIAC meet record for the event along with hitting a NCAA Provisional mark. Ten men competed in the field with which saw three individual event records fall. On the team side, WV Wesleyan leads the men's field with 19 pts followed by Seton Hill with 8 pts. and Wheeling Jesuit with 4 pts. Seton Hill’s women lead defending champions WV Wesleyan by 1 point (11 to 10) followed by Glenville with 8pts and Concord with 2pts. WV Wesleyan looks to defend their men’s crown against last year’s runner-up Seton Hill. “The filed is wide open for the men this year and could come down to the 4x400m relay,” says veteran WVIAC meet director Chris Kreger. However, Seton Hill will walk in as the favorite this year led by their NCAA Division II national provisional qualifiers. Josh Wilks has an NCAA mark in the 800m with a time of 1:51.78 and comes off an All-American performance in the indoor championships as he also hit the indoor standard in the 400m this season. Griffins Nick Spino and Aron Kurzinski have also hit NCAA marks in the 400mH (53.63) and long jump (7.27m) respectively. Dwight Holden of WV Wesleyan is just seconds off and a NCAA mark in the 110HH along with his 4x400m relay team. On the women’s side WV Wesleyan will seek their 18th women’s title and their 8th straight as they hope to hold off Seton Hill and Wheeling Jesuit. Seton Hill’s Erin Beattie (field events) will be one of the favorites to watch along with Wheeling Jesuit’s Sarah Campanelli (1500m), Emily Taylor (discus) and Megan Pratt (hammer), WV Wesleyan’s Megan Zayas (steeple), and Concord’s freshman sensation Shawnee Carnett (800m) who have each reached, or are not far off, NCAA qualifying marks. Glenville’s Marteney Jacobs and Concord’s Shawnee Carrnett look to be the favorites in this years Rookie of the year title as it will come down to their individual points in the meet to see who wins the crown. Open link in title for more

Enjoy our first installement in a series of interviews & stories leading up to the 2010 Nike Track Nationals in Eugene, OR on July 2nd. (Photo by Victah Sailor, PhotoRun.net)

  Karissa Knabenshue of Buckhannon-Upshur, Mark Britton of Ritchie County and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland have achieved Milesplit US First Team Elite Gold Standards.   Knabenshue heaved the shot put 41' 6" at Elkins last week to take over the State's best mark. She now leads the State in the discus (124'4") and the shot put.   Britton of Ritchie County seems to have a personal best every time he competes. He keeps raising the standard and with his latest throw of 173' 4" in the discuss at the Cline Stansbury Invitational earned a National Gold Standard. To achieve a gold first team standard, a throw of 170' is required.   Burcham earned his Gold standard at the Eastern Relays in the 1600m with a nations best freshman time of 4:16.40. Please see the two articles regarding the Eastern Relays for more coverage on this freshman's amazing race and time.   Milesplit First Team Elite Standards      Congratulations to our West Virginia athletes on these outstanding accomplishments.

THE Eastern Relays took place this weekend and there was plenty to talk about even with the weather cutting things short. Here's a recap of the weekend's happenings. (Pictured: Megan Klein of Paul Dunbar)

  WV Wesleyan's Cuylor Edgell established a new WVIAC meet record in the decathlon.   (GLENVILLE, W.Va.)---West Virginia Wesleyan's Cuylor Edgell claimed the WVIAC men's decathlon title in record fashion, while Seton Hill's Erin Beattie defended her title to cap off the multi-event portion of the league meet. Edgell's NCAA provisional decathlon mark of 6313 points bettered former Concord star Dustin Greenwood's mark of 6298 for the conference record. Beattie's tally of 4271 points also established a new meet heptathlon record, erasing the old mark of 4188 established by Concord's Karachi Mbagwu. No marks by three competitors keyed a wild finish to the decathlon. Defending event champion Ricky Kump (WVWC) no heighted in the pole vault to allow Edgell to move ahead in the standings with two events remaining. In the javelin, two more competitors found themselves with no marks allowing Kump to move back in the chase for the title. However, Edgell won the event-concluding 1500 meter final to clinch the win. Kump finished second with 5777 pts and Seton Hill’s Josh Fouse was third with 5439 pts. Please open for complete article.

Breaking News! Live Results from Kentucky Eastern Relays   File Photo Courtesy of Cabell Midland Freshman sensation Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland placed 2nd in the 1600m at the Eastern Relays at the University of Louisville in a West Virginia State best 4:16.40 just minutes ago. Burcham has already gone under 2 minutes in the 800m and sub 10 minutes in the 3200m. Burcham is establishing himself as one of the best freshman in the United States.   Boys 1600 Meter Run 1 Ryan Eaton Greenwood 4:15.57 2 Jacob Burcham Cabell Midland 4:16.40 3 Robbie Scharold Campbell County 4:20.64 4 Andrew Stewart North Hardin 4:21.12 5 Jake Wildeman Trinity 4:22.22 6 Jacob Thomson Holy Cross (Lou.) 4:22.99 7 Justin House Apollo 4:23.12 8 Austin Carter St. Xavier 4:23.57 9 Adam Kahleifeh Bardstown 4:24.88   Ryan Eaton and Jacob Burcham   EASTERN RELAYS LIVE UPDATES   KYtrackXC.com’s David St. Louis is LIVE ON-SITE at the Eastern Relays being held today at the University of Louisville.  He is posting updates on the KYtrackXC.com Forum at the link below: http://ky.milesplit.us/forums/ky/topics/69113  

Brandon Doughty Leads Rankings in Three Events   Pictured is Kaitlyn Clark of Jefferson clearing 10' in the Pole Vault   A pair of long jumpers highlighted this weekend’s top performances. Anthony Abston a junior from Robert C. Bryd High School leaped to a Milesplit National Silver Elite 22’ 7” at the Harry Green State-Wide Invitational and sophomore Alexandri Allen of Morgantown set sail with another Silver Elite jump of 18’ 1” also at the Harry Green State-Wide Invitational. Abston takes over the West Virginia state lead by over a foot and a half over Brendan Kacor of Magnolia. tyle Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->   There were 5 other state best marks or times from the weekend from which results have been submitted. Marty Zangus of Weir set the new standard in the 300m high hurdles with a time of 40.86 at the Shadyside Relays. Khiry Timbers of Martinsburg posted the fastest 400m time in 49.74 at the John Handley Invitational. Mark Britton continues his torrid pace while setting another state best discus throw with a mark of 169’ 5” at the Ritchie County Pizza House Invitational. For the ladies, Karissa Knabenshue of Buckhannon-Upshur established the discus new mark with a throw of 122’ 5” at the Mylan Pharmaceuticals Invitational held on Tuesday. Kaitlyn Clark of Jefferson set the State’s best in the pole vault while clearing 10’ 0” at the Jefferson Tri Meet on Wednesday. Brandon Doughty of Jefferson posted the fastest 800m clocking in 1:57.2 at the Jefferson Tri Meet. Doughty now leads the rankings in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m.        

Jones grabs first place and two second place finishes Cara Rumburg RICHMOND, Ky. - The Marshall University women's track and field team had first place finishes from Alecia Daniels, LaTricia Jones, Cara Rumburg and Kristin Smith at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational Friday night. Daniels galloped to the top spot in the 400 meter hurdles as she crossed the finish line in a winning time of 1:04.03. The Herd had three first place finishes in field events as Cara Rumburg won the shot put, Jones in the hammer throw, and Smith taking top honors in the high jump. Rumburg and Jones went 1-2 in the shot put with Rumburg winning the event at 12.61m and Jones finishing  behind her in second with a toss of 11.87m.  Jones also took second place in the discus throw with a distance of 39.81m, and concluded her day by winning the hammer throw with a distance of 48.29m. Smith took first place in the high jump with a clearing distance of 1.57m (5-01.75 feet). The Herd resumes action next weekend when MU participates in one of the most prestigious events in track and field at the Penn Relays.

(More weekend coverage in article)   070543}--> At the Chup Robinson Memorial Classic held in Gilmer on April 10, 2010, Mark Britton of Ritchie County had two National Standard Elites while throwing the State’s best marks in the discus and shot put with throws of 169’2” in the discus and 51’ 10” in the shot put.   Chup Robinson - National Elites   WV High School Boy Rankings  (To see rankings by classification: use the league option)   WV High School Girl Rankings Please open the article for some other top times and marks from the weekend.    

  5 WVIAC Track and Field athletes have earned NCAA Division II provisional marks or times. Provisional marks or times do not guarantee acceptance in the NCAA National Championships. An invitation to participate in the NCAA Nationals will depend on the number of athletes earning provisional marks or times in each event. At this point no one has achieved an automatic mark or time.   Athletes that have earned NCAA DII provisional marks or times are:   Emily Taylor - JR - Wheeling Jesuit University - Discus - 147'1" -Bill Van Horne Invitational   Meghan Zayas - JR - West Virginia Wesleyan College - 3000m Steeplechase - 11:09.57- Duke Invitational   Ricky Kump - SR - West Virginia Wesleyan College - Decathlon - 6,569 pts. - Charlotte 49er Classic   Shawnee Carnett - FR - Concord University - 800m - 2:12.34 - Duke Invitational   Nick Spino - SO - Seton Hill University - 400m hurdles - 53.63 - Coastal Carolina Invitational  

2009 West Virginia AAA Cross Country State Champion, junior Brandon Doughty, of Jefferson is taking over where he left off last year. Doughty ran a 9:31.66 3200m at the 11th Annual Dwight Scott Battlefield Blast to take over first place in the boys 3200m State rankings. In the process, Doughty achieved a Milesplit Second Team Elite Standard. Congrats to Brandon.   Brandon Doughty finishing last years State Cross Country Meet Photo by Lance McDaniel

Tuesday at the Wetzel/Tyler Track League Meet Junior Matt Riggs of Magnolia achievement a National Elite Milesplit Second Team Standard in the discus with a throw of 151' 8.5", and  bettered his previous best of 141' 9" he threw earlier at the Richie County Quad Meet.  Congratualation to Riggzy.   He joins Mark Britton of Richie County (166' 4") and Christian Cummings (152' 3") of Fairmont Senior with throws over 150' (the second team standard). In order to achieve a first team standard, a throw of 170' is required. As of now, 35 throwers in the U.S. have attained a first team throw.   Here are the Milesplit standards. We have a few other athletes that have achieved National elite standards. For the complete list click on the rankings tab on the top bar.   Milesplit First Team Elite Standards     Milesplit Second Team Elite Standards  

    Barry Franklin photo courtesy of West Virginia Wesleyan   Barry Franklin of West Virginia Wesleyan College and Lance McDaniel of Concord University came into the Duke University Invitational ranked #1 and #2 in the WVIAC Conference 3000m Steeplechase. Franklin , ranked #1, had the previous West Virginia Wesleyan College Steeplechase record of 9:37.41. Franklin has also set personal bests marks in his last 5 races. McDaniel's previous best steeplechase time was 9:50 and the Concord University record was 9:46.60 set by Ryan Kent in 2008.  On Saturday, Franklin and McDaniel were in the same heat and both set school records as Franklin's school record time was 9:34.51 while McDaniel closed the gap on the two and set the Mountain Lions new record in 9:38.50. This looks to be one of the highly contested events at the WVIAC Conference championship.   Lance McDaniel after breaking the Concord 3000m Steeplechase record   Shawnee Carnett of Concord University continues to impress and break records when she steps on the track. Carnett won the 3rd heat of the 800m run by passing the entire field on the last lap as she went around the field in the 3rd lane in the first two turns and accelerated past everyone to stake her claim to another lady Mountain Lion record with a 2:12.34.   Megan Savioli of Concord University who is a powerful runner that gets up on her toes and goes did just that as she set the new Concord University 400m hurdle record in1:09.98.   Other West Virginia Wesleyan school records were set by Meghan Zayas in the steeplechase (11:09.57), Morgan Bennett in the 400 meter hurdles (64.02),  and Kevoy Douglas in the 200 meter dash (21.67).   Glenville State College also had a runner break a record on the day. Glenville State’s Ahkeem Figgs broke the Men’s 100 Meter dash with a time of 10.62 at the W& J  Invitational, the record was held by GSC Chup Robinson and Xavier Glenn with a time of 10.69.