Blue Devils, Bulldogs will battle for team crown
Over the years Doddridge County and St. Mary’s have consistently had success at the state track meet. As the 2011 State Meet approaches, the two Little Kanawha Conference schools rank first and second in the state.
Doddridge is lead by sophomore hurdler Daniel Plaugher. He enters the state meet having run the second fastest 110-meter high hurdle time of the year. His time of 40.98 in the 300-meter low hurdler ranks first in the state. Plaugher is also apart of the state’s top-ranked shuttle hurdle relay team. Also, looking to score big for the Bulldogs is sophomore distance Caleb Moore. He has the state’s second-fastest 3200-meter run time this year of 10:02. Ranked third in the event is St. Mary’s Charlie Drazba, who has run 10:06. Moore has recorded a time of 4:38 in the 1600-meter run. A pair of Blue Devil athletes set fifth and sixth in the event--Drazba and Derek Bayless--with times of 4:40 and 4:48 respectively.
A decisive event in the team race between Doddridge and St. Mary’s could be the 400-meter dash. The state’s top time in the event belongs to St. Mary’s Derek Renner with 51.77. Plaugher has the fourth fastest time, but is just .07 seconds off second place and .65 seconds away from Renner’s top time.
Doddridge’s Cory Aichele owns the second fastest 100-meter dash time this year with 11.50. However, St. Mary’s Logan Coplin has run 11.54 and is tied for third with Pendleton County’s Josh Redman. Aichele has the fourth fastest 200-meter dash time this year. Renner is only .07 seconds slower in fifth with 23.56. St. Mary’s appears to have a little separation between themselves and Doddridge.
The Blue Devils have the top high jumper in Brett Wright. He is the only single-a high jumper to clear six foot four inches this year. Coplin is ranked third in the pole vault. He has cleared 13 feet 6 inches. Hayden Ullman from St. Mary’s is ranked second in shot put and has only thrown one inch less than Wheeling Central’s Aaron Schneid.