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CHARLESTON - So close, yet so far. That sums up Wheeling Central's performance during the 108th annual boys W.Va. State Track and Field championships at soggy Laidley Field in Charleston.
The Maroon Knights had a slow start but closed fast before finishing second to Buffalo in the Class A team race.
Senior Lorenzo Ferrera finished with four gold medals, two individual and the others as part of first-place relay squads.
Ferrara, who played lacrosse last spring and only competed on relay teams in track, blazed a 10.86 in winning the 100. He then doubled up with a 22.69 in the 200. He anchored the winning 4×100 team that included freshman Cannon Goddard, sophomore Dom Gianangeli and senior Riley Watkins that ran a 44.26.
"It was a pretty good day with good results," Ferrara said. "We gave it (the team title) a run but just came up a little short, but finishing second wasn't bad."
Junior Jonathan White, Watkins, and Gianangeli joined Ferrera in winning the 4×200 in 1:32.77.
"I knew we were going to win. All I had to do as the first leg was get the baton to Dom so he could get it to Jonathan and he could give it to Lorenzo," Watkins explained. "The Ferrari kicked it into high gear and now we are state champs."
Junior Aidan Scott finished second in the 1600, third in the 800 and ran a leg on the second-place 4×400 relay team. White was second in the 400 and junior Luke Minor eighth.
Magnolia's Dubale Greathouse jumped 6-4 to win the high jump.
The Blue Eagles' Lucas Zombotti was eighth in the pole vault. Landen Davis was sixth in the 1600.
Madonna junior Jonah McKay eighth in the 300 high hurdles.
Tyler Consolidated junior Sage Landis finished second in the pole vault.
Valley's Triston Bates finished third in the long jump and sixth in the 200.
Teammate Gavin Derby was fourth in the long jump.
Class AA
Weir placed sixth in the team race with 44 points. Twenty of those came on a pair of state-champion relay teams.
The foursome of seniors Kanye Green and Jamari Hubbard-Bass, along with juniors Jacob Taylor and Devan Colson ran a 44.54 to win the 4×100. Hubbard-Bass, Taylor and Colson teamed with senior Max Maley to claim the 4×200 in 1:32.91.
"It feels amazing. We've got this for life," Hubbard-Bass said. "We knew what we had to do. We did it and now we're state champs."
Doom Guiddy was seventh in the discus.
Colson placed sixth in the 200 and Maley was eighth. Hubbard-Bass finished fourth in the 100 and Colson sixth.
Oak Glen freshman Logan Murray was second in the long jump. Senior Isaiah Franklin ran fourth in the 400.
Class AAA
Wheeling Park's Isaiah Zelaski took eighth in the 100. He also ran a leg on the Patriots' 4×200 that placed third and the 4×100 that was fourth.
The Patriots' 4×400 finished sixth.