Eight Captain News-Register All-Valley Track Team
Another successful track campaign is in the books. All the blood, sweat and tears paid off for a plethora of athletes as many locals made it to the biggest stage setting personal records and receiving medals in the process.
With another year finished, five athletes from West Virginia and three from Ohio have been chosen as captains for The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register’s 2018 All-Valley Track and Field team.
Cooper Brown, River
Leading off the captains is River’s Cooper Brown. The Pilots’ junior certainly will be hungry for more when he returns to the track in 2020. He mastered the 400 this past season as he captured the 1A/2A OVAC title, clocking in at 50.26.
Brown not only captured the Ohio Division III district title, but he also broke the East District record, clocking in with a time of 49.82.
Brown also was crowned regional champion (48.86) en route to earning a spot at the state meet.
At Jesse Owens Stadium, Brown his junior campaign placing third with a time of 49.48.
Cole LaRoche, Bellaire
After winning a state championship last year in the shot put, Bellaire’s Cole LaRoche did the only thing that he could do this year: try to defend it.
And for the majority of the season, he was well on his way to making his way to the top spot of the podium.
The Bellaire senior, who also is making his second appearance as captain on the All-Valley team, was virtually unstoppable throughout the season as he held an undefeated mark as he made the trek to Columbus.
He blew by the competition at OVACs with a throw of 59-feet-11.50, a new 3A record. He also took home the gold at districts (58-07.25).
His reign of dominance continued at regionals as he tossed a winning 58-0.5.
In his final meet in a Big Reds uniform, LaRoche tossed a 56-04.50 at state, good enough for fourth place. Although he did not get the gold, LaRoche finished his prep career as a three-time All-Ohioan.
Sebastian Spencer, Weir
What more can be said about Weir’s Sebastian Spencer? Anyone who has followed high school track has seen the viral video of the junior speedester’s fantastic finish at the state meet in the 4×100 (43.89).
The victory was one of four gold medals Spencer took home from Charleston, which just bears bad news for the rest of the Class AA field. He still has one more year left.
Spencer — who did not lose a race all year and was a captain on last year’s All-Valley team — also was the anchor leg on the 4×200 team where he also had to come from behind to claim the top spot on the podium (1:30.43).
He spree of gold medals began with the 100 as he clocked in at 10.60, breaking the previous state mark that was held by his older brother, Donavan.
Spencer also tied the state meet record in the 200, crossing the finish line at 21.61.
Kellen Tropeck, Oak Glen
What a way to cap off your high school career. Oak Glen’s Kellen Tropeck went into the 2019 season with not only high goals, but a target on his back. As a junior, Tropeck won the West Virginia Class AA state championship in the shot put.
He did not let the pressure get to him. In fact, he did much more than repeat: he claimed another state championship. In Charleston, the Golden Bears senior captured the shot put title with a throw of 53-07.5, about 5 feet further than second place.
Tropeck then followed with another impressive performance in the shot put where he claimed his second straight title in the event as he tossed the disc 158-03.
T’Kayla Kelley, Steubenville
Making it to the state track meet in Ohio is an extremely difficult task. However, it seems to be second nature when it comes to T’Kayla Kelley. Kelley, a returning captain from last year, not only made it tot the state meet in multiple events, she secured a spot on the podium in multiple events.
The Big Red senior finished her prep career with an impressive resume. With a time of 12.59, Kelley finished seventh in the 100 while also placing sixth in the 200 in a time of 25.44.
She also secured victories in both events at the conference championships. In the 200, she broke the stadium record with a time of 25.55 en route to the gold while also tying the 5A record with (12.29) in the 100.
Maggie Kovalcik, Oak Glen
To say that Maggie Kovalcik had an outstanding prep career in sports would be an understatement. In fact, there maybe no words to describe the success that she had during her four years at Oak Glen.
A standout soccer player and an impressive athlete on the basketball court, Kovalcik also shined during the spring season.
Kovalcik came into her senior campaign already with a gold medal under her belt as she took home the long jump title in 2018.
Her journey to a repeat also included an OVAC title and a regional championship.
In the end, Kovalcik leaped an impressive 17-10.25 in Charleston to repeat as state champion.
Kovalcik also was a leg on three Oak Glen relay teams where they all finished with medals (4×100, sixth; 4×200, third and 4×400, fifth).
Kenadee Wayt, Wheeling Central
Wheeling Central’s Kenadee Wayt has been collecting medals since she could step foot on a track. And in her final year as a Maroon Knight, she was able to take many more.
Making her third appearance as captain of the All-Valley team, Wayt collected a pair of victories at the regional meet in the 100 (12.78) and 200 (26.63).
She was also on the winning 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams.
At state, she claimed two individual silver medals in the 100 and 200 along with a second place finish with the 4×200 relay team where they broke the state meet record along with first place Willaimstown.
She was the anchor leg on the state champion 4×100 team where they set a new meet record of 50.04.
Mady Winters, Magnolia
Only a sophomore, Magnolia’s Mady Winters has already collected as many accommodations as a handful of senior would have at the end of their careers.
After winning a state championship with the Blue Eagles volleyball team and making it to the state tournament in basketball, Winters headed back down to the state capital and went back to New Martinsville with a pair of gold medals.
Winters swept the throwing events as she claimed the shot put with a throw of 38-04.50 while also taking the top spot in the discus (124-05).
She also secured a victory in the shot at OVACs (39-07.00) and regionals (37.03.00).
A plethora of area athletes also hit the mark to capture All-Valley honors including a few individual and relay state champions.
Best of the Rest
On the girls’ side the Wheeling Park 4×200 and shuttle hurdle teams claimed state titles. For the boys, Magnolia’s Pat Mirandy (400), Spencer Shepard (800) and Jakob Barrows (shot put) all won for the Blue Eagles while Tyler Consolidated’s Spencer Corley (high jump) and Wheeling Park’s 4×100 and 4×800 also stood at the top of the podium.
2019 All-Valley Track Squad
Boys
100: 11.21 (Sebastian Spencer, Weir 10.50*; Justin Levelle, Wheeling Park 11.14).
200: 22.90 (Sebastian Spencer, Weir 21.61*; Quincy Dameron, Weir 22.34; Torrence Walker, Wheeling Park, 22.44; Justin Levelle, Wheeling Park 22.77).
400: 51.72 (Cooper Brown, River 49.48; Corban James-Barrett, Linsly 51.43; Pat Mirandy, Magnolia 50.45*; Jacob Pielech, Buckeye Local 50.58; Jason Beisel, Magnolia 51.72; ).
800: 2:02.10 (Ronnie Saunders, Wheeling Park 1:59.30; Sam McClelland, Harrison Central 2:00.47; Spencer Shephard, Magnolia 2:00.82*; Chase Stewart, Shadyside 2:00.96).
1600: 4:26.83 (Ronnie Saunders, Wheeling Park 4:20.94; Chase Stewart, Shadyside 4:22.41).
3200: 9:40.25 (Ronnie Saunders, Wheeling Park 9:26.96; Chase Stewart, Shadyside 9:37.05).
110 Hurdles: 15.21 (Anthony Rice, Steubenville 14.91; David Mellema, St. Clairsville 15.19).
300 Hurdles: 40.61 (Pat Mirandy, Magnolia 40.12; David Mellema, St. Clairsville 40.49).
4×100: 43.98 (Wheeling Park 43.11*; Weir 43.77*).
4×200: 1:32.54 (Weir 1:30.01*; Steubenville 1:30.76; 1:30.65; St. Clairsville 1:31.18, Steubenville 1:31.31; Wheeling Park 1:31.95; Magnolia 1:32.15).
4×400: 3:31.95 (Wheeling Park 3:30.35; St. Clairsville 3:30.99).
4×800: 8:19.83 (Wheeling Park 8:01.29*).
Shuttle Hurdle: 1:02.11 (St. Clairsville 1:00.88; Wheeling Park 1:00.99; Tyler Consolidated 1:00.86; Oak Glen 1:02.11).
High Jump: 6-2 (Spencer Corley, Tyler Consolidated 6-6.50*; Justin Heatherington, St. Clairsville 6-06).
Long Jump: 21-2.5 (Jorian Jones, Steubenville 21-06.5; Gage Patterson, Oak Glen 21-6.5; Justin Hetherington, St. Clairsville 21-4).
Pole Vault: 13 (Dale Haethorne, Shadyside 13-7; Brenden Schrader, Shadyside 13-3; Christian Sorge, Wheeling Park 13-1).
Shot Put: 51-06 (Cole LaRoche, Bellaire 61-2; Kellen Tropeck, Oak Glen 56-6*; Jakob Barrows, Magnolia, 53-3.5*; Jermain Snodgrass, Wheeling Park 52-05.5; Justice McCamick, St. Clairsville 51-06.00).
Discus: 137-10 (Kellen Tropeck, Oak Glen 163-5*; Colt Sechrest, Bellaire 154-3; Thomas Aronokhale, Linsly 142-1; Jared Barrows, Magnolia 139-00; Jakob Barrows, Magnolia, 138-06; Kevin Herink, Bridgeport 137-10).
Girls
100: 12.84 (T’Kayla Kelley, Steubenville 12.27, Amari Poole, Wheeling Park 12.55; Kenadee Wayt, Wheeling Central 12.76; Abby Snedeker, Wheeling Park 12.77; Abbe Stackpole, Paden City 12.84).
200: 26.72 (T’Kayla Kelley, Steubenville 25.55, Abby Snedeker, Wheeling Park, 26.50; Kenadee Wayt 26.63, Abbe Stackpole, Paden City 26.72).
400: 59.58 (Zara Zervos, John Marshall 59.52, T’Kayla Kelley, Steubenville 58.55).
800: 2:20.84 (Zara Zervos, John Marshall 2:20.04)
1600: 5:22.91 (n/a).
3200: 11:41.0 (n/a).
100 Hurdles: 15.88 (Aubrey Wiethe, Wheeling Park 15.40).
300 Hurdles: 46.75 (Aubrey Wiethe, Wheeling Park, 45.45; Marlee Porter, Wheeling Park 45.97).
4×100: 50.80 (Wheeling Park 48.96; Wheeling Central 50.04*; St. Clairsville 50.79).
4×200: 1:47.94 (Wheeling Park 1:44.93*; Wheeling Central 1:46.36)
4×400: 4:12.00 (Wheeling Park 4:11.05; Oak Glen 4:11.08; Steubenville Catholic 4:11.17).
4×800: 10:01.36 (n/a)
Shuttle Hurdle: 1:09.72 (Wheeling Park 1:05.03; John Marshall 1:09.36).
High Jump: 5-0 (Kylee Taylor, Union Local 5-1; Katherine Henderson, Hundred 5-0; Jailah Walker, Wheeling Park 5-0; Damara Ferguson, John Marshall 5-0).
Long Jump: 16-8 (Maggie Kovalcik, Oak Glen 17-10.25*; Yazmin Isalnd, Brooke 16-8).
Pole Vault: 9-4 (Alison Loase, Union Local 11-01; Emily Thompson, St. Clairsville 10-6; Brady Browning, Wheeling Park 10-07, Emily Lancaster, Tyler Consolidated 10-00).
Shot Put: 35-06 (Mady Winters, Magnolia 38-04.50*; Amya Livingston, Steubenville 38-7; Cheyenne Nash, Wheeling Park 37-11; Faith Hoobler, Edison 36-7; Kyndra Pilant, Magnolia 35-00.5, Anna Yater, Barnesville 35-06.50).
Discus: 115 (Faith Hoobler, Edison 127-0; Mady Winters, Magnolia 124-05*; Kennedy Martin, Madonna 121-06; Thea Haney, Harrison Central 120-10; Brittany Falcone, Bellaire 119-8; Katelyn Hart, Bellaire 118-11; Kaylee Travis, Oak Glen 116-06; Kyndra Pilant, Magnolia 115-03)
* Indicates state champion
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