Photo by Cody Nespor Oak Glen sophomore Kamela Ward runs the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay during the WVSSAC Class AA State Track Meet in Charleston on Thursday.

CHARLESTON — Kamela Ward’s young high school track career is off to a great start. The Oak Glen sophomore won her first individual state title in the 200-meter dash Thursday at the WVSSAC Class AA State Track Meet at Laidley Field in Charleston.

Ward won gold as a freshman in 2021, but that was on the Golden Bears’ 4×400 relay team. Her time of 26.03 in the 200 Thursday secured her first gold medal as an individual.

“Last year we won, but it was a group effort,” Ward said. “This year, knowing I placed as an individual, it’s just ten times better.”

Ward won two other medals on the day, finishing second in the 100 with a time of 12.69 and as a member of OG’s sixth-place 4×400 relay team (4:21.01).

“Going in, I wasn’t as nervous as I was last year,” Ward said. “I knew who to be aware of, I knew what to expect and what it was going to be like.”

Winning so much as a sophomore has set the bar extremely high for Ward’s future, but OG girls’ coach Ashley Tharp thinks she will have no problems reaching it.

“She has a lot more potential; she’s going to be amazing,” Tharp said.

“She’s a hard worker, she never quits and she wants to be a winner. She’s very stat-driven, no matter the sport — soccer, basketball, track — she’s looking at the stats to see where she has to be and she works so hard to complete that.

“She wants to see all blue ribbons (next year) and it’s in her future to do that.”

Also on that 4×400 team were Phoebe Molish, Natasha Ward and Gracie Wright.

Other medalists for the OG girls Thursday included Sophia Arner in the 1600 (6th, 5:36.42) and Kensington McConnachie in the long jump (5th, 15-9.75).

OG’s 4×800 team also medaled with a fifth-place finish (10:31.63). That team was Ava Ross, Carson Barr, Hannah Kliner and Arner.

The Red Riders of Weir also had several medalists, with Kendall Drobbish placing sixth in the discus (103-06), Naomi Young finishing sixth in the 800 (2:26.84) and Elena Mastrantoni was sixth in the 200 (28.20).

The 4×100 team of Janai Turner, Izy Bernola, Maleea Faulks and Mastrantoni came in fifth place with a time of 54.15.

On the boys’ side, the Golden Bears’ Konnor Allison won a pair of silver medals with a time of 4:20.76 in the 1600 and 1:59.56 in the 800.

“We knew he was going to have a great year coming into his senior season. We had extremely high hopes for him,” said OG boys’ coach Rance Everly. “We’re super proud of Konnor, he broke the school record by two and a half seconds in the 1600.”

There was no shame in finishing second for Allison. The only runner to beat him Thursday was Winfield’s Matthew Scheneberg, who won the state titles in all three long-distance events — the 800, 1600 and 3200.

“It was just two really good runners battling it out in multiple events,” Everly said. “There’s nothing to feel bad about.”

Allison won a third medal as a part of OG’s sixth-place 4×400 team (3:38.31), along with Mason Konchar, Tyler Mozingo and Matthew Greenlief.

Greenlief won a silver medal of his own on Wednesday, running 51.20 in the 400. That was a big accomplishment for someone who was shut down for about a month of the season and only returned to competition just before the OVAC Championships earlier this month.

“Matt’s been battling a really bad hamstring (injury) for the last couple of years,” Everly explained. “He missed a good chunk of the season this year, we held him out for practically a full month and brought him back right before the OVACs. We’re very proud of what Matt was able to gut out because it was not an easy thing for him. For him to be able to come back (Wednesday), running on a bad hamstring and win a silver medal is big.

“It’s extremely hard to miss a month in the middle of the season to even come back and be able to compete at all in the state meet. He worked so hard just to even have the opportunity to come back this week.”

Other medalists for the OG boys were Konchar in the 800 (5th, 2:01.77), the 4×100 relay team (5th, 45.31) and 4×110 shuttle hurdle relay team (4th, 1:02.73).

On the 4×100 team were Aiden Flowers, Dylan Conley, Ethan Lively and Isaiah Franklin. On the 4×100 shuttle team were Flowers, Conley, Anthony Burt and Cameron Tropeck.

Weir sophomore Devan Colson is going home with a heavy pouch after winning medals in the 100 (6th, 11.77), 200 (5th, 23.46), 4×200 relay (3rd, 1:32.71) and 4×100 relay (4th, 44.74). Running with him on the 4×200 relay team were Jamari Bass, Jacob Taylor and Max Maley. With Colson on the 4×100 relay team were Bass, Carson Yobaggy and Brayden Lawton.

Winfield swept the team titles with the boys totaling 117 team points and the girls racking up 145. The Oak Glen boys finished in fifth with 37 and the girls in eighth with 26. Weir’s teams finished 12th and 17th, respectively.