Photo by Nick Henthorn The Wheeling Central Maroon Knights girls track and field team, pictured with their Class 1A state championship after finishing first in their class Saturday at Laidley Field at the WVSSAc State Track Championships.

CHARLESTON — For the first time since 2017, Wheeling Central’s girls track and field team are raising a WVSSAC state championship, having ran away with the Class A girls state title on Saturday in the second and final day of the state track and field championships.

Across Friday and Saturday, Wheeling Central piled up 113.5 team points, a comfortable distance from runner-up Saint Marys at 103.

The Knights’ second day out on Laidley Field in downtown Charleston was highlighted by success in the relays. On Friday, Central’s girls 4×800-meter relay team won gold, and on Saturday, three more Maroon Knights quartets grabbed first-place finishes, in addition to two individual gold medalists.

“Our girls were really focused and goal-driven to win as a team,” Wheeling Central head coach Courtney Droginske said. “Coming out of regionals, we knew we had a shot between us and St. Marys, and so we kept telling them, do what you got to do, do what you’ve been doing, keep working.

“They were really focused on knowing that we could win this as a team. It was going to be a hard two days, but they got points where we weren’t really expecting points, and that was a key. Plus, all our relays and other individuals all placing and qualifying and doing what they had to do. They did what they set out to do.”

Wheeling Central’s 4×200-meter relay team and 4×100-meter relay team were both made up of the same four girls– Claire Kerr, Meredith Komorowski, Ally Jefferson and Maddie Steele. Both claimed first place, the 4×200 team finishing in 1:47.09, and the 4×100 team finishing in 51.47.

“Our 4×1 and 4×2’s are young teams all returning with Ally Jefferson, Claire Kerr, Maddie Steele, and Meredith Komorowski all focused and rooting for each other and just wanting to win for their team and for themselves,” Droginske said.

The Maroon Knights’ gold-medal 4×400-meter relay team was made up of Claire Kerr, Rylee Wright, Elizabeth Steel and Loni Kusic.

“Our 4×8 and 4×4’s are all very similar,” Droginske said. “Made up with Loni, Elizabeth Steele, Rylee Wright, Elah Conkle in the mix there, and Claire Kerr. They were crushing our distance, mid-distance relays and were really focused and wanting to win. And they did that. They crushed their legs and PR’d and shaved seconds off their times from the season.”

Kusic had a busy day Saturday, as a member of the 4×400-meter relay team and 4×800-meter relay team, in addition to taking home the top spot in Saturday’s 1A 400-meter run. Kusic, a sophomore, barely beat out Clay-Battelle’s Magnolia Lemley, clocking a 1:00.61 against Lemley’s 1:00.91. Elizabeth Steele finished third in the event with a 1:01.69.

“She’s incredible and she’s worked really hard to keep getting her times down, and she was also very focused and wanting to win and had a real close call there towards the end, but was able to pull it off,” Droginske said.

Alexa Loy also earned a gold medal for her team Saturday, placing first in the 1A high jump with a bound of five feet.

“Alexa won high jump her freshman year, and so she just had this good feeling coming into her senior season, and this weekend, just wanting to win again, and she did. That was a huge win and a good boost for all of us.”

The title is Wheeling Central’s second in program history.