H.B. Thomas Invitational notebook: Champion Oak Hill looking strong; Liberty's Brown having big week

Apr. 29—As track and field regionals appear on the horizon, Oak Hill is putting together some solid efforts.

Take, for instance, last week's Patriot Classic at UC Stadium/Laidley Field, a meet that attracts some of the top teams in the state.

"Even though the boys finished fourth and the girls finished ninth, we had PRs (personal records) in almost every race," coach Matthew Sydnor said. "I think going against more elite competition — Buckhannon-Upshur, GW (George Washington) and a lot of our region — they rose to the occasion."

The boys 4x200 meter relay team finished first there, posting a PR of 1:33.64. The team is made up of Conlon Brooks, Leonard Farrow, Ty Wilburn and Colton Workman.

They outdistanced top 10 teams Capital and Buckhannon-Upshur, which Sydnor said was "a huge win for us."

Also bringing home a championship was senior Cade Maynor, who posted his best distance in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

The Red Devils continued their success Thursday by winning the boys championship at the annual H.B. Thomas Invitational at Shady Spring High School.

Maynor again came out on top in the long jump at 19-7 3/4 and won high point honors. He finished with 24 points, adding a victory in the 400 (53.79) and a third in the high jump (5-8).

The 4x200 team turned in a time of 1:37.93 to finish second to Bluefield. The Red Devils were without Brooks, who was subbed by Alex Colaiseno.

The team went into Thursday ranked sixth in the state.

"They are a solid team," Sydnor said.

Building off that success, the Red Devils are ready to make an impact at regionals in less than two weeks.

"The confidence is through the roof," Sydnor said. "Especially Ty and some of our leaders, have been talking about how they want to bring a plaque home May 12th. They want to bring that regional plaque home, and I'm telling you, this boys team is strong. They have every chance in the world that night to bring that plaque home to Oak Hill."

The girls, who field a young team, were fifth overall.

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The girls championship went to Shady Spring with a total of 139 points.

The Tigers had placers in every event, including double-winner Lilian Hatfield in the 100 hurdles (17.64) and 300 hurdles (51.31). The 4x800 relay team of Mattea Huffman, Ryen Keffer, Brianna Perry and Charlotte McGinnis won with a time of 11:38.91.

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Liberty's Brooklyn Brown is having herself quite a week.

The senior who normally runs the 200 and 400 and competes in the high jump tied for high point honors with Independence senior Chloe Honaker at last Saturday's Beckley Relays. She finished first in the 200 (29.5), second in the high jump (4-10) and third in the 400 (1:09.26).

The high jump mark has her as one of six girls tied for the seventh-best in the state.

Not bad for a senior who is in her first year competing in track and field.

"I just always kind of eye-balled track and I've always enjoyed running," Brown said Thursday. "Everyone kind of talked me into it. I just tried it out."

To say the experience has been everything she hoped it might be would be an understatement.

"More," she said. "I didn't expect to place in anything or get any mention at all. But I did, so it's great."

On Thursday, she scratched in the 200 and 400 as she recovers from a cold. She did compete in the high jump, finishing second with a height of 4-8, and ran a leg on the 4x100 relay team that finished fifth.

Softball is the sport with which Brown is more familiar. The Raiders third baseman has been playing since she was 6 or 7 years old, and on Tuesday she hit the first home run of her life — and did do in dramatic fashion.

On Senior Night, Brown stepped in with the Raiders trailing PikeView 4-3 with two out and a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh. She sent a 3-2 pitch over the fence for a walkoff home run and Liberty won 5-4.

"I was stressed and did not expect to hit a home run and win the game," Brown admitted.

It's been a senior year to remember thus far.

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Nicholas County was second in the girls race with 90 points. The majority of those points were scored by the 1-2 punch of Adriene Truman and Natalie Barr.

Truman won girls high point honors with four first-place finishes for a total of 40 points. She was victorious in the 100 (13.85), 200 (29.08), the high jump (5-0) and long jump (15-3).

Barr, who won the 800-meter state championship last season, was a triple winner Thursday for 30 points. She won the 400 (1:04.57), 800 (2:23.99) and the 1,600 (5:33.74).

She went into the event as the state's top-ranked runner in the 800.

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5

Girls Team Scores

1. Shady Spring 139; 2. Nicholas County 108; 3. Bluefield 56; 4. Independence 53; 5. Oak Hill 50; 6. PikeView 30; 7. Greenbrier West 21; 8. Princeton 20; 9. Liberty 14; 10. Summers County 7, tie. Westside 7; 12. Richwood 6; 13. Midland Trail 5; 14. James Monroe 4

Boys Team Scores

1. Oak Hill 99; 2. Bluefield 90; 3. Nicholas County 87; 4. Shady Spring 85; 5. PikeView 41; 6. James Monroe 24; 7. Liberty 23; 8. Greenbrier West 22; 9. Woodrow Wilson 17, tie. Princeton 17; 11. Richwood 16; 12. Independence 6

Girls Individuals

100 meter

1. Adriene Truman (NC) 13.85; 2. Emonia Hodge (B); 3. Arionna Dowell (B); 4. Riley Browning (PV); 5. Rhiannon Adkins (SS); 6. Zoe McManaway (MT)

200 meter

1. Adriene Truman (NC) 29.08; 2. Ivy Robinson-Lee (B); 3. Ryen Keffer (SS); 4. Arionna Dowell (B); 5. Kelsey Davis (R); 6. Jadyn Farmer (SS)

400 meter

1. Natalie Barr (NC) 1:04.57; 2. Laicey Necessary (PV); 3. Jade Babkirk (OH); 4. Jadyn Farmer (SS); 5. Reece Keffer (SS); 6. Sydney Cochran (W)

800 meter

1. Natalie Carr (NC) 2:23.99; 2. Charlotte McGinnis (SS); 3. Haley Johnson (NC); 4. Mattea Huffman (SS); 5. Kathleen Walkup (NC); 6. Eden Gilkey (OH)

1600 meter

1. Natalie Barr (NC) 5:33.74; 2. Kathleen Walkup (NC); 3. Haley Johnson (NC); 4. Asia Collins (P); 5. Journey Wisthoff (SS); 6. Eden Gilkey (OH)

3200 meter

1. Kathleen Walkup (NC) 13:12.63; 2. Charlotte McGinnis (SS); 3. Sarah Turner (SC); 4. Jaycee Pritchett (P); 5. Olivia Honaker (OH); 6. Tiana Duncan (OH)

100 meter hurdles

1. Lilian Hatfield (SS) 17.64; 2. Lilli Honaker (I); 3. Syndi Weis (I); 4. Chloe Honaker (I); 5. Trinity Keith (L); 6. Jahzara Nelson (OH)

300 meter hurdles

1. Lilian Hatfield (SS) 51.31; 2. Rachel Mann (SS); 3. Hayley Collins (P); 4. Kelsey Davis (R); 5. Jahzara Nelson (OH); 6. Chloe Honaker (I)

4x100 relay

1. Bluefield (Arionna Dowell, Emonia Hodge, Queen-Asia Padgett, Ivy Robinson-Lee) 54.74; 2. Shady Spring; 3. Independence; 4. Oak Hill; 5. Liberty; 6. PikeView

4x200 relay

1. Bluefield (Arionna Dowell, Emonia Hodge, Queen-Asia Padgett, Ivy Robinson-Lee) 1:57.56; 2. Oak Hill; 3. Shady Spring; 4. Greenbrier West; 5. James Monroe; 6. PikeView

4x400 relay

1. Oak Hill (Jade Babkirk, Eden Gilkey, Sam Dean, Ava Curtis) 4:45.16; 2. Shady Spring; 3. Princeton; 4. PikeView; 5. Greenbrier West; 6. Summers County

4x800 relay

1. Shady Spring (Mattea Huffman, Ryen Keffer, Brianna Perry, Charlotte McGinnis) 11:38.91; 2. Oak Hill; 3. PikeView

Shuttle hurdle relay

1. Independence (Lilli Honaker, Chloe Honaker, Makenzie Taylor, Syndi Weis) 1:13.09; 2. Shady Spring; 3. PikeView; 4. Midland Trail; 5. Greenbrier West; 6. Nicholas County

High jump

1. Adriene Truman (NC) 5-0; 2. Brooklyn Brown (L); 3. Sydney Cochran (W); 4. Mary Berg (NC); 5. Lilian Hatfield (SS); 6. Trysta McKenzie (GW)

Long jump

1. Adriene Truman (NC) 15-3; 2. Ryen Keffer (SS) 13-8; 3. Mattea Huffman (SS); 4. Reece Keffer (SS); 5. Grace Tabit (OH); 6. Mary Berg (NC)

Shot put

1. Beyonka Lee (B) 33-7; 2. Brooke Lipford (SS); 3. Chloe Honaker (I); 4. Meagan Poticher (GW); 5. Olivia Green (I); 6. Adyson Hines (JM)

Discus

1. Olivia Green (I) 104-5; 2. Meagan Poticher (GW); 3. Brooke Lipford (SS); 4. Cadence Lucas (OH); 5. Kaylee Mollohan (L); 6. Adyson Hines (JM)

Boys Individuals

100 meters

1. Jacorian Green (B) 11.14; 2. Amir Hairston (B); 3. Leonard Farrow (OH); 4. Trey Bowers (I); 5. Blake Cabel (L); 6. Gabriel Kidd (WW)

200 meters

1. Jacorian Green (B) 22.94; 2. Amir Hairston (B); 3. Leonard Farrow (OH); 4. Jacob Lilly (SS); 5. Alex Patton (PV); 6. Ty Wilburn (OH)

400 meters

1. Cade Maynor (OH) 53.79; 2. Carter King (B); 3. Jaeden Holstein (SS); 4. Ty Wilburn (OH); 5. Colton Workman (OH); 6. Skyler Carothers (SS)

800 meters

1. Jaedan Holstein (SS) 2:07.58; 2. Alex Irvin (NC); 3.Braden Ward (PV); 4. Hank Marson (B); 5. Matthew Thomas (GW); 6. Skyler Carothers (SS)

1600 meters

1. Elijah Northrop (SS) 5:04.09; 2. Wesley Holcomb (NC); 3. Matt Murphy (PV); 4. Michael Haddadin (WW); 5. Zach Neal (P); 6. Hank Marson (B)

3200 meters

1. Aiden Kneeland (WW) 10:19.27; 2. Alex Irvin (NC); 3. Johnny Walkup (NC); 4. Wesley Holcomb (NC); 5. Zack Neal (P); 6. Elijah Northrop (SS)

110 meter hurdles

1. Noah Miner (NC) 17.70; 2. Brandon Poticher (GW); 3. Jacob Showalter (SS); 4. Kyle Moretto (P); 5. Griffin Biggs (PV); 6. Andrew Gwinn (WW)

300 meter hurdles

1. Jack Hayes (OH) 44.80; 2. Jacob Showalter (SS); 3. Hunter Davis (SS); 4. Hunter Wargo (R); 5. Kameron Ball (SS); 6. Robert Arnold-Hale (B)

4x100 relay

1. Bluefield (Kisean Smith, Amir Hairston, Jacorian Green, Sencere Fields) 45.85; 2. Oak Hill; 3. Liberty; 4. PikeView; 5. Greenbrier West; 6. Woodrow Wilson

4x200 relay

1. Bluefield (Sencere Fields, Amir Hairston, Jacorian Green, Carter King) 1:33.37; 2. Oak Hill; 3. Shady Spring; 4. James Monroe; 5. Princeton; 6. Nicholas County

4x400 relay

1. Oak Hill (Cade Maynor, Colton Workman, Ty Wilburn, Jack Hayes) 3:42.92); 2. PikeView; 3. Shady Spring; 4. Bluefield; 5. Nicholas County; 6. Princeton

4x800 relay

1. PikeView (Matt Murphy, Kaleb Blankenship, Nate Cook, Braden Ward) 8:48.10; 2. Shady Spring; 3. Princeton; 4. Oak Hill; 5. Nicholas County; 6. James Monroe

Shuttle hurdle relays

1. Greenbrier West (Isaac Agee, Brandon Poticher, Ty Nickell, Kaiden Parker) 1:08.09; 2. Shady Spring; 3. Bluefield; 4. Oak Hill; 5. PikeView; 6. James Monroe

High jump

1. Haiden Huffman (JM) 6-0; 2. Isaah Miner (NC); 3. Cade Maynor (OH); 4. Chance Johnson (B); 5. Michael Vecelio (SS); 6. Blake Cabel (L)

Long jump

1. Cade Maynor (OH) 19-7.75; 2. Haiden Huffman (JM); 3. Isaiah Miner (NC); 4. Chance Johnson (B); 5. Gerrade Wade (B); 6. Jaden Taylor (PV)

Shot put

1. Lucas Whipples (OH) 45-6; 2. Roman Milam (NC); 3. Tyler Workman (R); 4. David Adkins (L); 5. Josh Cunningham (NC); 6. Aaron Shiflett (I)

Discus

1. David Adkins (L) 126-8; 2. Roman Milam (NC); 3. Josh Landreth (R); 4. Josh Cunningham (NC); 5. JT Williams (NC); 6. Aaron Shiflett (I)

Girls high point: Adriene Truman, Nicholas County

Boys high point: Cade Maynor, Oak Hill