10 teams compete, Seas siblings dominate distance running events
By Mark Carpenter – People’s Defender
With sunshine abounding but the temperature still quite chilly, 10 local track and field squads gathered on Tuesday, April 12 at West Union High School for the annual West Union Invitational Track Meet. The chilly air did nothing to spoil the day as the events ran smoothly and the athletes from the four Adams County high schools performed admirably, especially the Seas family from Peebles, as senior Dan, junior Matt, and freshman Jenny dominated the distance running events.
The host Dragons were joined by teams from Peebles, North Adams, Manchester, Lynchburg, Fayetteville, Ripley, Whiteoak, Eastern Brown, and Western Latham.
“The WUHS track parents are fantasic,” Said West Union co-track coach Jason Little. “We could never put on as many successful meets as we do without them. Our kid ran great today. We had numerous personal records.”
The day began with the field events and Lynchburg’s Bailey Leininger swept the Girls Shot Put and Discus events, while teammate Johnny Lewis took the Boys Discus. Eastern Brown’s Kade Houston captured the Boys Shot Put competition.Peebles’ Dylan Clark placed second in the Boys Discus, teammate Ryanna Shearer was fourth in the Girls Shot Put, and Kyle Boerger of North Adams placed fourth in the Boys Shot Put.
Eastern’s Madison Hopkins won the Girls Long Jump with West Union’s Madigan Marshall placing fourth, while Lynchburg’s Zac Carter took the Boys Long Jump, with West Union’s Cole May finishing fourth. The High Jump winners were Lynchburg’s McKayla Binkley and Zac Carter. Manchester’s Raeanna Stamm was third in the Girls Long Jump while Peebles’ Jase Conley was third on the boys side.
The action then moved to the track where Lynchburg easily captured the Girls 4 x 800 relay as they were the only team entered, while the quartet from Manchester of Ethan Pennywitt, Jacob Purdon, Jordan Freeman, and Brendon Kessler took the Boys 4 x 800 in a time of 9:29.00.
Eastern’s Abby Fultz won the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles (16.78), with West Union’s Rebekah McCarty placing second (17.93). Peebles’ Abby Faulkner was fifth at 19.70. Eastern also took the Boys 110 Meter Hurdles with Mickey Hundley winning in a time of 17.62. West Union’s Cole May was third at 19.34.
A tight race in the Girls 100 Meter Dash went to Eastern’s Jensen Sowers (13.09), edging out Manchester’s Katie Fetters (13.21). Manchester’s Billie Kinhalt was fourth (13.75) and Peebles’ Breauna Shoemaker was sixth (14.00). In the Boys 100 Meter Dash, Whiteoak’s Derrick Ison crossed the finish first in a time of 11.18, with Manchester’s Brendon Kessler second with his time of 11.37.
Eastern captured both the Girls and Boys 4 x 200 Relays and then in the 1600 Meter Run, Peebles freshman Jenny Seas lapped the field on her way to a dominating victory in a time of 5:21.00, nearly a minute faster than the next finisher. Peebles’ Abby Faulkner was third (6:24.00) while North Adams’ Adison Wright was fourth (6:29.00). In the Boys 1600 Meter Run, Jenny’s older brothers controlled the course, with senior Dan Seas winning in a time of 4:29.00, outdistancing second place Blake Rigdon of Eastern (4:45:00) and his younger brother Matt Seas, who placed third (4:49.00). West Union’s Adam Fulton was sixth (5:29.00).
Eastern took the Girls 4 x 100 Relay, with Lynchburg taking the boys, and then in the Girls 400 Meter Dash, West Union’s Marshll topped the field in her time of 1:05.00. North Adams’ Sara Knechtly was fourth at 1:11.00, with Shoemaker of Peebles fifth (1:14.00). Whiteoak’s Ison won the Boys 400 Meters in a time of 54:41. West Union’s Carry Hayslip was fourth in a time of 1:02.00.
Eastern’s Cassidy Staggs took the Girls 300 Meter Hurdles, while the Boys title went to Manchester senior Jordan Freeman in a time of 45.24, with North Adams’ Nick Mitchell finishing second at 49.46.
The Girls 800 Meter Run went to West Union senior Ashley Hackworth (2:43.00) with Peebles’ Faulkner placing second (2:55.00) and Knechtly of North Adams fourth (2:58.00). Marcus Day of Eastern placed first in the Boys 800 Meter Run (2:16.00), with West Union’s Fulton fifth (2:30.00) and Peebles’ Corey Baldridge sixth (2:33.00).
Hopkins of Eastern captured the Girls 200 Meter Dash (27.17), with Peebles’ Shoemaker third (29.79) and Morgan Waits of North Adams fourth (30.65). Manchester’s Kessler won the Boys 200 Meter Dash in a time of 23.93, with West Union’s May placing third at 25.59.
In the 3200 Meter races, it was again the Seas family in charge as Jenny took the girls race easily in a time of 11:36.00. North Adams’s Adison Wright was second with her time of 14.23.00. In the Boys 3200, again it was Dan Seas taking the crown in a time of 9:55.00. Eastern’s Rigdon was second (10:34.00) with Matt Seas placing third (10:46.00).
The final event of the day was the 4 x 400 Relays with Lynchburg taking the girls race, with West Union second, and Eastern taking the boys race.
Peebles track coach Tyler Wilson was very happy with his teams’ performances, especially the Seas runners.
“The Seas’s are all fantastic runners and fantastic kids in general,” commented Wilson. “Their work ethic is extraordinary. They all seem to train year around which definitely helps with their success. They come from a running family with Mr. and Mrs. Seas both being runners and extremely knowledgeable about the sport. All of them really seem to enjoy running. Dan is the senior male who placed second in the state in the 3200m last year in Division 2. Matt is a sophomore and continues to make great gains in his running as the season progresses. Jenny is a freshman and has been doing great this year and continues to improve. Neither Dan nor Jenny have lost a race this year in any event in which they have participated. The Seas family is responsible for already setting four of our school records in the Girls 3200 Meter Run, the Girls 1600 Meter Run, the Boys 3200 Meter Run, and the Boys 1600 Meter Run. They are really fun to watch run.”
“Abby Faulkner and Dylan Clark were great today also. Abby is a sophomore runner who has shown a lot of progression in the distance events as well as the 100 meter hurdles. Abby is also a great kid and very hard worker. Dylan is a senior Discus thrower for our team. He continues to improve as well and continues to exceed my expectations. We have a lot of young athletes that are doing quite well. I look forward to seeing how they progress in years to come. Overall, I am very happy with my team.”
When the final team point totals were tabulated, it was Lynchburg on top in the girls standings. On the boys’ side, there was a rare tie at the top with Eastern and Lynchburg each accumulating 103 points.
Final Girls Team Standings: Lynchburg 123, Eastern 106, Fayetteville 53, Peebles 50, West Union 49, North Adams 32, Manchester 22, Ripley 9, Whiteoak 8, Western Latham 8
Final Boys Team Standings: Eastern 103, Lynchburg 103, Ripley 65, Peebles 51, Manchester 48, West Union 25, Whiteoak 24, Fayetteville 21, North Adams 17, Western Latham 6