Adams County produces five conference champions
By Mark Carpenter
The track and field squads from the high schools of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference gathered at Lynchburg High School on May 13 as the Mustangs hosted the 2016 Conference Track Meet. All four Adams County schools had girls and boys teams competing and their efforts resulted in five total conference championships, and a large number of athletes whose finishes earned points for their school’s final score.
As they tend to do when they compete, the members of the Seas family representing Peebles High School performed a notch above and brought home four individual titles, with freshman Jenny Seas winning both the Girls 800 and 1600 Meter Runs, while senior brother Dan repeated by winning the same two events. The fifth SHAC winner from the county was Manchester’s Shyanne Tucker, who took first place in the grueling Girls 3200 Meter Run.
The 2016 SHAC champion teams were the Eastern Lady Warriors on the girls side and the Fairfield Lions on the boys side.
The competition began with the field events where West Union junior Shannon Runyan earned points with an eighth place finish in the Girls Discus Throw, with a toss of 67’6”. In the Boys Discus throw, Peebles senior Dylan Clark scored with a sixth place finish (107’1”) with teammate Tanner Arnold also earning points by placing eighth (93’6”).
Peebles sophomore Jessica Newkirk took points with a tie for second in the Girls High Jump, her best jump being 4’6” and Newkirk also earned points in the Long Jump with an effort of 14’4.25”, good for third place. North Adams’ Allison Harper scored for her squad with an eighth place finish in the Long Jump (12’6.25”).
West Union earned points from two athletes in the Boys Long Jump, with Cole May finishing sixth (16”10.75”) and Carry Hayslip seventh (16’2.5”). In the Girls Shot Put, Peebles sophomore placed sixth with a throw of 26’5.5” to earn points for the Indians.
On the track, the Manchester Boys 4 x 800 quartet of Ethan Pannywitt, Brendon Kessler, Jacob Purdon, and Jordan Freeman placed second with a combined time of 9:19.99. The Peebles foursome of Jack Behr, Andrew Conlee, Levi Skinner, and Corey Baldridge finished fourth at 10:11.82.
In the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles, West Union junior Rebekah McCarty tallied points with a third place finish time of 18.32 with North Adams freshman Gracie Roades earning a score with an eighth place time of 21.75. The Boys 100 Meter Hurdles saw three locals grab points, West Union’s May fourth at 19.93, Peebles’ Kalub Smith sixth at 20.44, and North Adams’ Zeke Eldridge eighth at 21.05.
Three young ladies from the county schools also scored in the Girls 100 Meter Dash with Manchester senior Katie Fetters fourth (13.54), teammate Billie Kinhalt fifth (13.81) and Peebles freshman Breauna Shoemaker eighth (14.35). Manchester’s Kessler placed second in the Boys 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.75, with North Adams junior Kain Turner earning points with an eighth place time of 12.43.
In the Girls 4 x 200 relay, the Manchester quartet of Kinhalt, McKayla Smith, Kelsey Friend, and Fetters placed third with a finish time of 2:03.57, while the West Union troop of Morgan Edmisten, Houston Adkins, Mackenzie Simon, and Kaylen Redding finished sixth at 2:12.36. In the Boys 4 x 200 relay, the Manchester team of Logan Hayslip, Shaun Gould, Purdon, and Freeman came in fourth (1:47.65) and the North Adams squad of Eldridge, Eric McCaw, Turner, and Nick Mitchell was sixth (1:50.59).
Seas took the top spot in the Girls 1600 Meter Run with a time of 5:11.06, with North Adams’ Adison Wright third at 6:30.20, and Manchester’s Kinhalt eighth at 7:03.30. Dan Seas (4:31.42) bested younger brother Matthew(4:42.38) in the Boys 1600 Meters with West Union’s Adam Fulton seventh (5:27.09).
The Manchester squad of Kinhalt, Tucker, Friend, and Fetters placed third in the Girls 4 x 100 relay (56.92), while the Peebles’ foursome of Newkirk, Ryanna Shearer, Abby Faulkner, and Shoemaker was close behind in fourth (57.12), the North Adams group of Morgan Waits, Gracie Roades, Harper, and Svenja Hitzemann was seventh (1:00.55),and grabbing the final point in the event in eighth place (1:03.58) was the West Union quartet of Simon, Cami Latham, Edmisten, and Redding.
The only county team to place in the Boys 4 x 100 was Manchester (Kessler, Gould, Hayslip, Freeman) in fourth place with their time of 50.34.
West Union’s Ashley Hackworth finished third in the Girls 400 Meter Dash at 1:04.85, with Manchester’s Kinhalt fifth at 1:08.66. In the Boys 400, North Adams’ Turner was third at 56.61, West Union’s Hayslip sixth at 59.27, and Peebles’ Corey Baldridge seventh at 59.90.
West Union’s McCarty finished third in the Girls 300 Meter Hurdles (54.72), with Harper from North Adams fifth (57.79). North Adams’ Mitchell was fourth in the Boys 300 Hurdles (50.20),with Peebles’ Skinner seventh (53.07).
Jenny Seas took the Girls 800 Meters in a time of 2:20.00, with brother Dan taking the Boys 800 in 2:05.63. Matthew Seas was fifth in the 800 in a time of 2:10.80. In the Girls 200 Meter Dash, Manchester’s Fetters was fourth in her time of 28.32, with Peebles’ Shoemaker seventh in a time of 29.66. The Boys 200 Meter Dash saw Manchester’s Kessler second at 23.94, Peebles’ Jase Conley third at 25.10, and West Union’s May fourth at 25.13.
Another SHAC title came to Adams County when Manchester’s Tucker captured the Girls 3200 Meter Run with her time of 13:25.68, and Peebles’ Abby Faulkner was second in a time of 13:27.08. North Adams’ Wright was sixth at 14:39.10. In the Boys 3200, Manchester’s Pennywitt was third (11:03.99) and Peebles’ Skinner finished fifth (12:18.46).
Finally, in the 4 x 400 relays, West Union’s girls (Hackworth, Redding, McCarty, Runyan) placed third with a time of 5:04.31, while the Peebles boys (Conley, Smith, Baldridge, Behr) finished third also in a time of 4:03.92.
All of the SHAC champions from the May 13 meet will be honored at the SHAC Spring Sports Awards at Peebles High School on Monday, March 23.
Final Girls Team Standings: Eastern Brown 152, Lynchburg 146, Fairfield89, Peebles 52, Manchester 41, Fayetteville 41, West Union 29, Whiteoak 21, North Adams 17, Ripley 4
Final Boys Team Standings: Fairfield 135, Lynchburg 102, Eastern Brown 84, Ripley 68, Peebles 64, Whiteoak 42, Manchester 40, Fayetteville 22, West Union 20, North Adams 16
