From left, Manchester’s Kelsey Friend, North Adams’ Brooklyn Wylie, and Peebles’ Cherokee Runyon compete in the 400 Meter Dash at last Friday night’s SHAC track meet at Lynchburg.

Conference track meet good to county squads – 

Story and photos by Mark Carpenter – 

Lynchburg High School was the site on Friday, May 12 for the 2017 Southern Hills Athletic Conference Track Meet and the evening turned out to be a productive one for the teams and student/athletes from Adams County. The county produced no less than a dozen SHAC champions, including individual winners and a pair of relay teams, with Peebles siblings Jenny and Matt Seas bringing home a pair of SHAC first place finishes, and Manchester’s Brendon Kessler topping that by notching his name at the top of the finish list three times.

Peebles freshman Harley Steed placed fourth overall in the Girls Shot Put competition at the 2017 SHAC Meet.

It was a good day overall for both of coach Tyler Wilson’s Peebles squads, as the girls placed third on the overall team standings, with the boys fifth. Jenny Seas was the SHAC champion in both the 1600 Meter Run and the grueling 3200 Meter Run, while her brother Matt repeated those very same performances. The Indians also had a SHAC champion in the Girls High Jump in Jessica Newkirk, plus two girls’ champion relay teams, the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 800.
The 4 x 100 squad consists of the quartet of Newkirk, Breauna Shoemaker, Alisan Behr, and Kierra Stone, while the 4 x 800 foursome is made up of Seas, Behr, Stone, and Abby Faulkner.
“Our teams have really come a long way over the past couple of years,” said Coach Wilson. “The boys’ team has continually gotten better throughout the season and they continue to work hard every day. The girls’ team has been successful all season and I am very proud of their third place finish. They are putting the work in to get better and it is showing.”
“The Seas siblings are both just extremely talented runner,” continued Wilson. “Their work ethic is above and beyond that of a normal teenager. Our girls relay teams have improved all year long, looked good tonight, and we are excited to see how they will fare at districts. Jessica Newkirk has been a huge asset for our team all spring. She is an integral part of the 4 x 100 team and is an excellent jumper in her field events.”
Peebles wasn’t the only school to produce SHAC champions on Friday night as Manchester’s Kessler cleaned up in three events with the senior sprinter winning the 100 Meter Dash, the 200 Meter Dash, and the 400 Meter Dash. In the 400, Kessler set a school record with his time of 52.24 and now holds the MHS record in all three of those events.
West Union also produced a pair of SHAC champions with the Dragons’ Anna Shupert taking the Girls 800 Meter title, while Cole May was the winner in the Boys 300 Meter Hurdles.
It was a perfect night also for the girls and boys track teams from Fairfield High School as the Lions swept both SHAC team titles.
The SHAC Meet uses the scoring system of 10 points for a first place finish, 8 points for second, 6 points for third, 5 points for fourth, 4 points for fifth, 3 points for sixth, 2 points for seventh, and 1 point for eighth. The Friday meet was completed in timed heats, whenever the number of participants in an event warranted it, with seeding done by the athlete’s best time or performance of the season to that point.

North Adams’ Brandon Figgins (second from left) and West Union’s Cole May (third from left) compete in the 110 Meter Hurdles at the SHAC Meet in Lynchburg. May came back later in the meet to win an SHAC championship in the 300 Meter Hurdles.

Following are the athletes from Adams County who finished in a top eight spot, thereby earning points for their teams.
Girls 4 x 800 Relay: 1, Peebles (10:43.62), 4 North Adams (12:39.55)
Boys 4 x 800 Relay: 4. Peebles (9:55.93)
Girls 100 Meter Hurdles: 3. Rebekah McCarty (WUHS) 18.97; 4. Kierra Stone (PHS) 19.15
Boys 110 Meter Hurdles: 3. Cole May (WUHS) 19.18; 4. Brandon Figgins (NAHS) 19.59
Girls 100 Meter Dash: 5. Breauna Shoemaker (PHS) 14.20; 8. Sydney Kendall (NAHS) 14.99
Boys 100 Meter Dash: 1. Brendon Kessler (MHS) 11.80; 5. Dylan Ison (NAHS) 12.09
Girls 4 x 200 Relay: 4. West Union (2:03.88); 5. Peebles (2:15.03)
Boys 4 x 200 Relay: 7. Peebles (1:54.00)
Girls 1600 Meter Run: 1. Jenny Seas (PHS) 5:15.59); 5. Alisan Behr (PHS) 6:12.08; 6. Shyanne Tucker (MHS) 6:18.21
Boys 1600 Meter Run: 1. Matt Seas (PHS) 4:37.89; 7. Adam Fulton (WUHS) 5:05.50
Girls 4 x 100 Relay: 1. Peebles (54.81); 3. West Union (57.58)
Boys 4 x 100 Relay: 6. North Adams (50.84)
Girls 400 Meter Dash: 5. Houston Adkins (WUHS) 1:11.45; 7. Amber Renchen (PHS) 1:13.84
Boys 400 Meter Dash: 1. Brendon Kessler (MHS) 52.24; 3. Colt Parker (WUHS) 56.25
Girls 300 Meter Hurdles: 3. Kierra Stone (PHS) 52.77; Rebekah McCarty (WUHS) 56.41
Boys 300 Meter Hurdles: 1. Cole May (WUHS) 45.30; 4. Kalub Smith (PHS) 46.90; 8. Eric McCaw (NAHS) 56.50
Girls 800 Meter Run: 1. Anna Shupert (WUHS) 2:31.47; 5. Abby Faulkner (PHS) 2:44.96; 8. Sara Knechtly (NAHS) 2:53.02
Boys 800 Meter Run: 2. Ethan Pennywitt (MHS) 2:08.05; 8. Sam Smith (PHS) 2:23.85
Girls 200 Meter Dash: 5. Alisan Behr (PHS) 29.68; 7. Breauna Shoemaker (PHS) 30.28; 8. Sydney Kendall (NAHS) 30.38
Boys 200 Meter Dash: 1. Brendon Kessler (MHS) 23.95; 7. Brandon Figgins (NAHS) 25.76
Girls 3200 Meter Run: 1. Jenny Seas (PHS) 11:06.14; 3. Adison Wright (NAHS) 13:27.46; 4. Shyanne Tucker (PHS) 13:38.09; 5. Abby Faulkner (PHS) 13:43.63
Boys 3200 Meter Run: 1. Matt Seas (PHS) 9:59.36; 8. Adam Fulton (WUHS) 11:28.01
Girls 4 x 400 Relay: 4. West Union (4:53.39); 5. Peebles (5:02.95); 6. North Adams (5:08.95)
Boys 4 x 400 Relay: 2. North Adams (3:47.89); 4 Peebles (3:58.84)
Girls High Jump: 1. Jessica Newkirk (PHS) 4’8”
Boys High Jump: 2. Dylan Ison (NAHS) 5’4”
Girls Long Jump: 4. Sydney Kendall (NAHS) 14’6”; 5. Houston Adkins (WUHS) 14’6”; 6. Jessica Newkirk (PHS) 14’3.25”
Boys Long Jump: 2. Dylan Ison (NAHS) 18’7.25”; 6. Cole May (WUHS) 16’10”
Girls Shot Put: 4. Harley Steed (PHS) 28’6”
Boys Shot Put: 3. Brody Hazelbaker (WUHS) 36’9”; 8. Owen Behr (PHS) 33’9”
Girls Discus: 6. Amber Renchen (PHS) 70’6”
Boys Discus: 6. Sam Crothers (PHS) 98’9”
Final SHAC Girls Team Standings: Fairfield 128, Eastern Brown 126, Peebles 104, Lynchburg 76, West Union 45, Whiteoak 43, Fayetteville 37, North Adams 22, Ripley 10, Manchester 8
Final SHAC Boys Team Standings: Fairfield 147, Lynchburg 106.5, Eastern Brown 86, Whiteoak 58.5, Peebles 42, North Adams 40, Manchester 38, Ripley 36, West Union 34, Fayetteville 24