by Jamie Harris
Despite cold temperatures and steady rain, the Berkeley Springs High School track & field team braved the elements on Friday, April 11, to host a highly competitive meet featuring teams from across the tri-state area. With seven boys’ teams and five girls’ teams in attendance, the meet delivered strong performances and tight finishes, even as athletes faced less-than-ideal conditions on the track and in the field.
On the boys’ side, Clear Spring, (Md.) dominated the day, racking up an impressive 217 points to finish well ahead of Faith Christian (W.Va.), who placed second
with 118. Moorefield (W.Va.) followed in third with 79 points. The host Berkeley Springs Indians secured fourth place with a solid showing, tallying 63 points.
Berkeley Springs was led by a balanced effort across events:
Rylee Sauter sprinted to a third-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 24.76.
Josh Walls and Jay Nazelrod went back-to-back in the 800 meters, finishing fourth (2:25) and fifth (2:29) respectively.
L.J. Sealey turned in a strong double, placing second in the 1600 meters (5:05) and third in the 3200 meters (11:22).
Haven Ailor added a fifth-place finish in the 3200 meters (12:09).
In field events, Brian Ailor placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 107’2”, and Shawn Bland earned fourth in the long jump at 16’4 1/4”.
The 4×100 meter relay team of Sealey, Austin Gentile, Bland and Douglas Smith ran a 50.76 to place fourth.
In the 4×400 meter relay, Nazelrod, Sealey, Smith and Walls combined for a 4:12 finish and another fourth place.
The Lady Indians had an impressive day, finishing second overall with 140 points, just behind Clear Spring (Md.) who captured first with 163 points. Moorefield was close behind in third with 117 points, followed by Paw Paw (53) and Faith Christian (46).
Standout performances came from:
Bella Shoemaker, who paced the team with a win in the 3200 meters (14:21) and a runner-up finish in the 1600 meters (6:26).
Reese Souders crossed the line first in the 800 meters (2:49), with Isabelle Bingaman close behind in second (2:54).
Aviona Ambrose sprinted to second in the 100 meters (14.45) and added a fourth place in the 100m hurdles (19.02).
Delilah Rhoten finished third in the 100m hurdles (18.54), while Kayleigh Coulter ran to second in the 3200 meters (14:47).
Emma Frederick (7:19) and Charity Brown (7:34) finished fourth and fifth in the 1600 meters, respectively.
In the field, Katie Risinger placed third in shot put (30’4”), Willow Rhoten took fourth in high jump (4’ 2”), and Kaitlin Hagney earned second in pole vault (7’ 6”), with Maci Michael taking third (6’ 0”) and also placing fifth in long jump (11’81⁄4”).
Relay teams helped seal the Lady Indians’ second-place finish:
The 4×100 meter relay team of Ambrose, Lilli Stevens, Rhoten and Kyarria Courtney finished third (1:00).
The 4×200 meter relay squad of Kayleigh Spring, Gracie Galliher, Courtney and Jade Walker also placed third (2:13).
The 4×800 meter relay team of Bingaman, Souders, Coulter and Frederick took first place with a time of 12:09.
The shuttle hurdle relay team of Ambrose, Michael, Circe Powell and Rhoten placed second with a time of 1:16.
With strong showings across multiple events in such challenging conditions, both the boys and girls’ teams from Berkeley Springs demonstrated determination and depth. As the season progresses, the Indians look poised to continue building momentum and competing at a high level in upcoming meets.
