by Jamie Harris
On a chilly and rain-soaked Friday, April 11, the Paw Paw High School Pirates track and field teams braved the elements at Berkeley Springs High School to compete in a seven-team meet featuring some of the local programs in the region. Despite the cold and rainy conditions, the Pirates showed resilience and grit. The boys team placed sixth overall with 34 points, while the Lady Pirates turned in a strong showing, finishing fourth out of five teams with 53 points.
On the boy’ s side, senior Donovan Tanouye was a oneman force in the distance events. Tanouye swept the 800 meters (2:11.60), 1600 meters (4:45.54) and 3200 meters (11:09.43), the latter being a personal best. His triple crown of victories earned Paw Paw 30 of their 34 total points.
Freshman Braylen Paul also chipped in for the Pirates in the 1600 meters with a 10th-place finish (6:08.71), and he competed in the discus with a mark of 69 feet, 10 inches.
Conner Kendall ran a personal best of 15.93 in the 100 meters to place 19th. He was a scratch in the 200 meters.
In the field events, Nathan Dick placed sixth in the shotput (32-07.00), followed by Dreden Heath (28-03.00), Tristian Tharp (28-00.00), and Tommy Santos (26- 07.00). Santos also turned in a solid performance in the discus, leading the Pirates with an eighth-place throw of 88-01. Dick followed in 10th (82-09), Tharp added a per- sonal best of 65-08, and Paul rounded out the group with 69-10.
On the girl’ s side, Shayla Tanouye led the way with an outstanding all-around performance. The senior standout captured first place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 52.10 and earned first in the long jump at 13 feet, 10 inches. She placed second in the 100-meter hurdles (17.54) and added a third-place finish in the high jump (4-6), contributing significantly to the Lady Pirates’ team total.
Pricilla Corbin also shined in the field events, taking second place in the long jump (12-6 1⁄4) and fifth in the high jump (4-0).
In the throwing events, Joselyn Smith placed fourth in the shot put (28-7) and earned third in the discus (74-10). Myley Mullins added a sixth-place finish in the shot put with a solid mark of 26-9.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, the Pirates delivered a spirited performance across the board. With strong leadership and continued improvement, both the boys and girls teams look poised for a competitive finish to their 2025 track season.
