Point competes at Lindsey Mann Memorial

SPENCER — Who says you need a track to compete? The athletes of the Point Pleasant track and field program have proven that it doesn’t matter where you train, the talent will still prevail— and prevail they did.

On Tuesday evening the Black Knight and Lady Knight squads traveled to Roane County High School, amped up and ready to compete in the Lindsey Mann Memorial Invitational.

Going head to head against 5 other schools over the course of 18 events, the Point Pleasant boys and girls track teams ran, jumped, and threw with strength, agility, precision, and above all, success. The Lady Knights finished the meet with a fourth place finish, including a handful of standout individual performances, with their male counterparts taking first overall with a great deal of standouts themselves.

Making strides and points for the Lady Knight squad, Cara Hesson started off the invitational with a third place finish in the 200 meter dash. Hessson finished the event clocking in at 29.99, ousting the other 11 girls competing for the spot.

Point’s Roechelle Davis followed up Hesson’s success with a strong finish of her own. Davis placed fourth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of18.98.

The Lady Knight 4x100 meter relay team comprised of Hesson, Amanda Neal, Chelsea Keefer, and Marlee Hartley placed third in the event, clocking in at 56.81 to help pad Point Pleasant’s running score.

The 4x200 meter relay team of Hesson, Neal, Keefer, and Leeza Bartles also claimed a third place finish, crossing the finish line at 2:04.92.

Clinching the fourth place slot, the Point Pleasant 4x400 relay team of Neal, Keefer, Cheyenne Preece, and Catherine Wasonga clocked in at 5:07.1.

The final success of the Lady Knight relayers came in the 4x102 meter shuttle hurdle event. Hesson, Neal, Davis, and Darian Morrow sought out a second place finish with a time of 1:11.73.

On and off the track, the Lady Knights were a force to be reckoned with.

Tying in a fourth place finish, Point’s Hartley took her talents to the high jump. Hartley reached a height of 4-02.

In the throwing events, Alea Hipes and Dakota Martin were a powerful pair.

Hipes took second in both the shot put and discus throw with distances of 32-07 and 87-10.5, respectively. Martin followed up her teammates marks with a third place finish in the shot put and a fourth place finish in the discus, making throws of 29-10 and 74-01, respectively.

With the combined efforts of the Lady Knight standouts, Point Pleasant placed a strong fourth at the invitational.

In the boys’ competition, the Black Knights made their presence known. Taking top finishes in many of the events, the Point Pleasant squad ended the invitational in first. Point’s first place honor was the result of many talented individuals who took to the track and field.

Point Pleasant’s Allan Wasonga was all but unstoppable at the invitational, racking up three first place finishes in events spanning the running and jumping arenas.

Wasonga’s first win came in the 100 meter dash in which he hit a time of 11.39. The second first was marked in the 200 meter dash when Wasonga clocked in at 23.40, adding another 10 points to the Black Knight total. Owning the long jump, Wasonga secured his final first place finish— hitting a distance of 19-01.

Wasonga’s overall individual contribution totaled 30 points.

Other individual standouts included Jared Searls, Je Wann Williams, and Grant Tyler.

Searls finished third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.56, and flew high above the competition to make a first place performance in the pole vault at 11-00.

Williams added to the Black Knight score with a fourth place 25.28 sprint in the 200 meter dash, and a second place finish in the 400 meter dash clocking in at 54.97.

Tyler swept the throwing events, proving his Point Pleasant strength against the competition. Tyler’s first place throw in the shot put reached a distance of 44-10— his top throw in the discus marked at 136-09.

Point’s Nathan Roberts and Matthew Thompson followed in suit— Roberts placing third in the shot put at 41-02, and Thompson finishing second with a throw of 112-08.

In the hurdling events Travis Bays, Rogan Park, and Charles Longwell made successful finishes as well.

Bays took first in the 110 meter hurdles with teammate Park finishing third in the event. The pair clocked in finishes at 17.20 and 19.29, respectively.

Longwell was the lone athlete to place in the 300 meter hurdles, making a third place finish at a time of 45.62.

The Black Knight relay teams took to the track with a competitive speed as well.

The 4x800 meter relay team of Jeremy Hunt, Stephen Martin, Layne Thompson, and John Kinndard clinched a third place finish of 9:48.33. Following that the boys 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle owned the event, with the squad of Bays, Cauncey McClanahan, Derek Mitchell and Anthony Darst finishing first at a time of 1:02.71.

The final success of the event came in the 4x400 meter relay in which Darst, Searls, Williams, and Martin went neck and neck against Roane County to finish second in the race. The team clocked in at 3:45.6.

The Black Knights racked up a total of 150 points during the meet, blowing the competition out of the water to secure first place.

Point will be competing at the Gazette Relays in Laidley, starting at 9 a.m.

RV competes at Wheelersburg

WHEELERSBURG — The Silver and Black track and field program traveled to Wheelersburg on Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Wheelersburg Invitational. While at the event both boys and girls teams made great strides, proving to be tough competition for the other schools present.

Standout individuals for the Lady Raider program spanned across the events including the 200 meter dash, 100 meter hurdles, and various relays.

Finishing fourth in the 200 meter dash, River Valley senior Amanda Hager clocked in at a time of 28.4.

Fellow Lady Raider, Kayla Smith followed in suit, taking a third place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.9.

Hager and Smith then went on to join up with teammates Kelsey Sands and Jessi Hager to achieve a second place finish in the 4x200 meter relay marking a time of 1:56.32. The same squad went on to take another second place fnish, this time in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:32.38.

The team of Stephanie Isaac, Sands, Smith, and Rice worked together to produce a fourth place finish in the 4x100 meter relay, clocking in at 56.7.

The Raiders also had strong finishes during the meet.

Taking second place in the 100 meter relay split was the team of seniors comprised of Zach Baird, David Holliday, Cody Carter, and Kody Johnson. The Silver and Black squad’s time was not recorded. The same squad went on to take another second place finish, this time in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 45.8.

Baird then went on to take a third place finish in the 200 meter dash, clocking in at 23.6.

Johnson also had standout performances with third place finishes in both the 110 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles. Johnson clocked in at times of 16.1 and 42.3, respectively.

Representing the Raider throwers, Zak Deel took to the shot put event, finishing fourth with a throw of 47’08.