BHS Girls Track Team Nearly Pulls off Upset Trying to Defend Title, but finish Second; Several Boys Place
By Jeff Toquinto on May 18, 2019 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
The effort was valiant. And it was almost enough to pull off the upset.
Despite being an underdog to Winfield, Bridgeport’s girls nearly managed to successfully defend their Class AA state championship. In the end, the Generals had just enough as they took the ‘AA’ title with 124 points and the Indians were just behind with 121.
WHS was predicted to win by 36 points by RunWV.com based on events throughout the season.
Bridgeport managed to capture a trio of state titles in Saturday’s sixth session. And all of the wins came in the relays.
The first win came in the 4x200 meter relay thanks to a win of more than a second over runner-up Elkins. The team of Charli Grafton, Kirstin George, Juliet Hart and Kristen Crowder pulled of the win with a time of 1 minute, 46.74 seconds.
Bridgeport came back to win the 4x100 relay later in the day. George, Payton Merica, Hart, and Crowder one by the slimmest of margins in an exciting finish. The group posted a time of 50.48 seconds to edge out Winfield with a time of 50.49 seconds.
The Indians almost made it a complete sweep by winning the 4x400 relay late Saturday in the meet. The team of George, McKenna Eddy, Grafton and Crowder won with a time of 4 minutes, 4.19 seconds.
Coupled with Bridgeport’s shuttle hurdles win Friday, it was the fourth state championship win by Bridgeport – all in relays. The 4x400 would be their last win in a meet that was much more interesting that predicted.
The Indians also had multiple points scored late in an event moved from Friday to Saturday due to weather. In the high jump, Merica took second with a jump of 5 feet, 2 inches, while Crowder was fifth with a jump of 5 feet.
Bridgeport’s first points Saturday came courtesy of Emerson Grafton. The freshman’s strong initial showing at the meet continued on day two where she finished fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 1 minute, .81 seconds.
Julia Muller, the defending state champion in the 1600 meter run, was unable to defend her crown. However, her showing coming back late in the season from injury was impressive regardless. She finished fourth with a time of 5 minutes, 33.97 seconds.
Muller wasn’t done for the day. She helped the Tribe in the 800 meter run with another fourth place showing, this time with a time of 2 minutes, 22.98 seconds. The time broke her own school record.
More points for Bridgeport would come in the pole vault. Claire Lohmann finished up a banner senior year with a third-place finish as she took third by clearing 9 feet, 6 inches.
When the second session began Saturday, the first points for the Bridgeport girls came courtesy of Emily Meade. Meade took third place in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 46.99 seconds.
Meade, however, wasn’t finished. She came back in Saturday’s final session to finish runner-up in the 100 meter hurdle with a time of 15.73 seconds.
Bridgeport began to add even more in the final session with Anaiya Jackson’s showing. Jackson finished second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.7 seconds.
Jackson came back later for a runner-up finish in the 200 meter event. She posted a time of 25.66 seconds.
Madyia McCullough added points in the discs. She placed fourth with a throw of 33 feet, 5 inches.
The boys got on the board in the first session Saturday as well as two athletes picked up points in the 400 meter dash. Austin Massey finished fourth in the event with a time of 51.29 seconds, while Kyle McCarthy added to the total with a time of 51.96 seconds.
Bridgeport’s next points for the boys came in the second session Saturday and the fifth overall session of the two-day meet. Cayden Robinson added another point in the 1600 meter run as he came in sixth with a time of 4 minutes, 35.74 seconds.
More points were added in the session in the 300 meter hurdles. Hayden Hess finished in third place with a time of 40.86 seconds. And the Indians weren’t done.
In the shot put, Micah Swann picked up points. He finished fourth with a throw of 47 feet, 11.5 inches.
The boys didn’t finish in the top eight for the first time in years. However, in an injury-riddled season several BHS athletes managed to post personal records and score points for the Tribe during the two-day meet. The Tribe came in 10th place with 25 points.
Editor’s Note: Pictured is the 4x200 state championship team of Charli Grafton, Kirstin George, Juliet Hart and Kristen Crowder. Photo courtesy of David Robinson of David Robinson Photography. The second photo is of the shuttle relay team and is courtesy of Michelle Duez. Bottom two file photos show Claire Lohmann in the pole vault, while Micah Swann - who scored inthe shot put - is shown tossing the discuss. Photo courtesy of David Robinson.
