In what is the busiest stretch of the season for the Bridgeport boy and girls track teams, things didn’t go too badly. In fact, things went extremely well – particularly for the girls.

 

The girls won both the Harry Green Invitational and the Harrison County Championships in recent days. The boys weren’t too bad as they runners-up at the annual Harry Green meet and took home first place in the county championship held at Robert C. Byrd High School Tuesday.

 

At the home Harry Green meet, the girls finished with 126 points to top the 16-team field. Buckhannon-Upshur was second with 91 points.

 

Anaiya Jackson picked up another win in the 100 meter hurdles. She finished with a time of 12.8 seconds.

 

“She ran very well Saturday,” said BHS Coach Emilee Yurish. “She feels good and is working really hard in practice.”

 

Emily Meade also picked up a win in a familiar race as her time of 16.03 seconds won the 100 meter hurdle event.

 

“She is another one of our girls that is doing quite well. She looks great in her hurdle events and is very versatile with our relays,” said Yurish.

 

BHS picked up three wins in the relays. The Tribe won the 4x100, the 4x400 and the shuttle hurdles.

 

The 4x100 team of Kristen Crowder, Juliet Hart, Payton Merica and Emily Meade had a winning time of 51.79 seconds. The 4x400 group of Crowder, Kirstin George, Charli Grafton and McKenna Eddy won with a showing of 4 minutes, 22.49 seconds. The shuttle unit of Payton Hefner, Lillian Iaquinta, Sarah Kinney and Meade won with a time of 1 minute, 11.67 seconds.

 

“We've practiced our relays a lot this season and the girls are doing a great job working with each other.  We have had numerous girls running them, and they adapt quickly, so that is a huge help as far as coaching goes,” said Yurish.

 

At the Harrison County meet, the girls steamrolled to the win. The Tribe had 153 points, which was ahead of the 120 of runner-up Liberty.

 

Who was Yurish pleased with in a meet that saw many regulars sit out of their top events?

 

“So many of our younger athletes did well that it's hard to point out just one. They did their jobs well and it paid off,” the coach said.

 

Bridgeport had wins all over the place, including a sweep of the dashes. Merica won the 100 (13.6 seconds) and the 200 (28.95 seconds), while George took the 400 (1 minute, 3.5 seconds). BHS also took the 3200 even as Lilah Kimble finished the event in 12 minutes, 17.12 seconds.

 

BHS picked up two wins in the field events. Crowder won the high jump with a showing of 5 feet, 2 inches. Madyia McCullough won the discus with a toss of 106 feet, 6 inches.

 

For the boys, things began Saturday with a strong showing in the Harry Green meet. The Indians were close to the top with 112 points to finish in second place in the 14-team meet. Fairmont Senior was the winner with 123 points.

 

“I’m not really happy with coming in second, in fact, I’m not even happy with coming in first unless I feel like we have performed to the best of our ability.  If we do that, then I’m not worried about what place we come in,” said veteran Coach Jon Griffith. “There are always things to improve, so I guess I am never really completely satisfied.”

 

Bridgeport saw junior Austin Massey win in the 400.  He posted a time of 51.36 seconds.

 

“Austin had a very good run in the 400 on Saturday.  The 400 is his primary focus and he has all of the tools to be very good at it,” said Griffith. “We still need to work on his start out of the blocks, which affects his 100 and 200 meter times a little more, but it’s importance is often overlooked in the 400.  Hopefully we can fix some of the little issues and drop his time a tad bit more.”

 

The Indians got another win in the 3200 meter run. Jackson Jacobs did the honors for BHS with a time of 10 minutes, 19.51 seconds.

 

“Jackson is finally working his way back to full strength and is running very well.  He continues to look better and better in practice and we should be seeing some good things happening over the next few weeks,” said Griffith.

 

Those were the only wins of the meet for the Tribe.  However, Griffith saw positives from others in the field.

 

“Hayden Hess continues to do a great job in the 300 meter hurdles and he still hasn’t put together 10 good hurdles in one race,” said Griffith. “Our throwers continue to be strong.  Micah Swann and J.R. Coburn are throwing well and getting more consistent as the year progresses.”

 

The Harry Green Invitational is nearing its 20 year anniversary the event, which sees a crowd of spectators and student-athletes well in excess of 1,000 individuals annually continues to be a success. Griffith had high praise for those who make it happen.

 

“I can’t say enough about our volunteers, coaches and families.  The awesome reputation we have for our meets is because of their commitment and dedication,” said Griffith. “The same goes for our sponsors, Harry Green 7 Acres and Bridgeport Physical Therapy.  I continue to count my blessings to be able to coach here.  The sense of family and community that surrounds our program is overwhelming when I take the time to stop and think about it.  I want to convey my deep appreciation to all of them.”

 

BHS rolled to the Harrison County title on Tuesday. The Indians had 153 points, which kept runner-up Liberty (120) at bay as well as the four other county squads.

 

“Winning is better than not.  We had quite a few things that didn’t go the way we wanted, but they were overshadowed by the things that did go well,” said Griffith. “We had 37 personal bests for the boys set at the meet. That’s is a lot and in line with our fundamental principal of constantly seeking to improve.”

 

Bridgeport had a boatload of winners despite not running everyone to keep them fresh for the third meet in less than week that begins Friday. 

 

Kyle McCarthy got a win in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.58 seconds. Cade Robinson then picked up a win in the 800 as he crossed the line with a time of 2 minutes, 7.86 seconds. Robinson came back to win the 1600 with a time of 4 minutes, 56.72 seconds. Another distance win came in the 3200 meters where Jackson Jacobs won with a time of 10 minutes, 48.17 seconds.

 

In the 300 hurdles, Hess was the winner. He posted a time of 42.62 seconds.

 

BHS won the 4x100 and 4x800 meter relays. The 4x100 team of McCarthy, Andy Miller, A.J. Dinaldo and Ashton Davis had a time of 47.17 seconds. The 4x800 unit of Trey Martin, Cole Bracken, Gage Clifton and Sean Wilfong posted a winning time of 9 minutes, 32.59 seconds.

 

Davis took home a solo win in the high jump. He cleared 6 feet.

 

Griffith talked about the effort from the team in the meet at Robert C. Byrd High School.

 

“Austin Massey suffered from some cramping at the start of the 400 so we pulled him from the meet.  With Austin out, it was up to Kyle McCarthy to lead the way in the 200.  He stepped up and ran a very good race to grab a win,” said Griffith. “Our distance group continues to lead the way in the county and that showed at the meet.  Jackson Jacobs, Cade Robinson, Trey Martin, Bailey DeMoss and Landon Burns managed to go 1-2-3 in both the 1600 and 3200.  Cade, Trey, and Gage Clifton went 1-3-4 in the 800. Actually, Cole Bracken finished ahead of Trey and Gage, but I had marked him as exhibition for the meet.  We were only allowed to have three set up to score and the rest that ran had to be exhibition.  The three are all very close in times, so I just randomly picked one to be exhibition. The very best part is that all of them are back next year.

 

“Ashton Davis came in fourth in the 110 meter high hurdles in only his third time running over 10 high hurdles. The first two times were Saturday in the prelims and finals of the Harry Green Invitational.  He will continue to improve as he gains experience,” Griffith continued. “Hayden Hess once again looked good in the 300 meter hurdles.  Still not a complete race, so I know there are better times to come … I was excited for Ashton Davis in another of his events.  He finally cleared 6 feet in the high jump … Nathan Jackson and Tyler Norman both personal recorded in the long jump to finish fourth and sixth.  They have a long way to go, but we are making steady progress in one of our weaker events this year.  

 

“Finally, in the shot put, J.R. Coburn and Micah Swann went second and third with throws that were a little below their normal.  We are working hard to work out some rough spots in their technique and hopefully get them into the 50’s by the end of the year.  We a still a young team.  Only two of the athletes mentioned are seniors, Hayden Hess and Micah Swann.  The future is very promising.”

 

Now, both squads head to Charleston today.  Action kicks off at Laidley Field for the annual Gazette Relays at 4 p.m. Action will resume Saturday at 9 a.m.

 

The teams utilize this meet to help get ready for the state meet. This meet, along with the Connect-Bridgeport Invitational, run the same schedule as the state meet.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by Joey Signorelli of www.benqueenphotography.com.