Published: May 16, 2009 01:00 am      

County to send 37 to state meet

FAIRMONT — In all, 37 Marion County athletes have earned the right to compete at the West Virginia state track meet on May 22-23 at the University of Charleston Stadium.

The top three finishers in each event during regional competition as well as the next four times from all regions combined qualify for the state meet. There is also a set qualifying standard for field events that anyone reaching that mark automatically makes the state meet.

Fairmont Senior will have the most athletes competing in individual events — five — while East Fairmont will have the highest number of representatives with four individual competitors as well as five relay teams advancing.

Leading the way for the county is North Marion’s Zach Tennant and Fairmont Senior’s Alyssa Scherich.

Both will be competing in three individual events.

Tennant swept the Region I distance events, winning the 800-meter, 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter races to qualify.

Scherich finished first in the girls’ 400-meter run, second in the 300 hurdles (47.41) and third in the 100-meter hurdles (16.21).

North Marion’s Jordan McDonald will take part in two events — girls’ 1,600-meter run and 3,200-meter run, as will East Fairmont’s Justin Speelman (300-meter hurdles, long jump) and Fairmont Senior’s Christian Cummings (discus, shot put).

Fairmont Senior’s girls’ team will also send Jenai Stubbs (200-meter dash) and Brooklyn Little (high jump) as individual competitors.

East Fairmont’s Lindsey Mills (400-meter run) will join teammates Dustin Starsick (100-meter hurdles) and Garrett Saiko (300-meter hurdles) in Charleston.

North Marion’s Cassy Menas (800-meter run) and Marcie Mason (3,200-meter run) and Fairmont Senior’s Marcus Jacquez (high jump) are the other Marion County athletes who will compete for individual titles.

East will send five relay teams to states, led by the 4x200 team of Saiko, Eric Morris, Matt Garcia and Ryan Sevier.

Also competing will be the Bees’ 4x400 team of Mason Bailey, Saiko, Morris and Sevier; the 4x800 team of Ronald Cosco, Earnest Scott, Andrew Licata and Michael Ebbert; the boys’ 4x110 shuttle hurdle relay team of Speelman, Saiko, Starsick and Paris Winfrey ,and the girls’ 4x102.5 shuttle hurdle relay team of Kristen Talerico, Abby Bunner, Jenna Wood and Courtney Ricer.

North Marion will send four relay teams: the boys’ 4x400 tema of Tennant, Tilmon Goines, Neil Bland and Jonathan Munza; the girls’ 4x100 team of Kelly Humphreys, Cayla Parrish, Ashley Graham and Mackenzie Mullenax; the girls’ 4x400 team of Mullenax, Parrish, Humphreys and Menas, and the girls’ 4x800 team of McDonald, Mason, Sara Ray and Menas.

The Polar Bears’ lone relay team to qualify was the girls’ 4x102.5 shuttle hurdle team of Malisa Welsh, Camille Leon, Little and Joni Koay.

The state meet will be held over two days — May 22-23 — at University of Charleston Stadium, formerly Laidley Field, in Charleston.

E-mail Mike Bowen at mbowen@timeswv.com.