Girls track team second in state; Mock wins second consecutive high point award
After finishing third the past two years, the Berkeley Springs High School girls track team moved up a spot this year and brought home their first-ever state track and field trophy.
"We had been close the past couple of years," Berkeley Springs coach David Mundey said of the girls' finishes at the state tournament. "So we are happy and excited to get second place and bring home the runner-up trophy. It is a tribute to the time and effort our kids have put in this year. I think everyone is excited."
Leading the way for Berkeley Springs were juniors Meghan Mock and Rachel Buser. Buser had another outstanding state tournament, winning her third consecutive titles in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Buser's winning time in the 1600 was 5:16.51 and 11:19.77 in the 3200. Buser won each event easily, beating the field by over 17 seconds in the 3200 and by more than seven seconds in the 1600.
Although Buser was terrific, it was teammate Mock that stole the headlines. Mock won three events and finished second in another to win her second consecutive high point award. Mock broke her own state record of 5 feet 6 inches in the high jump, when she cleared 5 feet 8 inches on her winning jump. Her leap in the long jump of 17 feet 11 inches broke one of the oldest records of 17-9.75 set by Tywanda Abercrombie of Big Creek in 1982. Both of those record-setting performances occurred on Friday, May 18 and then she came back on Saturday and ran 44.80 in the 300 meter hurdles to best the old record of 45.15 set in 1999 by Weir's Jackie Dight. Mock was unable to make it four for four, coming up just a little short in the 800 meter run, where she finished second.
Buser scored 21 of Berkeley Springs' 80 points and Mock 38.
"We are blessed to have two athletes so gifted," Mundey said. "They are both terrific in their respective events and can always be counted on. Rachel holds three state records and Meghan four (they share one of the records in the 4x800), that tells you just how talented they are."
Buser's other point came in the 4x800, where she joined forces with Kari Mundey, Breanna Henry and Ardath Osborne to place fourth. The quartet scored the first points of the meet for Berkeley Springs and got things rolling.
Mock then won the high jump and long jump, followed by the winning run of Buser in the 3200 giving the Indians 34 points. A fifth place finish by Amber Booher in the high jump and two sixth place finishes by Kelsey McCoy and Henry, in the discus and 3200 meter run, respectively, gave Berkeley Springs the first-day lead with 38 points.
Mock and Buser quickly added 20 points to the total on Saturday morning, with Buser's win in the 1600 and Mock's victory in the 300 meter hurdles. Breanna Henry ran a personal best of 5:25.85 to place third in the 1600 and add six more points to the Berkeley Springs total.
Katie Whittington, who had the fourth best throw in the shot put coming into the meet, tossed the iron ball 33-4.75 to finish second and give the Indians eight more points. Mock's second place finish in the 800 gave Berkeley Springs eight more points and 80 points total, 26.5 points behind Winfield and 27 points in front of Oak Glen.
"We lose Breanna and Brittany Naill, but everyone else returns next year," said Mundey. "Both girls worked particularly hard to become better. Brittany finished eighth in the discus. Although she didn't place, she showed tremendous improvement from her freshman year. Breanna scored eight points this year at the state meet and those points will be missed. She is a testament to what one can accomplish with hard work. She worked extremely hard over the past four years and was rewarded with an outstanding senior year. The good news is that we return 72 points. I don't know how things will work out next year, but we have a good nucleus coming back."
The boys team finished third. Most teams would be satisfied with such a high finish, but for Berkeley Springs there was no celebration. The Indians came into the meet as one of the favorites to win the team title, but were unable to score the points necessary to bring home the hardware.
"We left some points on the track," Mundey said. "Our kids did a good job, but we didn't perform the way we had hoped. We knew that we would have to be flawless to finish first or second and we weren't."
Winfield won the boys meet with 76.5 points. Ravenswood finished second with 58 and Berkeley Springs third with 54.
"It is kind of disappointing, but I am proud of our kids," said Mundey.
Brian Ness scored 20 points and Lenny Roach 18 to lead the way for the Indians. Ness placed second in the long jump with a leap of 20-3, fourth in the high jump (6-0), third in the 300 meter hurdles (40.49) and then anchored the 4x100 meter relay team to a time of 44.54 and a second place finish.
Roach brought home a pair of silver medals. The talented sophomore finished second in both the 1600 and 3200. Roach set a new school record in the 1600 with a time of 4:31.44 while running 9:46.94 in the 3200. He then placed fifth in the 800, with a personal best time of 2:01.42.
Joining Ness on the second place 4x100 meter relay team were Sam Byrne, Cody Reed and Cody Hess, while Hess, Reed, Byrne and Paul Truitt finished third in the 4x200 meter relay.
Also earning points for Berkeley Springs was Truitt with a fifth place finish in the 300 meter hurdles, Foster Sirbaugh with a fifth place tie in the high jump, along with a sixth place finish by the boys shuttle hurdle relay team of Sammy Trump, Brandon Costello, Devin Walsh and Truitt.
"Losing Ness, Trump and Sirbaugh to graduation is a big blow," Mundey said. "They have meant a lot to our program over the past couple of years. Sammy got injured during the season and was never able to regain his form. I feel badly for him, but he was all about the team. He is a great kid and did a lot for our program. Foster had a good senior year. He won the regional title and had the best jump in the state. Things didn't work out for him in Charleston, that was unfortunate, but he had a good year and should be proud of his accomplishments. Ness had a great senior season. He was very versatile and did everything we asked of him."
Women - AA - Team Rankings
18 Events Scored
1) Winfield HS 106.50
2) Berkeley Springs HS 80
3) Oak Glen HS 53
4) Ritchie County HS 52
5) Frankfort HS 37
6) Weir HS 33
7) Lincoln HS 31
8) Roane County HS 24
8) Grafton HS 24
10) Point Pleasant HS 20
11) Logan HS 18
12) Philip Barbour HS 14
13) Tyler Consolidated 13
14) Sherman HS 10
15) Keyser HS 8
15) Oak Hill HS 8
15) Sissonville HS 8
18) Poca HS 7
19) Bluefield HS 4
20) Magnolia HS 2
20) Liberty (Raleigh) 2
22) Ravenswood HS 1.50
23) Shady Spring HS 1
23) Independence HS 1
High Point
1. Meghan Mock
Berkeley Springs 38
2. Jordann Mitchell
Oak Glen 32.50
3. Micah Osborne
Winfield 21
3. Rachel Buser
Berkeley Springs 21
5. Darby Mullen
Logan 18
Men - AA - Team Rankings
18 Events Scored
1) Winfield HS 76.50
2) Ravenswood HS 58
3) Berkeley Springs HS 54
4) Weir HS 52
5) Philip Barbour HS 50
6) Oak Glen HS 40
7) Keyser HS 34
8) Sissonville HS 24
9) Webster County HS 22.50
10) Frankfort HS 22
10) Lincoln HS 22
12) Wayne HS 20
13) Magnolia HS 15
13) Independence HS 15
15) Liberty (Harrison) 12
16) Ritchie County HS 11
17) Oak Hill HS 10
18) Point Pleasant HS 6
19) Roane County HS 5
20) Chapmanville HS 4
21) Shady Spring HS 2
22) Liberty (Raleigh) 1
22) Grafton HS 1
22) Braxton County HS 1
High Point
1. Ben Miller
Ravenswood 25
2. Eric Myers
Sissonville 20
2. Rodney Endicott
Wayne 20
2. Brian Ness
Berkeley Springs 20
5. Eli Cottrill
Lincoln 19
