Gallery by Tina Laney
Shady Spring – Nicholas County’s Isaiah Miner left Laidley Field in Charleston last year disappointed. A sophomore at the time, Miner watched as Westside’s Owen Keeney won the Class AA high jump championship leaving Miner as a runner-up.
Coming into Thursday’s H.B. Thomas Invitational at Shady Spring, Miner had the third-best height in the class at six-foot even. With three weeks to go, he’s trending in the right direction as evidenced by his 6-foot-2 mark in the high jump competition, second only to Beckley’s Ryan Muktar (6-06.00).
It was tied for Miner’s best performance of the season and tops in Class AA after hitting the mark on Tuesday at Buckhannon-Upshur.
“It got cold all of a sudden when we were warming up but I almost got 6-foot-6,” Miner said. “I went straight up to it and just skipped 6-04. I almost had it, just a few mistakes.”
Miner wasn’t the only athlete to show out Thursday.
Fellow Grizzly and junior Adrienne Truman found herself in the same position as Miner a year ago, finishing state runner-up in the long jump. She tied her best mark of the season with another 5-foot-2 jump to claim top honors and keep her right in contention for a championship.
The opponent she bested? Richwood’s Carlee Dillard, proving there’s some vertical growth hormone in the water in Nicholas County.
Dillard, who finished as the state runner-up in Class A last year, set a new personal record with a jump of 5-foot-2, registering the top mark in the class this season.
For all three Nicholas County residents, it was a strong step towards the elusive titles they all missed out on a year ago.
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When Princeton’s Dom Collins elected to run track this year it raised eyebrows. The WVU football signee and Kennedy Award winner ran a 4.25 at multiple football camps last summer, earning the moniker “Fastest man in the state.”
Thursday Collins further cemented his claim, posting the best 100-meter dash time in the state this year with a blistering 10.81 seconds. That bested his previous time of 11.02 and the overall best time of 10.86 set by Ravenswood’s Wyatt Milhoan.
Collins is mostly running track this year to help prepare him for football at the next level, but he’s enjoying the ride while chasing the state championship he nearly captured in December.
“I haven’t ran since seventh grade but track and football speed are totally different,” Collins said. “I’ve learned that a lot this year. I’m building my explosiveness out of the blocks and I’m starting to really practice my stride. And just doing that that’ll really translate to the football field. Just being able to sprint and not get caught like really, really striding out to the end zone and hopefully scoring a lot of touchdowns.”
Collins’ decision to run was prompted by the cross-sport benefits as well as the constant questions he fielded about his speed.
“Everybody would always be like, ‘Do you run track?’ and I’d say no,” Collins said. “And then they’d be like, ‘You need to get out there.’ Around football I’m undersized and stuff so I didn’t know what would come of it so I knew for track you don’t really have to have a size to compete. I’d be fast so I tried it out and it’s really gonna help me.
“I kind of regret not running earlier but at the same time I don’t,” Collins continued. “Just working for football, that’s where I got the speed from. So if I ran sooner, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
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The host Tigers celebrated senior night Thursday, maintaining their rich track and field tradition.
The girls teams blew away the competition, racking up in the hurdle events to finish with 211 points. Bluefield, anchored by Iyana Patton’s 100- and 200-meter wins as well as team victories in the relays, finished with 75 points while PikeView finished third with 55 points.
The boys side was considerably tighter with Bluefield and Oak Hill tying with 92 points each. The Shady boys followed with 87 points while Princeton, anchored by Collins as well as its stellar relay teams, finished with 77 points.
HB Thomas Invitational - Results - Track & Field Meet
