Gallery by Heather Belcher
Beckley – When Isaac Agee capped his 110-meter hurdle at the Class A Region 3 championships Wednesday, he was excited.
Not just because he earned a berth in next week’s state track meet but also, and mostly, because he set a new personal record, finishing the course in 14.87 seconds, giving him the best time in all of Class A by more than half a second.
“Coming into this race today my goal was really just to get a PR,” Agee said. “My goal was really 14.7 because my old PR was 14.9 but I feel pretty good because I feel like towards the end of the season my times have been getting better and that’s always good.”
Agee, a junior, will return to Laidley Field next week where he’ll attempt to claim the first state championship of his career. He finished third in the 110-meter hurdle at the state meet last year, understandable when you consider the winner, Braden Hasham of St. Marys, broke the Class A state meet record with a blistering 14.63 seconds.
For Agee, he’s less focused on winning a state championship and more focused on hitting a new PR heading into the final meet of his junior season, though they seemingly go hand-in-hand.
“As far as states go this year, and this is no disrespect to anyone including my teammates who are going to be there but you look at the times and it’s pretty far off between first, second and third,” Agee said. “I’m really just looking for a PR. Next year I’m hoping to get it low enough to break the state record.”
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James Monroe will bump up to Class AA next year but before doing so it took a souvenir for the road. The girls team ran away with the regional championship, compiling 181 points while qualifying for 12 spots in individual events at the state track meet. The relay team in the 4×102.5 shuttle hurdles, 4×800, 400, 200 100-meter also placed and earned spots in next week’s events.
“Overall it was just a great team effort,” James Monroe coach Matt Phillips said. “We had a lot of individuals who did better than they were predicted to do. We had some who were predicted to win and they held their course and did what they were supposed to do. We had a few surprises that made it to states and they did real well. I’ve got to give some shoutouts to Abby Dixon. She won the 400 and 800 and Maija Kubes had the 100-meter win. I think we had Hannah Rhodes in third place on the 100-meter hurdles. Ally Miller had a third-place finish for us and those were all key to getting this.
“All the relays – their hard work has paid off with everybody coming out here this year and doing what they were supposed to.”
The top-three finishes from runners such as Skye Stone and Miller and Rhodes piled up the points for the Mavericks as they flexed their muscles.
“Hannah and Ally were predicted maybe in the top five and get into the top three to make their way individually to states which is always a huge accomplishment when those kids can do that,” Phillips said. “I’m happy for the seniors that get a chance to go up there. I can’t forget Katie Collins who got second place in (the 3200). We just had a lot of kids that did a great job of placing and every point matters when it comes to these things.”
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Richwood’s girls finished second to the Mavericks in large part due to the contributions of Carlee Dillard.
The standout hit her PR in the high jump with a 5-foot-4 jump that clears any by her Class A peers by three inches. In addition to entering Charleston as the favorite to claim that title she qualified for the 100-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles as an individual and the 4×400-meter relays as a member of the team.
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Agee wasn’t the only hurdler extraordinaire Wednesday. He set a new PR in the 300-meter hurdles finishing in 41.91 seconds but was tested by Webster County’s Ryan Cutlip who finished ahead of him with a 41.74, the best time in Class A the season.
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On the boys side Charleston Catholic claimed the regional team title with 117 points, edging West by 10 points.
The Irish had nine qualifiers combined, racking up in the 800, 1600 and 3200-meter events.
A full list of results can be viewed below. The top three individuals and relay teams in the final events qualify for the state meet while the top four in the high jump and pole vault events qualify as well.
WVSSAC Class A - Region 3 Championship - Results - Track & Field Meet
