By Carl Holcomb
An eccentric superhero smashed the birthday cake as the Yellow Jackets blew the candles out for the track meet fiesta.
Moorefield Girls Track’s Chloe Leroux presented a birthday cake and card to the local sports reporter from the entire Yellow Jackets team.
Moorefield’s Wyatt Shirk revealed an alternate identity as a superhero, but the nom du jour was winning the boys team championship with cake smashing excitement.
Moorefield Boys Track seemed invincible with the superhero power creating the team championship with 99 points, followed by Southern Garrett 82, Tucker County 46, Petersburg 35 and Union 20.
The Yellow Jackets made the Hive full with podium finishes.
Moorefield Boys Track claimed 32 Top-8 finishes at the first home meet of the season with six gold medals, four silver medals and four bronze medals.
Moorefield Girls Track kept the shindig hopping with 25 Top-8 podium finishes which included one gold medal, four silver medals and four bronze medals.
Petersburg Girls Track had their own party earning a 103-point team victory that narrowly edged Southern Garrett at 100, followed by Moorefield in third place 56, Tucker County 40 and Union rounded out the scoring with 7 markers.
The Yellow Jackets soared to victory in the long jump with Bill Lewis-Nieves taking the title in an epic leap of 19’-4” sending the sand flying all over the cake.
The good vibes continued in the boys long jump as Edgar Cambero took the bronze medal at 16’5”, Levi Davis took fifth place at 15’7”, Jackson Kerns landed in 7th place at 15’2” and Anthony Jackson wrapped up 8th place with a personal best launch of 14’11”.
Moorefield Girls Track’s top long jumper was Madison Thompson in 6th place at 12’6” and Omayeris Ortiz-Martinez took 7th place with a personal best of 12’3.5”.
The gold medal feeling was rolling in the 400 meter run as Moorefield Boys Track’s Matt McDonald took the crown in a time of 53:59 and that was about one second faster than runner-up Tucker County’s Nate Ricottilli.
The Yellow Jackets added three more in the Top-8 for the 400 as Chernet Ansani took fourth place, Jordan Fields placed fifth and Hector Luna-Davy rounded out that segment in the 8th spot.
Ansani helped elevate the Yellow Jackets to the team title with a gold medal time of 2:12.49 in the 800 meter run and teammate Nathan Crites snatched the bronze medal in 2:35.69.
Leroux corralled the 800 meter run silver medal for Moorefield Girls Track at 2:53.82.
Moorefield Boys Track added more points in the one-miler as Richard Huffman took 6th place in 7:09.
Union’s Braylon Ward showed his quickness in the 110 hurdles gaining a gold medal time of 15.52.
Moorefield’s Jhon Paul collected the 110 hurdles silver medal in 17.11.
The Yellow Jackets shuttle hurdles quartet of Jhon Paul, Jackson Kerns, Javier Acosta and Chernet Ansani secured the title in a time of 110.69.
The superheroes must be building muscles in the weight room as Moorefield’s Levi Davis launched the discus 115’2” for the gold medal and heaved the shot put 36’3” for a silver medal.
The caped superhero, Wyatt Shirk, earned a fourth place podium spot in the shot put with a throw of 32’3”.
Moorefield’s Thomas Parisi gathered a bronze medal in the discus with a toss of 97’, Nathan Crites took fifth place at 90’ and Marcus Cremann snatched 7th place at 84’3”.
Moorefield Girls Track’s Veronica Carr placed fifth in the discus at 71’5”, while teammates Brylee Reel took 7th place at 56’6” and Elroe Baye notched 8th place with a personal best of 51’6”.
Petersburg’s Jozelynn Appold was the only girls discus thrower to emerge past the 100’ mark at 101’3.5” for the gold medal.
The Yellow Jackets swept the 4×200 relay gold medals in both the girls and boys divisions.
Moorefield Girls Track 4×200 relay championship time of 156.33 was completed by the quartet of LeeAnne Coon, Jocelyn Wagner, Sydney Lancaster and Parvatee Snyder.
The Yellow Jackets 4×200 Boys quartet of Matt McDonald, Javier Acosta, Hector Luna-Davy and Bill Lewis-Nieves.
Moorefield Track collected dual silver medals in the 200 meter dash with Parvatee Snyder for the girls at 27.51 and Jordan Fields for the boys at 25.44, plus a girls bronze medal earned by Schanica Barthelemy at 30.57.
Moorefield Boys Track’s Javier Acosta claimed the 100 meter dash bronze medal in 11.2.
An interesting note, the Top-6 finishers in the 100 meter dash were separated by less than one second altogether.
Tucker County’s Reid Kisamore led the 100 charge for gold at 10.7.
Moorefield’s Bill Lewis-Nieves grabbed fifth place at 11.4 and the Top-6 was capped off at 11.5 by Moorefield’s Josiah Howard.
Moorefield’s Jordan Fields was at 12-seconds flat for 7th place in the 100.
Petersburg Girls Track’s Isabella Reel won the 100 meter dash by a heartbeat at 12.90 just edging Tucker County’s Leia Wright at 12.91.
Moorefield Girls Track held the 5th through 7th place podium spots by Madison Thompson 14.13, Schanica Barthelemy 14.28 and Omayeris Ortiz-Martinez 14.52.
The Yellow Jackets know cake smashing is fun, but collecting the track medals tastes sweeter.
