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With the State Capitol as a backdrop, Roane’s Ashli Knotts easily clears the bar in the pole vault competition during the state track meet. Knotts finished second in the event.
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Jeremiah Coon cleared 5 feet, 10 inches to place second in the boys high jump while Ashli Knotts of the Lady Raiders was second in the pole vault for the second straight year with an effort of 9-6. Both are juniors.
Roane’s boys were 17th in the Class AA meet, which took place in wet and chilly conditions Friday before sunshine prevailed for Saturday at UC Stadium’s Laidley Field. The Lady Raiders finished higher, 10th, behind champion Winfield, which also won the boys title in its final year as a AA school before moving up a class for next season.
In addition to the pole vault, Knotts was also third in the 300 hurdles and anchored the Lady Raider 4x200 relay team that finished fourth in a time of 1 minute, 50.23 seconds. Morgan Cottrell, Kim Smith and Stephanie Mitchell were the other team members.
Cottrell topped 5-4 to place third in the high jump competition for the second year in a row and Jessica Roberts was fifth in the 3200 with a clocking of 12:03.25.
Coon earned eight of the 10 meet points for the Raider boys. The other placers were Randy Price in the 1600 (10:03.00) and Aaron Atkinson (19-9) in the long jump, both in sixth.
A stumble in the shuttle hurdles probably cost the Raiders a couple of places in the team standings, but this year’s finish was still two spots better than in 2007. Roane’s girls tied for eighth last year.
“We started the season with a goal of being higher than last year and we did that,” Raider boys coach John Gray said. “So it was a good year. Now we work to keep rising.”
Girls standings: Winfield 123, Berkeley Springs 47, Oak Hill 45, Grafton 41, Oak Glen 38, Point Pleasant 37, Philip Barbour 32, Ritchie County 30, Lincoln 28, Roane County 26, Weir 20, Poca 18, Sissonville 18, Frankfort 15, Sherman 11, Keyser 6, Liberty Harrison 4, Ravenswood 2, Bluefield 1, Independence 1
Boys standings: Winfield 76, Weir 64, Point Pleasant 51, Magnolia 34, Keyser 32, Ravenswood 32, Oak Glen 31, Berkely Springs 28, Grafton 26, Sissonville 26, Webster County 26, Bluefield 19, Braxton County 16, Ritchie County 15, Wayne 14, Philip Barbour 11, Roane County 10, Logan 8, Shady Spring 7, Liberty Harrison 6, Liberty Raleigh 6, Frankfort 5, Sherman 5, Chapmanville 4, Oak Hill 3, Tyler Consolidated 2
3200: 5th – Jessica Roberts (12:03.25)
300 hurdles – 3rd – Ashli Knotts (46.50)
4x200 relay: 4th – Morgan Cottrell, Kim Smith, Stephanie Mitchell, Knotts (1:50.23)
High jump: 3rd – Cottrell (5-4)
Pole vault: 2nd – Knotts (9-6)
3200: 6th – Randy Price (10:03.00)
High jump: 2nd – Jeremiah Coon (5-10)
Long jump: 6th – Aaron Atkinson (19-9)
