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Mikala Nicholson Photo by Jim Cooper

The Roane County High sophomore won the Class AA discus competition with a toss of 100 feet, 2 inches during the state track meet at University of Charleston Stadium/Laidley Field.

“It was a wet and soggy day down there,” Lady Raider coach Paul Williams said. “Her second throw in the finals ended up being the winning throw. I told her mom that with the wet ring and the little bit of rain, that if someone could manage to get to at least 100 they would probably win.”

Nicholson’s effort was 14 inches better than that of the runner-up, senior Charity Jenkins of Ritchie County. The Lady Raider standout had entered the state meet as the top seed after a toss of 102-2 in winning the Region I meet.

Nicholson was the final contestant at the state meet. She qualified with a 91-0 on her second attempt of the preliminaries. Along with the winning distance, she also had a toss of 95 feet in the finals.

The 90-foot mark, the automatic qualifying distance for the state meet, was a goal for Nicholson earlier in the season.

“A week before the Gazette (Relays), at Point Pleasant she threw 93,” Williams said. “Then she went on to win the Gazettes with a throw of 93-3. A week later at the LKC she had a bad day, but at regionals it was a big surprise to find out she won.”

Williams said the future looks bright for his young state champion.

“All the girls that had throws farther than her during the season are graduating,” he said. “We’re focusing on throwing at least 110 by the end of (next) year and will increase that to 120 by her senior year if all goes well. If more championships come as that happens, then that will just be icing on the cake for Mikala.”

Nicholson accounted for all 10 Roane County points in the team competition, placing the Lady Raiders 21st. Oak Hill won the title by 11 points over Frankfort.

In the boys competition, senior Rhett Atkinson was the only individual to score as he placed sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-10.

Atkinson was also a part of the fifth place shuttle hurdle relay team along with Luke Hottle, Tyler Dolan and Ethan Tyree. Their time was 1 minute, 42.06 seconds.

Coach John Gray’s Raiders placed 20th as a team. Ritchie was a five-point winner over Keyser to claim the championship.

W.Va. state meet
at Laidley Field, Charleston

Class AA girls team standings: Oak Hill 62, Frankfort 51, Keyser 48, Weir 46, Philip Barbour 28, Tyler Consolidated 25, Liberty Harrison 25, PikeView 24, Ritchie County 23.5, Magnolia 22, Sherman 20, Poca 18, Wayne 18, Grafton 17, Summers County 16, Oak Glen 15.33, Herbert Hoover 15, Berkeley Springs 15, Liberty Raleigh 12.33, Independence 12, Roane County 10, Lincoln 10, Point Pleasant 9, Braxton County 9, Shady Spring 6.33, Ravenswood 0.5

Class AA boys team standings: Ritchie County 62, Keyser 57, Berkeley Springs 48, Liberty Harrison 46, Magnolia 43, Point Pleasant 41, Philip Barbour 38, Tyler Consolidated 35, Sherman 33, Oak Glen 30, Weir 28, Scott 27, Greenbrier West 14, Grafton 13, PikeView 10, Lincoln 7, Ravenswood 6, Webster County 6, Westside 6, Roane County 3, Braxton County 2, Poca 2, Liberty Raleigh 1

Roane girls placers

Discus: 1st – Mikala Nicholson (100-2)

Roane boys placers

Shuttle hurdles: 5th – Luke Hottle, Tyler Dolan, Ethan Tyree, Rhett Atkinson (1:02.46)
High jump: 6th – Atkinson (5-10)