South’s Baruwa beats the odds, wins high jump | News, Sports, Jobs

Parkersburg South’s Mya Baruwa stands atop the podium after winning the Class AAA high jump (5’2) during this weekend’s W. Va. state track and field championships at Laidley Field in Charleston.
(Photo provided)

CHARLESTON — Mya Baruwa’s state championship in the Class AAA high jump Saturday at Laidley Field came out of nowhere — to everyone except Mya Baruwa.

“In eighth grade, I won state and I told everyone I was going to win state as a freshman, too,” Baruwa said, “so it would’ve been embarrassing if I didn’t.”

Baruwa cleared 5 feet, 2 inches, a personal record, to finish on top on West Virginia’s biggest stage.

Baruwa had to win a jump-off at the triple-A, Region IV championships last week just to finish fourth and qualify for state.

She saved her best for last this season, digging deep and achieving the best jump of her life to win a state championship.

“I was really nervous because we started at 4-10,” Baruwa said. “I cleared all my jumps until 5-4. I had never even cleared 5 feet all year until today. I knew I had to. That’s what I needed to do beat everyone.”

Not many people predicted Baruwa would win the high jump title, including her own father, she joked.

“He’s a hater,” Baruwa laughed.

And speaking of shockers, Roane County’s Lane Watson went from a fifth-place projection in the double-A 300 hurdles by RunWV.com to winning the event on race day.

The Raider sophomore PR’d with a time of 40.61 seconds to finish ahead of Point Pleasant’s Ian Wood, who had been projected to win the race.

“That’s the hardest I’ve ever ran,” Watson said.

“I couldn’t believe it. I’ve got third and second the whole year. I did not think I’d come to states and win it like that.”

Watson’s brother, Luke, actually was projected to finish third in the event, but false-started and was disqualified. Having to run without his brother alongside of him served as extra motivation.

“My brother getting DQ’d, that definitely lit another fire inside me that I didn’t know I had,” Lane Watson said. “He’s a senior this year. For him to get DQ’d, that hurt me.”

The Raider is proof to future athletes that anything can happen at the state track meet.

“Just try your best,” he said. “You never know what’ll happen.”

Lane Watson also placed fifth in the 110 hurdles, crossing in 16.11 seconds.

The Roane boys placed ninth as a team with 26 points.

The Skyler Delk, Cobun Cottrell and the Watson brothers combined to finish third in the shuttle relays on Friday, and John Bowen placed third in the pole vault at 12-6 to account for the Raiders’ points.

A day after winning a state title in Class AAA discus, Ripley’s Frankie Winter claimed a runner-up finish in the shot put.

Winter recorded a top throw of 55-7.5, behind only Cabell Midland’s Isaiah Hagley at 57-4.75. Hagley finished Winter in the discus after Winter recorded a throw of 165-9.

Also scoring for Ripley was Connor Casto, who placed fifth in both the 110 hurdles (15.78) and the high jump (6-2).

The Vikings finished 10th with 26 points.

Addison Gherke had a big weekend for the Parkersburg girls, who placed fifth as a team.

Gherke grabbed a pair of runner-up finishes in the hurdles events. She ran the 100 hurdles in 14.61 and the 300 hurdles in 45.29, finishing behind Hurricane’s Lily Haught in both races. Gherke lost the 100 hurdles by just sixth-hundredths of a second.

Finishing fourth in the 100 hurdles for the Big Reds was Lily Wharton (15.43). In the 300 hurdles, Daysha Hastings was seventh (48.83).

After winning the shuttles relay title on Friday, Gherke and Wharton teamed up with Payton Harvey and Aubrey Lantz to place fifth in the 4×400 (4:10.84). The Big Reds scored 39 points as a team.

Elsewhere in triple-A, the Ripley girls placed 16th with 13 points. Mya Pahlen and Jazmin Parsons both scored in the pole vault, finishing third and fourth, respectively. The each cleared 10 feet. Ellise Hosaflook placed seventh in the 800, clocking in at 2:23.20.

For the Patriots, Lucie Cline placed seventh in the shot put at 32-5.75. She was the only South girls to score other than Baruwa.

In double-A, four Roane girls combined for 11.5 points as the Raiders placed 15th as a team. Hope Mason had the team’s best finish, placing fifth in the high jump at 4-10. Maddie Hall also cleared 4-10 in the high jump to finish sixth. Paige Blosser nabbed a sixth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (49.49) while Kacie Mace was tied for seventh in the pole vault at 7 feet.

On the boys side, the South quarter of Miciah Jones, Jordan Foster, Kyle Wheeler and Triston Walker teamed up to place fifth in the shuttles on Friday while Byron Dearth was eighth in the pole vault at 11-6.

PHS saw Landen Deuley place seventh in the 400 (51.64). Deuley also teamed up with Logan Schartiger, Jackson Wharton and Connor Petty to place eighth in the 4×200 (1:33.56).

Contact Jordan Holland at [email protected].