Charleston – The Beckley track members have pushed one another this season which led to an individual state champion.
Naturally when their forces were combined they were unstoppable again.
Beckley netted three state championship at the Class AAA state track meet at Laidley Field in Charleston Saturday, led by Gabe Kidd who won the 100-meter dahs with a time of 10.71 and later anchored the title-winning 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams.
Daniel Walling, Myles Walters and Christian Stewart were the three additional legs that joined Kidd on the podium.
Kidd started the day hot, overcoming a slight stumble early in his 100-meter victory but recovered in time.
“I actually tripped a little on my third or fourth step so I got a little scared,” Kidd said. “I came out and pushed through as hard as I could.”
The 4×100 victory came in a time of 42.43 while the 4×200 clocked in at 1:29.59.
Walling had the best time in the 100 in April before Kidd returned to form but the competition amongst the quadruplet helped push them individually and as a team.
“I came off really slow because I had an injury,” Kidd said. “I’ve been trying to perfect my craft a little more and Daniel’s pushed me to run faster with him. I gotta run faster man. I don’t like to lose either. He’s my teammate and just as fast as me and pushes me to go faster.
“Practices are like a state race every single time,” Kidd continued. “All of us are top five.”
For Kidd, the track meet will be his last. He’ll enlist in the Air Force following graduation, but appreciates going out on top.
“It’s amazing!” Kidd “I’ll probably never run track again. It’s good to go out with a bang. I’ll go to the military and we’ll have a good time.”
