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SPORTS
Winningham finds glorious end to career
Danielle Winningham saved her best for last. In the last meet of her high school career, the Cabell Midland phenom won the 400-meter race and ran the anchor leg on the Knights' victories 4X400 relay team.
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CHARLESTON -- Cabell Midland's Danielle Winningham started and ended her final day in high school track the same way. With a victory.
First item on the hot, sunny Saturday was another showdown with Spring Valley's Savannah Rutherford and Hurricane's Josie Crouch in the Class AAA 400. It was one of the most highly anticipated events in the two-day West Virginia High School Track Championships at Laidley Field.
Winningham showed quite a kick in the final 100 meters and outran Rutherford and Crouch to win in a school-record 56.85 seconds and fourth-fastest in meet history. The Knights closed out the afternoon with a victory in the 4x400 relay. Rachel Williams led off, followed by Kinsey Hall, Elayna Conard and Winningham brought it home. She was even with Parkersburg's Janey Hall at the last exchange, then steadily pulled away to win with a time of 4:04.53 to 4:07.84 for the runner-up Big Reds. One last celebration followed.
"What better way to finish than like this," a tired, but happy Winningham said.
You see, Winningham burst onto the track scene in 2006 following an outstanding career at Barboursville Middle School. As a freshman, she finished runner-up to Buckhannon-Upshur's Chelsea Carrier in the 400. The Knights, with Winningham the anchor, won the 4x400, placed second in the 4x800 and went on to win the girls state championship for the first time in school history. After that season, Winningham won the Ray McCoy Award which annually goes to the top track athlete in Cabell County.
The next year, Winningham wound up third in the 400 and the 4x400 relay team topped the field again. Winningham's junior season was a disappointment as she was 10th in the 400 (won by Crouch), fifth in the 300 hurdles and the 4x400 team settled for fourth. A foot injury slowed her down.
Time was running out for Winningham, who also ran cross country for Cabell Midland, to collect that elusive first individual win at the state. On Saturday morning Winningham wouldn't be denied. This would be the day she made that first trip to the awards stand by herself.
"I'm dying at the end. My legs are like dead weight," Winningham said in replaying her 400 win. "I did a slingshot out of the curves. The rest went so fast. The last 100 I could see Josie and hear Savannah. I said oh gosh, it's my senior year and what a day to go make it happen. This was more about proving to myself that I could do it. I've been trying since my freshman year. I finally made it."
Cabell Midland coach Don Rogers moved Winningham to the sprints early in the season. He believes the added speed work helped prepare her for the big moment.
"You're hoping the training pays off and it did," Rogers said. "I was nervous as a cat before the race. You feel it for all the kids. For some it's their final chance. She was focused. She proved she could beat the best."
"This one was so much harder," said Winningham, who's signed to run track and cross country at Ohio University. "It's early in the morning and it's my biggest race of the whole season. This is my last 400. Josie, Savannah and I are friends. I think they're proud of me. She (Crouch) has next year to get it back."
Rutherford had the top times in the state in the 200 and 400 coming in. In the 200, Winningham was fourth and Rutherford fifth.
"Danielle ran a great race at the right time," Rutherford said of the 400.
