CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Six elementary schools and three middle schools around the state are facing off to see who’s the fittest.

The West Virginia Department of Education held its Fit + Active Schools Face-off Friday at the State Culture Center for its third year.

WVDE Physical Education Coordinator Josh Grant said the groups of elementary and middle schools compete in an eight exercise and four round workout routine for the event.

“It puts them against other schools to see what schools are the fittest and they’re judged on their form, their rhythm, their intensity, their stamina and their transitions,” Grant said.

Trinity Hill and Kendall Long were two students competing with their team from Peterstown Middle School in Monroe County.

“It’s a pretty cool experience to be here,” said Hill.

“Yeah, we worked hard to get here,” Long added.

They explained what all they were doing as part of the face-off.

“We do pushups, butt kicks, planks, jumping jacks, plank rolls, butterfly crunches,” they said.

Grant said the competing schools were selected to participate in the event by submitting a virtual entry of them doing the exercises and they trained throughout the semester to get there.

Along with Peterstown Middle, the other schools taking part in the face-off included: Frametown Elementary School in Braxton County, Overbrook Elementary and Richmond Elementary in Kanawha County, Roosevelt Elementary in Mason, Teays Valley and West Teays elementary schools in Putnam, Roosevelt Middle School in Mason County, and Teays Valley Christian Middle School in Putnam County.

In addition, students got to watch a performance by the Village of Barboursville Magic Jump Rope Team.

Grant said the focus of the event is on promoting children’s wellness, health, and team-building initiatives.

“A neat thing about this event is that it shows students that once they compete here they can be active for life,” Grant said. “I think we need to showcase wellness in our state and just encourage students to be healthy and active, and this is just a great way to show what it takes to work as a team, and they have what it takes inside of them to be fit and healthy for life.”

Judges from SHAPEWV, CrossFit Coal, the West Virginia Grind Basketball Team and West Virginia University were scoring the team’s on their performances during the face-off.

Grant said both groups of elementary and middle schools would be receiving first, second, and third places within their categories.

He explained what was in it for the winning schools.

“It’s going to come with monetary prizes, all of the students get a t-shirt, gold, silver, bronze medals, a banner to hold in their gym and a trophy,” said Grant.

First place winners Friday were Frametown Elementary from Braxton County and Teays Valley Christian Middle School from Putnam County.

Ft. Worth, TX – The Big 12 Conference leader in strikeouts, TCU junior starting pitcher Payton Tolle, kept the West Virginia bats at bey with 11 strikeouts to collected his seventh win of the season as the Mountaineers (31-20, 17-11) dropped game one to the Horned Frogs (31-17, 14-14) Friday night 6-3.

TCU took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after freshman Sam Myers and redshirt sophomore Jack Arthur hit back-to-back singles before a sacrifice bunt and a slow groundball down to third from redshirt senior Kurtis Byrne for the sacrifice RBI put the game’s first run on the board.

The Horned Frogs added a pair of runs in the second when junior Brody Green lined a leadoff single up the middle and sophomore Anthony Silva drilled an RBI double into the gap in left centerfield. Then, freshman Ryder Robinson hit a sacrifice RBI groundball to first for a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore Benjamin Lumsden put the Mountaineers on the board in the third with a solo home run, his seventh of the season.

Anthony Silva lifted a two-run home run in the fourth to extend the TCU lead to four, 5-1.

West Virginia got back within three in the fifth after Lumsden worked a full count walk, sophomore Skylar King advanced Lumsden with a bunt and sophomore Logan Sauve smacked the 0-2 pitch through the left side for an RBI single.

In the bottom of the frame and with two outs and the bases loaded, Green hit a high chopping ground ball over the head of freshman reliever Chase Myer for the sacrifice RBI and a 6-2 Horned Frogs’ lead.

The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the eighth, and with no outs on the board, TCU head coach called to his bullpen for the team leader in saves, sophomore lefty Ben Abeldt. WVU senior Reed Chumley brought a runner across with a sacrifice fly to left field but that’s all the Mountaineers could muster as the Horned Frogs were holding onto a 6-3 lead.

Ben Abeldt struck out two in the ninth as part of a 1-2-3 inning to hold any potential of a Mountaineer rally for the 6-3 decision.

West Virginia will look to even the series on Saturday in game two. The first pitch is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.