6A Girls State Championship
Just two words are going to describe the team title race this weekend - Western Branch. These Bruins are going for a historic 4th outdoor title and 8th track title in a row. Though they are the verge of history, they still have to compete at a high level because Grassfield and Lake Braddock trail closely. Lake Braddock will focus on the distance depth Grassfield will look for as many points in the throws and on the field as possible. Both teams though have an ace up their sleeves that could score 30+ points at the meet. Grassfield has Lauryn Ghee who is entered in the high jump and three running events while Braddock has senior Skyla Davidson.
These two ladies could really shake things up with some monster performances. The hard part though will be taking down some of the Western Branch stars.
Speaking of stars though there are quite a few stars in this competition as well. The biggest of them has to be Thomas Dale's Titiana Marsh who just last weekend took down the VA State triple jump record by launching a 43-4 mark at regionals. She will be looking to win a 9th and 10th state title this weekend in the jumps as only a junior.
Also chasing history will be Patriot's Rachel McArthur who has state championships in all three seasons and even a national championship. She will be toeing the line in the 1600, 800, and 4x4. The main event she will be focused on definitely will be that 800 where she is hoping to not only take home another title but to also take down Sarah Bowman's state record of 2:04.
If she is able to do that, it will be her first state record (she unofficially holds the indoor 800 record) and would cement herself as one of the three greatest half-milers VA has ever seen. For those interested in the stats though, the 1600 will be the most interesting because if she can run under 4:41 she will then hold the meet records for all three distance events.
In the sprint events Lauryn Ghee is going to have some tough competition with Dajah Parker-Love, Jessica Tucker, Shadajah Ballard, and Hannah Waller. Get ready for some tough and close competitions.
The toughest event to win will definitely be the girls' triple jump which could actually be the toughest event to win in the entire state this year. The closest event though could very well be the 100 or 100H featuring quite a few ladies seeded close to each other.
The event we will be watching the most though is the Girls 300H. Since its inclusion into the state meet in 1985 or 32 years ago, only five ladies from the north region have won the event. Most recently in 2008. This year it will a big one with Battlefield's Lauren Hoffman trying to end that streak and take home the state title. She is a Duke-bound senior who is nothing short of a super-star but she definitely wants that title. To achieve that she will have to go through Destiny Ward who also really wants that title as she has been stymied in previous years by Western Branch who has swept every single 6A hurdle title. This event will be fast, historically significant, and make you nervous for the athletes.
Going for her fifth state title in a row will be Battlefield's Emily Harrison in the pole vault. If you get a chance, head down to the pole vault runway and watch potential history happen.