GIRLS
The million dollar question is whether or not Bethel star Francena McCorory will be able to give it a go after being forced to sit out ever since injuring her hamstring at the Southern Track Classic in early May. Last report was a 50/50 chance of McCorory competing as she is entered to compete individually in the 200 and 400 meter dashes, which have preliminary qualifying rounds on Friday afternoon at Todd Stadium. The defending champion Bethel girls are already limping more so than expected with another key sprinter in Crystal Carrington going down in last week\'s Eastern Region Meet. There is no question that at full strength, McCorory and Bethel are tough to beat as shown with their Penn Relays clockings of 46.85 in the 4x100 and 3:46 in the 4x400 meter relay, but the injury bug that has plagued them this spring leaves them vulnerable and in the underdog role.
The Eastern Region is loaded with teams that are chopping at the bits to take the throne over from the dynasty that the Bethel girls have held over the past few years.
Peninsula District rival Menchville features two of the state\'s best hurdlers in Nicole Saunders and Kali Watkins. Saunders ran a US #1 in the 400 meter hurdles earlier in the season with a second place finish at the Penn Relays and has her eye on the state meet record in the 300 meter hurdles held by Olympian Sheena Johnson with her 41.38 season best. Saunders is also entered in the 200 meter dash event, which she finished second in at last weekend\'s Eastern Region Meet. Meanwhile, Watkins is the defending Group AAA state champion in the 100 meter hurdles, but finds herself second in the event to Hampton\'s Tierra Brown, despite having improved her times this spring to a 14.06 best behind Brown at 14.04. Menchville also has a solid 4x400 meter relay team that earned All-American indoors and has ran 3:53 this spring.
Hermitage would be a team in contention for a state title if McCorory is unable to compete, but that all changed when their star athlete in Queen Harrison also aggravated a hamstring injury at the Central Region Meet that looked far more painful than the injury suffered by McCorory at the same Sports Backers Stadium facility in Richmond. While entered in the long jump and triple jump as the top seeds, and listed as the second seed in the 300 meter hurdles, it is extremely doubtful Harrison will be competing this weekend.
Lee-Davis and Great Bridge are two squads that can be carried to a state team title but the versatality and toughness by two multi-event athletes in Rachel Butler of Lee-Davis and Janet Brown of Great Bridge.
With Harrison likely scratching from the triple jump, Butler looks to be a favorite in the triple jump as she has went over 40 feet this season, but will have to deal with two-time indoor state champion Nakeisha Wineglass, who beat Butler\'s personal best of 40\'0.50\" in the same meet at Southern Track Classic with a jump of 40\'6\". Wineglass has struggled with her consistency at times though leaving the door open possibly for Butler to pick up ten points for the team\'s cause. Brown is entered in the event as well as she is coming off a 38\'6\" winning performance at the Eastern Region Meet.
Brown has the higher seeding in the long jump as the fifth seed with at 19\'1.75\" in a stacked event with Butler the lowest ranked among all competitors over 18 feet as the 14th seed. Defending indoor state champion and meet record holder Brittni Finch of Centreville will be looking to win her second state title in the event, but will have tougher competition than she encountered at George Mason this past March with Bethel junior Shakia Forbes (19\'7\") and Woodbridge junior Brittni Dixon (19\'5.50\") recently posting marks close to Finch\'s best of 19\'8.50\". If McCorory is able to compete and at a high leve, Forbes picking up considerable points in the event could be critical as she finished a close second to the Nike Indoor Nationals runner-up Finch at the Southern Track Classic last month.
While Brown and Butler share common events in the long jump and triple jump, they part ways from there as Brown focuses on the throws, while Butler vaults and hurdles. Brown is a top six seed in both throwing events as the sixth seed in the shot put (40\'2\") and fifth seed in the discus throw (125\'7\"). Brown is an Eastern Region Champion in both events. The defending champion in the shot put happens to be Butler\'s teammate Kathy Howard, who will be given a touch challenge in the form of Lake Braddock\'s Teressa McCoy (42\'9.75\"). McCoy is listed as the top seed, but Howard has the further personal best at 44\'11.25\" and has thrown over 43 feet in quad meets this spring.
The discus throw looks to be a bit more wide open event as Aimee Kodat of Westfield is the top seed at 135\'2\". The Northern Region holds the top two spots in Kodat and Samella Koroma of T.C. Williams (132\'2\"). 2004 state champion Jennifer Marinacci of Manchester would like nothing better than to reclaim her lost total from a year ago as the third seed at 127\'10\". Howard sits fourth at 126\'6\". Kodat is the top returnee from last year as the state runner-up in the event.
Butler of Lee-Davis could also rack up addditional points for her team\'s cause in the pole vault and both hurdle races. Butler can realistically place in the event as she has a 10\'6\" personal best, despite being seeded at 10\'0\" in the event. Chantilly senior Nicole Kazuba is the favorite as she is the defending champion from indoors with a 11\'6\" personal best, but a darkhorse challenger has emerged in Heritage senior Carolyn Lewis who has improved leaps and strides in the event over the past year to have a matching clearance of 11\'6\" from the Eastern Region Meet this Saturday on the exact same runway this weekend\'s state competition will be contested.
Butler will hoping to qualify into the finals of both the 100 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles from Friday\'s preliminaries as the fifth seed in the 100 hurdles at 14.93 and fourth seed in the 300 meter hurdles at 43.98.
While Brown will not be competing in any track events for Great Bridge, Kristy Tobin picks up the load on the track as one of the top competitors in both the 1600 and 800 meter run. Tobin is the defending state champion in the 1600 meter run from the indoor season and is coming off a personal best 2:14 Eastern Region 800 meter title run last weekend. Winning even one of those events will be no easy task for the Great Bridge junior as both events loaded with talented runners. Midlothian junior M.C. Miller leads the field in the 1600 meter run with the fastest time at 4:58.92. Albemarle\'s Rachel Rose has the second fastest time among all entrants at 5:00.91 as the defending state cross country champion posted the time in a deep Northwest Region race that featured seven runners under 5:10. Tobin sits in the third spot at 5:01.65.
The top two finishers in last year\'s 800 meter race are back again as the top two seeds with defending state champion Christi Harsha of Douglas Freeman at 2:14.28 and Midlothian\'s Miller at 2:14.42. Both times were posted in a great Central Region battle last week, which saw Harsha hold off a challenge from Miller who doubled back from the 1600 meter run as she will this weekend. Western Branch\'s Kenya Jones will benefit like Harsha will from having the 800 meter run as her first race of the day as also has ran 2:14 for this spring. However, Tobin last week showed great resiliency in being able to beat Jones after running the 1600 meter run earlier. The depth in the two lap event extends beyond the four runners who have gone under 2:15 this season as a total of 19 entrants have ran faster than 2:20 this season.
Regional runners-up to Great Bridge at the Eastern Region Meet, the Deep Creek girls can be a threat as a team once again here with their high jump duo of Ashley Gatling and Jonee Artis and nickle-and-diming in other events. Gatling, a state champion and indoor state meet record holder in the event, has remained ontop this spring including a season best of 5\'8.50\" at Penn Relays. Teammate Artis not far behind her as they both cleared 5\'8\" at last week\'s regional meet. However, Gatling does not hold the top seed or top mark as that honor belongs to April Sinkler of Brooke Point with her 5\'9\" best, but defeated Sinkler in their lone head-to-head matchup this spring at the Southern Track Classic. Chantal Luedeke and Chantill Harvey in the hurdles, Harvey in the jumps, and their sprint relays with a 48.54 4x100 meter relay and 3:58 4x400 meter relay.
Kecoughtan is another team to be mindful of as they have been under the radar ever since posting some outstanding realy times at the Penn Relays with a 9:22 4x800 and 3:49 4x400. Westfield and Lake Braddock look to duke it out in the 4x800 meter relay as they been both running exceptionally well as of late as Westfield smoked a 9:14 at the Northern Region Meet and had virtually a team full of legs running 2:15 in the open event with Tasia Potasinski (2:15.59), Kerry Hartman (2:15.79), and Brittany Sevachko (2:15.83). Meanwhile, Lake Braddock made some headwaves at their district meet when they had three runners under 5:10 for 1600 meters in Erin Klein (5:06.97), Michelle Presley (5:08.87), and Christine Moore (5:09.93)as they ran a time of 9:17 in the regional race with Westfield. The two should mix it up again at Todd Stadium on Friday and Kecoughtan might possibly mix it up with them.
While Kecoughtan may be long shots to win the 4x800 with the Northern Region having two of the best in Westfield and Lake Braddock in the event, the uncertainties on the top seed Bethel squad leaves Kecoughtan in a good position to win the 4x400 meter relay with their 3:49 season best. The relay squad is pretty much identical to their 4x800 meter relay squad and features individuals who could pick up points elsewhere. Tiara Swindell is a top six seed in two sprint events in the 400 (4th seed, 55.62) and 200 (5th, 24.46) meter dash. Hampton University bound Marlene Belizaire finds herself as the seventh seed in the congested 800 meter run with a time of 2:15.64. She could move up a few places in the event to score extra points for Kecoughtan.
The Northern Region squads Westfield and Lake Braddock are the two teams from the region that look to stand the best shot at breaking up a clutter of Eastern Region schools up top excluding Lee-Davis from the Central Region. Each team could pick up ten points to kick off the meet with their top ranked 4x800 meter relays. Both teams also will have a thrower vying for a state title as Teressa Jones is the top seed in the shot put for Lake Braddock, while Aimee Kodat is the top seeded and returning state runner-up in the discus. There are also areas that individuals could move up from the seed positions to score unexpected points as Westfield has three girls at 2:15 in the 800 meter run in that cluttered event, while Lake Braddock sends regional champion Michelle Presley into the 1600 meter run and indoor state runner-up Erin Klein in the 3200 meter run. Also for Lake Braddock, Allison Jones in the shot put, Anna Noguchi in the pole vault, and Melanie Akwule in the hurdles are capable of earning All-State honors with top eight finishes and contributing to the Braddock team score.
Last year, the Landstown boys shared the state title title with Great Bridge as they were led by Percy Harvin. However, this year it is the girls of Landstown that are taking over the spotlight as they have ability to place high in the team standings. The Lady Eagles have two strong relays in the 4x100 (48.12) and 4x400 (3:53.61) meter relays as they are seeded third and fourth in both events.
With Francena McCorory not running the 100 meter dash, the door is open for a new state champion. Landstown sophomore Leah Brown will be contention after winning the Eastern Region title last weeked. However, a win will be no easy task as Brown is seeded third behind two legit runners in Central Region champion Shanneka Claiborne of Matoaca (11.87) and Northwest Region champion Thelma Breezealt of Stonewall Jackson (2nd, 11.94).
Another Landstown sophomore in Cierra McGee also can rack up more points for Landstown in the 400 meter dash as the sixth seed at 55.75 as well as being in the sixth spot in the 200 meter dash at 24.49.
Woodside sophomore Dominique Jordan looked quite impressive at the Eastern Region Meet with titles in the 400 and 200 meter dash. Her 400 meter time of 54.53, broke a regional meet record that was held by McCorory. The 400 meter dash is a deep event this year with eight athletes entered with times under 56 seconds and the list does not include national record holder Francena McCorory, who actually is seeded ninth in the event at 57.05 as never got the chance to compete in the event in large field prior to getting injured.
Northwest Region champion and Osbourn Park sophomore Bethany Hyter holds the second position in the event at 55.16 as Osbourn Park will look to once again catch the Eastern Region relays off guard as they did at the Nike Indoor Nationals in March with a national runner-up performance in the 4x400 meter relay. The girls from Manassas have ran 3:52.33 this season in the event.
Rachel Rose will be trying to pull off a tough double in running the 3200 meter run off the 1600 meter run, but the Albemarle junior proved at the Dogwood Track Classic and Southern Track Classic that she possesses the toughness to do such a double. Rose ran her top seed time of 10:45.42 at Dogwood in the first of two races she completed in a hour\'s time as she was anchoring her distance medley relay with a 5:06 1600 meter split not long after the race. W.T. Woodson junior Sarrah Hadiji, indoor state champion in the event, did not compete in the Northern Region Meet and leaves a question mark on her status after skipping the meet. If competing Hadiji, certainly can add another state title with a 10:53.68 best and also has a 9:58 3K clocking to her credit from the Penn Relays.
Boys
The team title for the boys is just as open as it is for the girls. There are teams that will be relying on one or a few individuals to carry them to a state championship victory, while others will count on a more spread out team effort in relays and individual events.
Charles Clark of Bayside and Corey Vinston of Phoebus are two individuals who care push their teams into state championship competition by themselves.
Clark is the top seed in the 100 and 200 meter dashes with clockings of 10.53 and 20.91. Clark\'s 20.91 would have broken an Easter Region Meet record last weekend, but there was an illegal wind. Clark will look to roll again on Saturday with some smoking times as he hopes to roll through Friday\'s preliminaries of the 100, 200, and 400 meter dashes. Clark is not the top seed in the 400 meter dash at 47.98 with Deep Creek\'s Quentin Moore ranked ahead at 47.44, but Clark is certainly capable of pulling off a state title triple. Clark has been running at another level from earlier in the spring ever since his district meet, when he and a few of his teammates decided to give themselves Mohawk haircuts. While Clark is Hawk, teammate Oliver Alexander is Animal in this Legion of Doom pair as Alexander is not too shabby in his own individual right either as he was a regional runner-up to Clark in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes last weekend. With Clark using up all of his individual running events in the three sprint events, Alexander will be counted on for a big leg in the 4x100 meter relay to give them additional points in their team championship run.
Phoebus senior Corey Vinston of Phoebus is the state leader in three events with the long jump (25\'0\"), triple jump (49\'3.50\"), and 300 meter hurdles (37.97). Vinston can potentially rival the performances by Percy Harvin and Mike Morrison in the 2005 state meet as he is capable of scoring over 40 points by himself in this weekend\'s meet. While also being one of the favorites in those two events, Vinston is also seeded well in the 200 meter dash (2nd seed, 21.08), 100 meter dash (4th seed, 10.64), and high jump (5th seed, 6-6). Vinston may not win the five state titles (4 individual, 1 relay) that Harvin did on a historic day, but may exceed both the point totals of Harvin and Morrison from last year with the six events Vinston is entered in.
Mentioning Morrison, one can not forget that the Great Bridge senior is back and looking to help his team to a second state title as he finds himself entered in not as many events as last year, but he has a better supporting cast to not force him to do as many events. Unless you live in a cave, the news of Morrison breaking Lawrence Johnson\'s school and \"unofficial\" state record last weekend at the Eastern Region Meet with a clearance of 17\'6.50\" is not new to you. Morrison already holds the state meet record in the event and may or may not try to seriously push himself in the event with three running events on his place and two preliminary qualifying heats to go through as well in the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles. Morrison has selectively competed in the hurdle events this year, but is one of the top returnees from last year\'s state meet in each event. Morrison will also be featured on the Great Bridge 4x400 meter relay, which has gone under 3:20 this season.
Morrison\'s biggest help from his teammates should come out of the throwing events with Austin Lester and Jon Lockhart. Lester is seeded fifth in the shot put at 54\'3\", while ranked fifth as well in the discus at 165\'0\". Throwing buddy Lockhart has even a better mark of 170\'11.50\" to seed him third in the discus event.
Eastern Region 400 meter dash champion Ryan Sykes has a personal best time of 49.47, which ranks him in eighth in the event and gives him positions and points to be gained ahead of him.
Defending indoor state team champions E.C. Glass return with the same formula for success with their trio of Mike Zajac, Carlton Phipps, and Patterson Wilhelm. Zajac has been throwing at top form as of late and the Penn Relays discus champion looks to knock out his first state title in the event with a 185\'2\" state leading throw coming into the competition. Zajac also shares the top mark in the shot put at 57\'7\" with Ryan Gordon of Woodside, but Gordon was defeated at the Eastern Region Meet last week by Oscar Smith sophomore Frede Spellman, who is ranked third in the event at 55\'6.75\".
With the possibility of Zajac to give the Hilltoppers a total of 20 points out of the throws, it is the job of Carlton Phipps and Patterson Wilhelm to add onto the team score on the track. Phipps and Wilhelm will try and see what they can do on Friday evening\'s 4x800 meter relay as they are not exactly expected to be a favorite in the event as they possess the eighth fastest time coming in at 8:01.28, but having two legs such as Phipps and Wilhelm can help them move up in the race. Phipps, state champion at 500 meters indoors, is entered in the 800 meter run at 1:56.13 and is seeded fifth, but has yet to pop a fast time this spring after running 1:53 last year. Saturday certainly would be a good time to run another 1:53. Meanwhile, Wilhelm will be running in two events on Saturday in the 1600 meter run (5th seed, 4:21.33) and 3200 meter run (2nd, 9:18.38). Wilhelm had an inspirational run to win the Southern Track Classic two mile despite still grieving from the loss of his grandfather.
One can never sleep on the boys from Deep Creek. While Quentin Moore may be their only stud athlete on this year\'s squad as he has the fastest time in the 400 meter dash, strong relays and unexpected points elsewhere could magically see them in the team hunt. Deep Creeks owns the top relays in both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays with season best times of 41.63 and 3:18.41 respecitvely. Earlier in the season, they qualified for the Championships of America finals in the 4x100 meter relay.
The Central Region\'s lone team hope is Manchester as they are a young team with barely any seniors on their squad. Anthony Chesson leads the Lancers as he has been rocking and rolling since the Southern Track Classic where he broke the meet record held by Jerome Mathis in the 200 meter dash. Chesson may be Clark\'s biggest threat in the 100 and 200 meter dash events with clockings of 10.55 and 21.34 respectively. Chesson, a junior, is also featured on Manchester\'s 4x100 meter relay, which will knock heads with Deep Creek and the other top relays entered in the event with their second fastest seed time of 42.04.
Manchester sophomore and All-American Antonio Miller shares the top seed in the triple jump competition with Marlon Woods of Booker T. Washington at 48 feet even. However, the event actually features three jumpers who have jumped over 48 feet with Corey Vinston of Phoebus being listed as the third seed at 47\'11.50\", but has actually leaped to a mark of 49\'3.50\" to make for a very exciting and competitive triple jump.
Woods is another individual who can score considerable points for his team on a solo effort as it not far fetched that he could win all three jumping events as he is the defending indoor state champion and national champion in the high jump and the Booker T. Washington senior has posted some of the best marks in the state this spring in the long jump (24\'0\") and triple jump (48\'0\"). 30 points from Woods could put Booker T. well into the team picture.
At one point this season, the 4x800 meter relay state scene was pitiful with only one team under eight minutes with James Robinson at 7:59. Heading into this weekend\'s state meet, the relay event is starting to show some depth and excitement with five teams now under eight minutes and possibly teams looking to go under 7:50. The Colonial Forge boys and James Robinson boys both have ran times of 7:54 this season and are both well rounded squads having all their legs running under 2 minutes at some point this season. The question is which team will be able to get all four of their guys running at their best on the same time on Friday night. Colonial Forge has two strong legs in Blake Arnold (1:55.47) and Dan Leyh, while Robinson features Mark Hussa (1:54.95). Watch out for Hermitage if the Panthers\' other three legs can keep Alex Bowman in striking distance as he can swoop up the field as shown with his 1:51 anchor leg at the Central Region Meet. Herndon is also another team that can sneak up on teams as they have the state\'s fastest 800 meter run in Abe Daganchew at 1:53 and won the state championship here a year ago with a time of 7:49.
Granby senior Chris Bell will be making history if he can win his fourth consecutive state title in the 110 meter hurdles, but he will be hard pressed in the event as Brooke Point senior Mike Garel has ran well this spring and holds the state best and top seeded time at 14.06 with Bell at 14.31.
Hermitage senior Alex Bowman has the fastest time in the 1600 meter run at 4:10, which places him five seconds ahead of the next fastest competitor in West Springfield junior Mike Spooner at 4:15, but the margin of victory is likely to be shorter as these two runners of similar racing styles matchup. Both like to control their own races by setting their own paces, which usually happens to be a fast early pace. Do not expect them to make it a kicker\'s race with the likes of speedsters Daniel Leyh of Colonial Forge and Abe Daganchew also entered in the race at 4:17 each.
The 300 meter hurdles at the Eastern Region Meet last Saturday saw one of the closest and most exciting finishes of the spring with only two hundredths of a second separating Corey Vinston of Phoebus (37.97) from Jahmal Potter of Salem (37.99). Lets see if they can knock that gap down to one hundredths of a second this weekend as Potter will be looking to get revenge on Vinston. Mike Garel of Brooke Point (38.46) will be attempting to sweep the hurdle races as he will look to dethrone Bell earlier in the day in the 110 meter hurdles, while trying to take down the Eastern Region pair of Vinston and Potter later.
The two top seeds in the 800 meter run will be competing in their third event of the meet and second of the day with 1:53 half milers Daganchew of Herndon and Bowman of Hermitage, so it will be interesting to see how well they can recover from the earlier events. Robinson\'s Mark Hussa (1:54.95), Colonial Forge\'s Blake Arnold (1:55.47), and E.C. Glass\' Carlton Phipps (1:56.13) will have the luxury of competing in their first events of the day on Saturday, so all three have excellent shots at taking the race.
The 3200 meter run will be a test of fortitude for several runners attempting to double back from earlier races such as top seed Mike Spooner (9:17.43), who will be recoving from a slugfest with Bowman in the 1600 meter run. Spooner has showed great strength in the past though such as the Virginia Tech Indoor Invitational where he ran a quick leg on the 4x800 meter relay to come back with a strong finish in the 3200 meter run less than an hour later. Midlothian sophomore Jason Witt will be freshest top seed in the third spot with his 9:18.65. Witt posted the time in a battle with Wilhelm of E.C. Glass at Southern Track Classic, which Wilhelm finds himself ranked second in the event in between Spooner and Witt at 9:18.35. Wilhelm will be trying to gut up more points for his squad in the event. Another underclassmen to be wary of in the event is Mountain View freshmen Thomas Porter with his 9:27 best.
The final event of the day will feature four teams under 3:20 in the 4x400 meter relay with Deep Creek (3:18.41), James Robinson (3:18.79), Western Branch (3:18.98), and Great Bridge (3:19.97) in what should be an exciting finale to the 2006 state meet.
AA State Meet
Girls
The William Fleming girls look to be the favorite after defeating indoor state champions Blacksburg at the Region III Meet last weekend. With Brittany Cabbler as the top seed in the 400 (57.59) and Jasmine Bethel having the best mark in the triple jump (36\'9.50\"), William Fleming has their points well spread out over the jumping events and sprints to make them tough to beat.
Region I champs Courtland also will be in contention as most of their points will come from Sha\'Tia Hart and their relays. Hart is a top five seed in the long jump (2nd, 17\'11.25\"), triple jump (4th, 36\'3\"), high jump (5th, 5\'2\"), and 200 meter dash (3rd, 25.30). Courtland also has the lone 4x400 meter relay team to go under four minutes this season at 3:58.32 and their 4x100 meter relay is ranked second at 48.55.
Another Region I squad in James Monroe also could finish high in the team standings with an individual like Marie Fields. The James Monroe senior has the second fastest time in three events in the 100 (12.30), 400 (57.84), and 200 (25.10) meter dashes.
Blacksburg relied many on their distance crew for their indoor win and will have to do the same here as a win in the 4x800 meter relay on Friday night could kick things off. On Saturday, Ariel Burbey will be their top individual as she is the top seed in the 800 meter run at 2:13 and will be competing in a fiercely competitive 1600 meter run earlier in the meet as she is seeded sixth at 5:12.
Cross country state champions Brentsville may end up being the highest finishing distance team in the meet as they also have points elsewhere contributing to their team\'s cause. Brentsville has one of the best high jumpers in Group AA in freshmen Danyelle Kent-Robinson at 5\'4\" and also have a solid 300 meter hurdler in Caly Cassady at 46.35. Distance will be their backbone though as they have the fastest 4x800 meter relay at 9:44.26. Becky Stewart is their distance ace and is entered in all three distance events with the 3200 meter run on Friday night (3rd seed, 11:15.15) and 1600 (5th seed, 5:11.80) and 800 meter races on Saturday.
Northside\'s Catherine White will be looking to add to her growing number of AA state titles as she looks to be an easy favorite in both the 3200 and 1600 meter races with her 10:28 and 4:52 bests, but will get a challenge in the 800 meter run as her 2:19 season best ranks her fourth in the event and the race will be on the tail end of her triple. Currently, her state title count stands at six. Three state championships not only would make her total add up to nine and five shy of sarah Bowman\'s career total, but also would place Northside up there in the team standings.
The AAA girls would get their butts kicked if they tried to enter in the AA competition of the girls\' discus throw with eight throwers over 120 feet and three throwers having better marks than the top ranked AAA thrower. Park View sophomore Natalie Baird leads them all as she comes in as the defending champion in the event and recently posted a monster throw of 157\'7\" at the Region II Meet. Region III champion Becca Mikulas has also been throwing exceptionally well as of late as the Lord Botetourt senior has a season best mark of 147\'0\". Carly Morse of Liberty (135\'5\") and Roshell Hill of Fluvanna (4th, 130\'9\") could be regional and state champions most years, but not this year with the likes of Baird in their region and state meet.
The girls\' shot put is just as deep with indoor state champion Hope Creasy of Christiansburg (39\'11\") ranked fifth in the event. Robert E. Lee senior Kristin Crawford leads all throwers at 42\'7\", but Liberty\'s Morse is not far behind in second at 42\'4\".
Western Albemarle senior Ashley Early will be competing in her final VHSL meet this weekend as Virginia\'s greatest female pole vaulter of all-time will be concluding her final state meet with hopefully another state championship and improvement upon her state meet record height of 12\'6.25\". Early has cleared 12\'9\" this spring and holds the unofficial state meet record for both indoors and outdoors in the event.
John Handley\'s Ayla Smith looks to sweep the hurdle races as the top seed in both the 100 (14.67) and 300 (43.52). Smith will be looking to break the state meet record of 44.64 in the 300 meter hurdles.
Caroline\'s Kisha Garrick hopes for two wins herself in the sprints as she has the fastest times coming in for the 100 (12.07) and 200 (25.08) meter dashes.
Millbrook junior Jillian Pollack might get overlooked in light of Catherine White\'s potential state championship trifeca in the distance races, but Pollack will be right there in all three of the events that White competes in as she is ranked second in all three with solid times of 11:08.97 in the 3200 meter run, 5:06.58 in the 1600 meter run, and 2:18.85 in the 800 meter run.
Bruton\'s Dominique McCoy has a mark in the long jump that puts her almost a full foot ahead of her nearest competitor at 18\'8\".
Boys
It could be the Appomattox County and Rashad Kelso show this weekend in Harrisonburg as Appomattox County looks to be the favorites and especially after their Region III championship. Kelso has the fastest time in two events with a two second lead on the next competitor in the 400 meter dash with his 47.51 best and also holds the top position in the 200 meter dash at 21.56. The state meet record of 47.44 in the 400 meter dash that has stood the test of time for 22 years could be jeopardy if Kelso wants to go after it. Kelso will also be featured on the 4x400 meter relay for Appomattox County, which is ranked fourth in the event at 3:25.63. Their 4x100 meter relay is even higher ranked in the number two spot at 43.07, but will be running that relay team without Kelso. Stephen Croner in the long jump (6th seed, 22\'8\"), Michael Chambers in the triple jump (5th seed, 45\'3.50\"), TK Kelso in the 110 meter hurdles (8th seed, 15.10), and Rashad Megginson in the 300 meter hurdles (5th seed, 40.18) also can pick up points for Coach Lance Carter\'s squad.
Region II champions John Handley also can be a threat to win the team title as they have a dynamic squad of sprinters, distance runners, and throwers that will be scoring points for them at the state meet. Charles Washington is the top athlete for Judges as he comes in with the second fastest time in both the 100 (10.85) and 200 (21.87) meter dashes. Kelso will be tough to beat in the 200 meter dash as will 100 meter top seed Justin Stith of Nottoway (10.75), but any points Washington gets out of those events whether it be first or not will be helpful to John Handley\'s cause. Handley also has a solid 400 meter runner in Don Booker, seeded fourth at 49.96. Washington and Booker are members of the 4x400 meter relay, which is ranked sixth at a time of 3:25.77.
Handley also possesses the top discus thrower in the meet in William & Mary bound senior Alex Ball, who boasts a personal best of 167\'1\" in the event and has nearly a ten foot spread on his nearest competitor. Ball also can score in the shot put as the seventh seed at 50\'4.50\". In the distance races, Erin McWhorter can help Handley nudge a further ahead in the team standings with strong finish in the 800 meter run as the eighth seed at 1:59.31.
Indoor state champions Heritage are definitely going to be in contention again for another state title this weekend with the lineup they are bringing. Heritage junior Wayne Ferguson could rack up 20 points alone in the jump as the top seed in both the long jump (23\'7\") and triple jump (46\'0.50\"). Also in the field events, Heritage has one of the top pole vaulters in Stephen Thomas with a personal best height of 13\'9\" as the second seed and sophomore Jo-El Trent can score in the shot put (5th seed, 50\'9.25\").
In relay action on the track, Heritage has the second fastest 4x400 meter relay at 3:23.70 with Caroline as the top seed, which they posted with an impressive 3:21.67 run at the Penn Relays in April. Caroline also has the fastest 4x100 meter relay team at 42.71. Heritage of Lynchburg ironically is tied as the sixth seed with Heritage of Leesburg in the 4x100 meter relay as both same name teams have a 43.56 squad in the event.
On the Heritage of Leesburg team is one of the state\'s top hurdlers in Les Bradley. Bradley is only competing in the 300 meter hurdles this weekend and has the fastest time coming in at 38.27.
Fort Defiance will use its strength in the distance events to carry them to a high finish as it did with a runner-up finish at the Region II Meet last week. The Indians have one of the state\'s best 4x800 meter relays as they finally got the sub eight minute monkey off their back last week at their regional meet with a 7:58 win. The state meet record of 7:57.67, set in 2001 by Louisa County is in serious jeopardy when the boys from Fort Defiance toe the line. Fort also has the top seed in the 1600 meter run with senior Matt Bailey at 4:21.78. His teammates Daniel Alonso and Alex Ott will be attempting to pull off a difficult double on Friday night with the 4x800 meter relay and 3200 meter run as both are seeded in the top eight in the event.
Bailey will also be a contender in the 800 meter run as the second seed at a time of 1:57.51. Teammate Derek Hizer will be joining him in the fast heat with his 1:59.08 best. Will Shoemaker holds the fastest time in the event at 1:57.48 and the meet also features 1000 meter indoor state champion Ryan Gaul of Lafayette.
Salem has a solid squad out of Region II. Keith Gaines will one of their big point contributers as he is seeded first in the 110 meter hurdles (14.57) and second in the 300 meter hurdles (39.35). Gaines could potential sweep both hurdle races, but Bradley of Heritage will be a big obstacle in the 300 meter hurdle event as will Brookville sophomore and 55 meter indoor state champion Ethan Nixon of Brookville. Salem could get a second state champion out of the triple jump as senior Marcus Lewis has a best mark of 45\'11.75\" thats put him less than a foot behind the leader in the event. Region III champion Kyle Siska of Salem will also be in the running in the 800 meter run as his 1:58.93 best puts him fifth in the field.
Orange County is another Region II squad that has the ability to score over 30 points in the meet. Orange has two outstanding hurdlers in Jeff Carey and Carl Johnson. Carey is the third seed in the 110 meter hurdles (14.96), while Johnson can earn All-State honors in both the 110 (7th seed, 15.09) and 300 meter hurdles (3rd seed, 39.56). Orange\'s Josh Oehmke figures to be racing for second place with Kelso in the race for the 400 meter dash as the Region II champion Oehmke has the second fastest time in the event at 49.63. Orange also should score points in the throws from senior Asa Chapman, who has a best of 51\'1.50\" in the shot put to rank him third.
Tazewell\'s Jarrod Burton has the top performance in the shot put leading into this weekend at 56\'9\" with Bryan Roof of Liberty trailing in the number two spot at 55\'1\". Roof also is seeded second in the discus throw at 158\'2\".
Harrisonburg junior Tim Beierle nearly has a full foot advantage over the rest of the pole vault competition with a personal best clearance of 14\'6\" and will be looking to redeem himself after losing the state title indoors after being the favorite coming in.
Brunswick sophomore Tony Brown is the lone competitor who has cleared 6\'6\" in the high jump, while seniors Jeff Edwards of Broad Run and Abdullah Dosu of Western Albemarle have both cleared 6\'5\".
Bassett\'s Marcus Muse could easily become a double state champion in the jumps as he is seeded second in one just behind Ferguson of Heritage with a best marks of 23\'3.25\" in the long jump, while sharing the top spot with Ferguson in the triple jump at 46\'0.50\".
Plenty of controversy will certainly be circulating around the errors in the entries of Abingdon sophomore distance star Griff Graves, who has a personal and state best of 9:13 this spring for 3200 meters, yet finds himself entered in a time at 9:59.50 as the 19th seed and likely in the slow section. The same errors are found in his 1600 meter entry as he is listed 4:27, yet he has ran 4:18 for 1600 meters this season. Luckily, he should be in the fast section in the 1600 meter event. The interesting story will be to see if he can beat the fast section time solo and how will the race materialize in the fast section knowing that the race must be run for time versus a typical strategic championship setting. Northside senior Zac Edwards is the top seed with a 9:19 best, while the Brentsville duo of Nick Gehlsen (9:26) and Adam Henken (9:34) follow him.