In one of the final major invitational weekends of the indoor season, plenty of athletes and relays stepped up to perform in one of their last chances to turn in qualifying times prior to the district championships. Highlights, stories, interviews, photos, and video to come. 1/31 Weekend Invitational Meet Results: Lashawn Merritt Invitational St. Christopher's Invitational Mid Area Track Classic

Photo by Tim Fulton of ArmoryTrack.com The 4x800 meter relay squad from Albemarle High School made quite a statement Friday night at the Millrose Games as they humbled the current US leaders in the event from Morris Hills High School in New Jersey. An expected close showdown between the fastest two 4x800's in the nation this indoor season never came to be. Coach Buz Male's quartet killed any thoughts of late race drama by taking charge from the opening leg and continuing to gap the New Jersey school en route to an 8 second margin of victory with their final time of 7:54.59. In a very strategic high school boys' mile race which came down to a kicker's race, Tyler Stutzman and Bobby Peavey finished in the middle of the pack in fourth (4:21.11) and sixth (4:21.54) places respectively.

Preview for individual events at this weekend's St. Christopher's Invitational.

After a sensational sophomore year which concluded with a World Youth Championships title in the 110 meter hurdles followed by national record breaking indoor season as a junior, Wayne Davis of Southeast Raleigh (NC) hit his first road block last spring in the outdoor season. It turned out the superhuman phenom was actually human as an ankle injury lingered with him throughout the spring and reached a breaking point literally at the USATF Junior Nationals as the initial sprain injury ended up becoming a fracture to end his year. As a result, Davis' hopes of a returning to the World stage against the top junior hurdlers on the planet were lost. In an exclusive interview with MileSplit US though, Davis reveals that the injury may have been a blessing in disguise as it has forced him to pace himself better and re-adjust his training for his senior year, which should set himself to be healthy and finish strong this summer. He certainly does not appear to be behind schedule as his US #1 clocking of 7.09 last weekend at the Virginia Tech Invite puts him only a hundredth of a second off his US #2 all-time performance of 7.08 from last year's meet despite having trained for a significantly less period prior compared to 2008 at this points. The North Carolina high school track star returns to Virginia for a second straight weekend for the Lashawn Merritt Invitational on Saturday being held at the new Boo Williams Sportslex in Hampton.

The first annual Lashawn Merritt Invitational will be held this Saturday at the new Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Virginia. Lakeland High School is the host school, but the Norfolk Real Track Club is also co-hosts of the event, which one of their club's coaches in Dwayne Miller is the coach of the recent Olympic 400 meter gold medalist in Beijing. Merritt was obviously a state leader in several events in high school days not too long ago at Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth and the meet which is bestowed with his name has plenty of athletes considered as the state's very best. Note from Meet Director: The girls Long Jump will start @ 7:45 and the Girls Triple jump will start later in the morning after the Boys Triple Jump is completed. All Girl Long Jumpers must check in between 7:15 and 7:35. We will not allow anyone to check in after 7:35.

The field events appears to be the strong events for this Friday evening meet being held at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg. Charlottesville High School has two of the stars in the field events in high jumper Justin Jackson and thrower Melvin Carter. The girls' pole vault will have the most talent of all though with Group A's best and one of their only pole vaulters in Kate Collins from Nelson County and Group AA state titlist Shelley Parker (pictured above by Ted Plunkett) of Brookville.

MileStat.com now has a fax #. Below is the number that you can use to send meet results, information, and other pertinent information related to the website. FAX # - (804) 325-1077

The 102nd Millrose Games will be shown live on ESPN2 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM on Friday night with the high school mile races expected to be shown. The mile races are always the premier high school events in the meet, but this year will have other events gaining attention including a showdown between the nation's fastest two 4x800 meter relays in the Morris Hills boys of New Jersey (US #1 7:46) and Albemarle (US #2 7:49) of Virginia. Another event to look forward to is the mens' 600 yard dash which will feature current US 400 leader Clayton Parros competing against older professional athletes. Preview forthcoming.

Updated district team rankings for Group AAA. Definitely a great resource for coaches as they decide their district championship lineups in the upcoming weeks. Central Region Capital District: Lee-Davis boys & Lee-Davis girls Central District: Prince George boys & Prince George girls Colonial District: Douglas Freeman boys & Deep Run girls Dominion District: Manchester boys & Manchester girls Eastern Region Beach District: Salem/Ocean Lakes boys & Landstown girls Eastern District: Booker T. Washington boys & Churchland girls Peninsula District: Woodside boys & Bethel girls Southeasten District: Western Branch boys & Western Branch girls Northern Region Concorde District: James Robinson boys & James Robinson girls Liberty District: Thomas Jefferson boys & W.T. Woodson girls National District: Thomas Edison boys & Thomas Edison girls Patriot District: West Potomac boys & Lake Braddock girls Northwest Region Cardinal District: Forest Park boys & Gar-Field girls Cedar Run District: Battlefield boys & Osbourn Park girls Commonwealth District: Albemarle boys & Colonial Forge girls Western Valley District: E.C. Glass boys & E.C. Glass girls

Performance list to the 2009 Lashawn Merritt Invitational to be held Saturday, January 31st at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA.

Performance list for the Mid Area Track Classic to be held Friday, January 30th at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center.

Entry list for the 2009 St. Christopher's Invitational to be held Friday & Saturday, January 30th & 31st at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, VA.

   Last indoor track and field season did not end on the note that Midlothian senior, Paige Johnston (pictured right by Ted Plunkett), had wanted to. After winning the 1000 at VHSL AAA State Indoor championships her sophomore year, Johnston came in second her junior year to Tasia Potasinski of Westfield by less than a second after being seeded first by over seven seconds.    This season, Johnston has made a strong return and has nothing short of dominated the 1000m race in Virginia. She currently holds the #1 time in Virginia in the 1000m at 2:54.84 and the 1600m at 4:59.59 (not including Blacksburg’s Joanna Stevens’ converted one-mile performance, 4:59.27). She looks to reclaim her state title in the 1000m run this season and has trained with dedication paired with a new sense of humility.    “I would love to reclaim my title in the 1000m and end my last high school state meet on a good note,” said Johnston, “but I just need to keep working hard and know that anyone can step up on any certain day. Getting second last year put everything into perspective and made me really appreciate my title sophomore year even more.”

Grafton's David Gunnerson (pictured right by Ted Plunkett), currently ranked #3 in Virginia and a strong contender for the Group AA state title in the 1000 meter run, was recently invited and accepted to compete in the junior boys 1000 to be held at th New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday, February 6th at the New York York Armory. This race has been a great assembly of the East Coast's top middle distance runners over the past several years and will be another opportunity for Gunnerson to drop his personal best time after clocking a 2:33.06 performance this past weekend at Virginia Tech. In last year's race, three Virginians competed in the boys race with Logan Collins dipping under 2:30 at 2:29, while Paige Johnston and Jayna McGehee ran in the girls' race with Johnston as the runner-up in 2:51. Do not surprised to see Gunnerson joined by several other Virginians in the race.

It was not the best of times for Western Albemarle senior Tyler Stutzman in late November for the Foot Locker South in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had given his all in a quest to make it to the Foot Locker Nationals, but his body shut down on him. In top 10 position with less than 400 meters to go, a dehydrated and energy depleted Stutzman bonked and was unable to finish the race. Meanwhile, his teammate Kyle Satterwhite and familar rival Alex Ott went by him at that time to move onto the Foot Locker Finals in San Diego. It was not Stutzman's day, but this indoor season has proven to be very fruitful for him and he has rarely come up empty handed. Between punching his ticket to Millrose with an incredible negative split and 2:02 last half mile in a victory at the Montgomery Invitational mile earlier this month as well as most recently running the nation's fastest 3200 meter time at 9:05 in a great duel against Bobby Peavey at Virginia Tech, Stutzman has made up for that missed opportunity in November. His redemption from not making it to San Diego may come this weekend on the big stage in the high school mile at the Millrose Games, which will be televised to a national audience on ESPN. With one of the fastest mile times currently in the nation and fresh off his big PR 3200 performance at Tech, the senior from Crozet, VA has an excellent chance to make history in becoming only the third Millrose Games high school mile champion from Virginia. Read more...

A little less than 2 years ago, Melanie Rice (pictured left by Tom Hoerner) ran her first ever 3200m race at the Judy Thomas Invitational as a freshman at Marion High School, finishing with a time of 14:20.27. It’s hard to believe that the same girl ran the #1 3200m time in the state of Virginia this past weekend at Liberty University’s Indoor Invitational, smiling the entire 11:01.58. In fact, if you had told Rice after that first 3200m run that she would be the #1 two-miler in the state her junior year, she wouldn't have believed you herself.

The Millrose Games this upcoming weekend at the Madison Square Garden will feature the nation's fastest two high school boys' 4x800 meter relays. The mile races are typically the highlight of the high school portion of the Millrose Games, but this year's 4x800 meter relay could trump the individual races with a highly anticipated matchup between US #1 Morris Hills of New Jersey and US #2 Albemarle of Virginia.

Due to a lack of entries for the St. Christopher's Mid-Atlantic Track Clash and conflicts with many district meets, the meet scheduled for Saturday, February 7th at St. Christopher's School will not be held this year. The Clash hopes to return next year in 2010.  

A total of 11 US #1's were produced at this past weekend's Virginia Tech Invitational as some of the very best athletes from Virginia, Maryland, DC, and North Carolina all gathered in Blacksburg to take advantage of a rare opportunity to run on a fast banked indoor track surface found inside the Rector Fieldhouse. Four of those national leading performances came from Virginians, while a countless others ran state leading and US top 10 performances. A few also etched their names into Virginia high school history among the top 25all-time indoor performers (see below). More coverage on the way from Blacksburg including videos, photos, and interviews! New US #1's Boys 300 - James Taylor (Nansemond River) 33.88 - VA #6 All-Time Boys 3200 - Tyler Stutzman (Western Albemarle) 9:05.58 - VA #8 All-Time Boys Triple Jump - David Wilson (George Washington) 49'4.50" - VA #13 All-Time Girls 4x400 - Bethel 3:48.91 - VA #2 All-Time New State Leaders Boys 4x800 - Albemarle 7:49.88 - VA #3 All-Time Boys 4x200 - Western Branch 1:29.27 - VA #5 All-Time & US #2 Boys 4x400 - Albemarle 3:20.18 - VA #5 All-Time & US #2 Girls 4x200 - Bethel 1:40.53 - VA #5 All-Time & US #3 Girls 1000 - Paige Johnston (Midlothian) 2:54.84 - VA #8 All-Time & US #4 Girls 4x800 - Blacksburg 9:27.33 - VA #20 All-Time & US #6 Girls 500 - Genamarie McCant (James Robinson) 1:14.83 - VA #16 All-Time & US #2 Boys 500 - Zachary Vrhovac (Albemarle) 1:04.82 - US #3 Boys 55H - Jeffrey Artis (Western Branch) 7.44 - US #4 Boys 1000 - Anthony Kostelac (Albemarle) 2:31.39 - US #3 Boys Shot - Phillip Mesadieu (Patrick Henry) 53-10

  Boys 300 - Nansemond River senior James Taylor has had the performance so far on the second day events as he powered his way around the banked turns in the 300 meter dash with a US #15 all-time clocking of 33.88 to even the score with Great Bridge's Taylor Sykes from a loss two weeks ago in the same event. Taylor returned quickly back to action to win the 55 meter dash (6.44) and long jump (23-4.25) as well. Boys 500 - The Hendrix twins from New Bern (NC) teamed up to roll US all-time bests with Anthony Hendrix as the winner at US #1 time of 1:03.48. Girls 4x200 - Eleanor Roosevelt (MD) girls romp seeded section with a new US #1 and meet record time of 1:38.27. Bethel took second with 1:40.53 to establish themselves convicingly as the state leaders in the relay event. Boys 4x200 - Western Branch boys clocked the first sub 1:30 performance of the season in Virginia as 1:29 winners on the banked track in Blacksburg. Girls 1000 - Eleanor Roosevelt's Amirah Johnson led wire to wire in the 1000 meter run with Midlothian's Paige Johnston running on her heels through. Johnson won in a US #3 time of 2:54.39 with Johnston as well at 2:54.84 at a US #4 performance. Boys 1000 - After anchoring the Albemarle boys to a US #1 time in the 4x800 last night, Anthony Kostelac of Albemarle pulled away on the final lap for a US top 5 performance of 2:31 to win the 1000 meter run. Girls 300 - Aurielleyall Scott of Eleanor Roosevelt clocked a US #2 time of 38.95 to become only the second high school girl to break 39 seconds this year in the country. Girls Invite Mile - Blacksburg girls nearly had a pair of twins become sub 5 milers as the Stevens twins, Joanna and Kathleen, both ran 5:01 for a full mile to dominate an invitational field with a 1-2 finish. Boys Invite Mile - Not a bad indoor season debut for Ben Dejarnette as the Atlee senior made a decisive move to pull away from Tyler Stutzman doubling back from a hard US #1 performance in the 3200 the night before for a 4:15.64 victory. Girls 4x400 - A dropped baton by favorites Eleanor Roosevelt early in the race opened the door for the Bethel girls to take charge and they slammed the door shut on ER by clocking in at US #1 and VA #2 all-time performance of 3:48.

Albemarle and New Bern boys clash in the 4x800 never materialized with a 1:55 first leg from Zachary Vrhovac and weak leg from New Bern as the Patriots rolled to a US #1 and VA #3 all-time indoor performance of 7:49.88. David Wilson of George Washington, the defending Nike Indoor Nationals champion went a US #1 mark of 49'4.50". With the Stevens twins running two impressive sub 2:20 splits on third and fourth legs, the Blacksburg girls posted a US #4 and state leading time of 9:27.33 in the 4x800 meter relay. The girls triple jump was arguably the event of the evening on Friday with 3 US top 5's and a winner over 40 feet. Virginians Chaneka Perry of Menchville (3rd, 39'10") and Jasia Richardson of J.R. Tucker (4th, 39'2.50") both went over 39 feet. Tyler Stutzman and Bobby Peavey put on a show for the final race of the day as two battled it out to the end to produce the nation's fastest two times at 3200 meters with Stutzman as the winner at 9:05.58 and Peavey as runner-up at 9:08.48. Patrick Henry of Roanoke's Phillip Mesadieu improved upon his state leading mark in the shot put with a 53'10" personal best at Tech. Mountain View's Kaitlyn Davis ran away from the field in the seeded section of the girls 3200 with a PR time of 11:13. Jon Hill, one of the nation's best high jumpers from Walkersville High in Maryland, won the event as expected at a height of 6'8", but the bigger story in the high jump was the Rich Roethel, new transfer at Herndon, who cleared 6'7" in running shoes to take runner-up and emerge as new state title contender. Virginia Tech Invitational - Day 1 Results Race Videos: Boys 3200 - Boys 4x800 - Girls 4x800 - Girls 3200

Boys 55 - Cosby's Shifflett, Bethel's House, and George Washington pair Wilson and Benion Jr. will need to roll against swift out-of-state competition. Boys 300 - Taylor Sykes leads loaded field with challengers Taylor, Cuffee, Nix, and North Carolina speedster Fuqauwn Greene. Boys 500 -  Hendrix twins of New Bern will be favorites to go 1-2, but Albemarle's Anthony Kostelac might have something to say. Boys 1000 - US #5 Degfae (2:32.93) will be pushing for a sub 2:30 time and should be pressed with Albemarle's Kostelac, Varina's Lacks, Grafton's Gunnerson, and Blacksburg's Hencke. David McCuiston should mix it up with the Virginians with a 2:33 season best from the North Carolina athlete. Boys 1600 - Several contenders in this race including Dan Nafziger of Harrisonburg, Chris Foley of Chantilly, Jared Berman, George Carter of Blacksburg, Thomas Baker of Louisa, and Ted Richardson of James River. Expect a winner dropping a personal best closer to 4:20. Boys Invite Mile - A loaded race if all entrants to the line with Millrose bound Tyler Stutzman and Bobby Peavey, Foot Locker Finals 3rd place finisher Thomas Porter, and returning 3200 indoor state champion Ben Dejarnette. Boys 3200 - A fast section which could see a winner under 9:10 and potential US #1 with current national leader Bobby Peavey of Kellam, who should be seriously challenged by the Western Albemarle duo Kyle Satterwhite and Tyler Stutzman. Thomas Porter could have made it an even more stacked race, but will be missing the meet due to sickness. Boys 55H - All eyes will be on Wayne Davis from Southeast Raleigh (NC), especially after the performance last year by Davis in Blacksburg. Two of Virginia's best hurdlers in Jeffrey Artis and Reynaldo Radlin will have to concede a race for second. Boys 4x200 - Western Branch will be gunning to be the first team to run a time of at least 1:30 with their VA #2 relay. Boys 4x400 - New Bern (NC) are the national leaders at 3:19 and will be looking to drop further under 3:20 this weekend. Albemarle (3:24 season best) leads a group of relays attempting to give chace along with Knightdale of North Carolina (3:25 season best) Boys 4x800 - This will be one of the rare occassions that New Bern loads up their 4x800 this season as their focus is on the 4x400 and 4x200, but it should be a thriller with the team from North Carolina and Virginia's finest in the Albemarle boys, a team which returns all from a 7:42 outdoor relay. Boys High Jump - Event features Jon Hill from Walkersville, who has soared well over 7 feet int he past with a 7'2" best. Charlottesville's Justin Jackson and Nansemond River's John James have both cleared over 6'8", while Jordan Hill of Albemarle also ranks as one of Virginia's best.  

Preview of the girls running events for the 2009 Virginia Tech Invitational. Some races to look out for include: Girls 4x200 - Best in VA with Bethel, Grassfield, and Robinson battling in a state meet preview against national powerhouse Eleanor Roosevelt Girls 1000 - Midlo's Johnston looking to roll another fast 1000 on banked track. Girls 500 - Two of nation's fastest at 500 look to lower US #1 time with Woodford and McCant Girls 55H - Deep race featuring 8 of 11 fastest in VA. Girls 300 - Minkins has fastest season best in an every waiting for someone to step up Girls Mile - Stevens twins of Blacksburg lead field in pursuit of sub 5 barrier. Girls 4x400 - Peninsula District rivals Menchville and Bethel could press each other closer to 3:50

MileStat.com caught up with Atlee senior Ben Dejarnette (pictured left by Ted Plunkett) prior to making his official visit to Oregon last weekend. Dejarnette is looking to make amends for a disappointing finish at Foot Locker South in which he hoped to earn a berth to the national race in San Diego with a strong season in track as well as good finish at the USATF National Cross Country Championships, which will be held relatively close to Virginians in Derwood, Maryland on February 7th. The returning Group AAA state 3200 indoor champion will be making his indoor debut this weekend at Virginia Tech in the invitational mile.  The senior discusses the disappointment of the end of cross country as well as moving forward to track and the USATF Cross Country Nationals.

The Stevens twins of Blacksburg have been on a tear at the start of the indoor track season and leading performers on the track for Coach James DeMarco's loaded distance crew. Last weekend at Liberty, Joanna Stevens broke the school record in the 1600 meter run in a personal best time of 5:02 with sister Kathleen Stevens not far behind in third place at 5:05.30. The twins switched their finish order in 1000 meter run on the following day with Kathleen finishing ahead of her sister for the first time in some time with a US #4 and state best time of 2:58.38, while Joanna also broke 3 minutes for the first time ever as well in runner-up at 2:59.04. Each will be featured in the invitational mile race this Saturday at the Virginia Tech Invitational with hopes of pushing towards the sub 5 barrier. One half of the twins in Kathleen is featured in an athlete spotlight interview article to discus their recent stellar performances and the unique sibling relationship of having an equally fast twin teammate.

The Western Branch boys have a new challenger this year in the form of the Northwest Region's Albemarle standing in the way of a potential third straight Group AAA indoor state title for Western Branch. Albemarle currently has the fastest 4x800 and 4x400 meter relays in the state and one of the best middle distance runners in Zachary Vrhovac and jumpers in Jordan Hill. (Photo above by wingedfootphotos.com) Virginia high school boys indoor track team rankings as of January 22nd. These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We took the individual rankings and relay rankings and scored them as a normal meet: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The Bethel girls have not won a state title in several years for track and may finally have a group of girls strong enough to end that drought with two solid relays and one of the state's top hurdlers in Courtni Pannell. However, the defending champions Landstown girls are still a force to be reckoned with as they possess a great hurdler as well in Taylor Wheaton along with the state's fastest at 300 meters in Marlena Wesh. Currently the two Eastern Region schools are ranked as the top two teams in Virginia according to MileStat.com. (Photo above by Ted Plunkett). Virginia high school girls indoor track team rankings as of January 22nd. These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We took the individual rankings and relay rankings and scored them as a normal meet: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The St. Christopher's Invitational has reached its limit with entry fee checks received from 50 schools already. The meet is no longer accepting anymore schools or checks.

Kellam's Bobby Peavey (pictured right by John Herzog) will be one of three Virginians competing at the Millrose Games next weekend in New York City. He was estatic when learning of the news he had been selected albeit at a crazy late hour. "I had a feeling I might get invited after Montgomery, but it didn't hit me until my coach texted me at 3 AM that I was actually going to Milrose. It feels amazing." The senior Peavey earned his trip to New York based off two swift times posted this past month in the one mile race at the Montgomery Invitational and most recently in a 1600 meter race at the Eastern Challenge held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He certainly has asserted himself early on in the indoor season as shown with a US #1 9:08 3200 meter performance in the December at CNU. Read more...

Due to a decline by one of the nine original selections for the high school boys' mile at the Millrose Games, Thomas Edison senior and Foot Locker All-American Leoule Degfae will now be joining original selections and fellow Virginians Tyler Stutzman of Western Albemarle and Bobby Peavey of Kellam in the prestigous race. The state of Virginia will represent a third of the total field with the top three finishers from the Montgomery Invitational mile race two weeks ago. Stutzman won the race in Landover, Maryland to virtually cement his spot in the Millrose field in a US #4 time of 4:14.91, while Peavey and Degfae had to sweat out their selections as they had to wait to see how others on the East Coast ran on faster banked tracks up north.  Peavey followed up his runner-up finish to Stutzman by posting another swift time this past weekend in the 1600 meter run at the Eastern Challenge with a 4:14.84 win. Peavey and Degfae also have the nation's #1 and #2 fastest times for 3200 meters at 9:08 and 9:13 respectively this season. The mile at Montgomery was Stutzman's only race thus far this season compared to Peavey and Degfae who have already competed in several invitationals, but he will competing at Virginia Tech this weekend as he tunes up for the big race in the Big Apple. He'll be running the 3200 in Blacksburg to see if he can post similar season best times to Peavey and Degfae. The Millrose Games high school boys' mile race will be held Friday, January 30th on the 11 laps to a mile banked track at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Note that all sections of the 4x800 meter relays will be run on Friday at the Virginia Tech Invitational this weekend and not a seeded section on Saturday as originally scheduled.

Natalie Woodford (pictured left by John Herzog) is a rare breed. She runs cross country in the fall. She goes to Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke. The pale skinned blonde does not fit the description of the nation's fastest runner in the 500 meter dash currently, but that is exactly the honor earned by the senior after her 1:15.49 performance at the Liberty High School Invitational. Her gutsy effort resulted in a personal best performance to better her former PR of 1:16.84 by a full second. Immediately as she crossed the line, Woodford crashed to the track and Johnston followed soon after in second place.  "It was a little dramatic, but I guess it's just a tough distance and really takes it all out of you." Read more...

Back from a long two days in Lynchburg for the mega-sized Liberty Invitational. Results are now posted from Liberty, FUMA, Suffolk Stars, Eastern Challenge (UNC), and St. Christopher's. Recap, stories, interviews, photos, and videos to come! The girls 500 saw a great battle between two of the state's quickest middle distance talent in Patrick Henry's Natalie Woodford and Midlothian's Paige Johnston. Johnston had broken 5 minutes for the first time on Friday night in the 1600 meter run with a US #6 4:59.59, while Woodford had won the 300 meter dash on Friday in 41.80 prior to Saturday's 500 meter dash. Woodford got to the break point before Johnston and did not relinquish the lead as she powered her way to a national leading 1:15.49 performance. Johnston's runner-up time of 1:17.25 ranks her #8 in the country. Both runners crashed to the track after the finish line immediately following their national caliber races. (Photo by Brandon Miles) State Best Performances: Girls 500 - Natalie Woodford (Patrick Henry) 1:15.49 US #1 Girls 300 - Marlena Wesh (Landstown) 39.49 US #2 Girls 4x800 - Ocean Lakes 9:29.26 US #3 Girls 1000 - Kathleen Stevens (Blacksburg) 2:58.35 US #3 Girls 3200 - Melanie RIce (Marion) 11:01.58 US #5 Girls 1600 - Paige Johnston (Midlothian) 4:59.59 US #6 Boys Shot - Phillip Mesadieu (Patrick Henry) 53'4.25" Other US Top 10 Performances Girls 500 - Amanda Smtih (Grassfield) 1:15.98 US #2 Girls 1000 - Joanna Stevens (Blacksburg) 2:59.04 US #5 Boys 1600 - Bobby Peavey (Kellam) 4:14.84 US #7 Girls 500 - Paige Johnston (Midlothian) 1:17.25 US #8 Girls 1600 - Joanna Stevens (Blacksburg) 5:02.11 US #9 Girls Long Jump - Karimah Shepherd (Grassfield) 18-4.50 US #9 Boys 55 - Dejor Simmons (Green Run) 6.36 US #9 Boys 1000 - Bobby Peavey (Kellam) 2:33.95 US #10 Photo Galleries: Liberty Invitational Photo Gallery by Tom Hoerner - 2,005 photos total from Saturday's events. St. Christopher's Mini Invite Photo Gallery #5 by Willie Riefner - 249 photos total. Video Clips: 58 race video clips by Brandon Miles posted from Liberty Invitational 13 race video clips by Andy Paisley posted from Suffolk Stars Invitational  

    (Kyle Satterwhite pictured above by John Herzog will look to pull off a double in the 1000 and 1600 meter races this weekend at the 20th FUMA Invitational) 20th FUMA Invitational Meet Preview Throughout the history of the meet many great names have run on the tack located in the Estes center at Fork Union Military Academy. Past All-Americans, Footlokcer Finalists, and Olympians, even an Olympic gold medalist, have started their careers off on the 160 meter track. Although Lashawn Merritt or Kiptoo Keino will not be running this year at the 20th FUMA Invitational, Virginia’s best will be fighting to find out who exactly is the best. Today’s runners will be running to not only get that qualifying mark needed or a personal record, but to be a part of one of Virginia’s most historic indoor invitationals.    

It will no question be a long two days at the Tolsma Track Center as there will be no way around it with a total of 74 schools and 1,700+ athletes expected to compete at this weekend's Liberty High School Invitational. Many teams have taken advantage of the loose or lack thereof entry limitations to bring armies of high school track athletes into Lynchburg. As a result, deep fields should produce deep results and should make this the featured meet of the weekend in Virginia. MileStat.com will be on-site with coverage. Read meet preview by Brandon Miles Pictured left by John Herzog: 2-time AAA state meter hurdles champion Damien Thigpen will see how fast he can fly out any hurdle obstacles in the 300 meter dash on Friday. Thigpen, the state leader in the 55 meter dash at 6.35, will also be a favorite in the 500 on Saturday.

Chantilly's Wes Sun has been vaulting at new heights this season with clearances of 14'6", 14'7", and personal best 14'8" at the FIT Invitational in late December to pose as potentially the #1 challenger to AAA state outdoor champion Allen Kelly of King's Fork. Sun will be vaulting this weekend at UNC. Photo by Ted Plunkett The scarcity of indoor meets in North Carolina and entry standards for the Eastern Challenge at UNC leads to a ridiculous amount of bogus and false seed times as shown by Landstown sprint star Marlena Wesh being seeded 15th in the 55 meter dash behind many inferior athletes as well as Nike Indoor All-American Curtis Campbell of Grassfield potentially not going to run in the fast section of the 500 meter dash because of false seeds ahead of him. But it should be all settled on meet day as both Wesh and Campbell should be some of the top performers from Virginia this weekend in Chapel Hill. Read more...

Photo by John Herzog       Amanda Smith in her first year at Grassfield High school, has accomplished more than most people accomplish in their entire high school year. The freshman from Chesapeake made her mark on the eastern region and the state early in her career, and has come out blazing again this year.       One of the many girls in recent years to win state championships in their freshmen year, Smith will look to carry her success into her sophmore year this year. Off to a good start, the Grassfield sophomore has clocked a 1:17.35 in the 500 meter, and has experimented with the 1000 meter run. With a 3:01.68 performance alone at the Southeastern Invitational Smith has earned herself a spot on the national rankings list, and is currently number two in the state behind Midlothian’s Paige Johnston. Read more... Video Interview: Amanda Smith

Another busy weekend of high school indoor track & field competition with three major invitationals being held at Liberty University, Fork Union, and Boo Williams respectively as well as a handful of schools also venturing down to UNC for the Eastern Challenge. The Liberty High School Invitational will certainly be the featured meet of the weekend with nearly 75 schools and over 1,700 athletes as many state best performances should be produced at the Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg. The FUMA Invitational will be celebrating its 20th year of existence with 32 schools present at the Estes Athletic Center. Meanwhile, the Boo Williams Sportsplex will always have a strong draw of teams as long as meets are being held their each weekend as 47 schools will be at the Suffolk Stars Invitational in Hampton. A smaller group of Virginians will be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the Eastern Challenge including stars Marlena Wesh, Emma Dejarnette, Curtis Campbell, Bobby Peavey, and Leoule Degfae. Previews from all four meets to come late Thursday night. Performance Lists: FUMA Invitational Eastern Challenge Liberty High School Invitational Suffolk Stars Invitational

Olympic 400 meter gold medalist Lashawn Merritt was the 2004 MVP of the FUMA Invitational with victories in the 500 and 300, but a rare defeat to a teammate in the 55 meter dash. Fork Union Military Academy will be celebrating hosting its 20th annual indoor invitational this weekend. For two decades, the meet has been of the most competitive invitationals in the state of Virginia despite being on a 160 meter short track at the Estes Athletic Center. A countless number of state champions, All-Americans, national champions, and Olympians have competed at the FUMA Invitational and MileStat.com takes a stab at the 20 greatest moments in the meet's history.

Photo by John Herzog       It is not very often in track that an athlete comes along that has the leg turnover of Maurice Greene coupled with long strides of Daniel Komen. Usain Bolt showed the world that it was possible for a six foot five man to run the 100 meter dash and run it well this summer in Beijing, and James Taylor is putting on the same display here in Virginia with his great times in the shorter distances.       Standing tall at around six feet 4 inches, the senior from Nansemond River has made his impact on numerous events already early this season. Holding some of the nations best marks in the long jump and 300 meter dash, Taylor has started his indoor season off the right way. Read more...  

An estimated time schedule as well as final instructions and information for coaches and teams for Saturday's 20th annual Fork Union Indoor Track Invitaitonal.

Performance list for the Suffolk Stars Invitational to be held Saturday, January 17th at Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

MileStat.com will start posting all of the district and regional indoor championship standards on the meet pages of each district and region meet in the state, but will need the help of coaches (or athletes with copies) to type up and email/post their standards. Hopefully this will help all have an easier way to find the times and marks they need to hit in order to qualify for championship season meets.

Performance list for the 20th annual Fork Union Invitational to be held Saturday, January 17th at the Estes Athletic Center in Fork Union, VA.

Performance list for this weekend's Liberty High School Invitational to be held at the Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg, VA. A total of 74 teams and 1,792 athletes will be competing this weekend in probably the largest high school indoor meet in the state of Virginia for this season.

Karimah Shepherd's US #1 triple jump mark (40'6.50") on Friday jumpstarted the Southeastern Invitational, while the Menchville girls closed out the meet on Saturday with a US #2 performance (3:58.88) in the 4x400 meter relay. Three other US top 5 performances were produced over the two day event at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. The fast section of the boys 300 meter dash lived up to its billing as it went down to the finish line between Taylor Sykes (pictured above by Jesse Hutcheson) of Great Bridge and James Taylor of Nansemond River. The two Southeastern District sprinters pushed each other to US #2 (Sykes 34.38) and US #3 (Taylor 34.40) times, which the only faster time (John James NY 34.21) in the country this season was produced on the fast banked track of the New York Armory.

Team rankings for each district in Group AAA. These rankings were calculated by scoring the performances in the site's database as a meet. We took the individual rankings and relay rankings and scored them as a normal meet: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. The following teams are currently top ranked in their district... Central Region Capital District: Atlee boys & Lee-Davis girls Central District: Prince George boys & Prince George girls Colonial District: Deep Run boys & Deep Run girls Dominion District: Clover Hill boys & Manchester girls Eastern Region Beach District: Kempsville boys & First Colonial girls Eastern District: Booker T. Washington boys & Churchland girls Peninsula District: Hampton boys & Bethel girls Southeastern District: Western Branch boys & Western Branch girls Northern Region Concorde District: James Robinson boys & James Robinson girls Liberty District: Thomas Jefferson boys & W.T. Woodson girls National District: Thomas Edison boys & Thomas Edison girls Patriot District: Annandale boys & Lake Braddock girls Northwest Region Cardinal District: Forest Park boys & Gar-Field girls Cedar Run District: Battlefield boys & Osbourn Park girls Commonwealth: Albemarle boys & Albemarle girls Western Valley: E.C. Glass boys & E.C. Glass girls

Performance list to the 2009 Eastern High School Challenge to be held at UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Friday & Saturday, January 16th & 17th.

Performance list to the 2009 Virginia Tech Invitational to be held next weekend in Blacksburg, VA.

Despite having an invitational being held nearby at the Boo Williams Sportsplex, the CNU Showcase still ended up being one of the best if not the best meet of the weekend drawing local and out-of-state school as the meet has annually done. The meet featured a US #1 performance by Tiffany Harris of Churchland in the long jump as the event turned out to be a exciting duel between two returning state champions in indoor champion Tynita Butts of T.C. Williams and Harris. Butts was the national leader for a short time with her 19'7.50" mark earlier in the competition and thought the mark would be good enough to win the competition as she had packed it in to conserve energy for the 55 meter dash finals coming up, but Harris had other plans. On her final jump, Harris leaped to a personal best mark of 19'10.75" to move ahead of Butts to win the event and ontop of the national leaderboard.

Photo by Andy Paisley The Southeastern District is currently the home of the nation's #1 ranked boys triple jumper in Jeffrey Artis of Western Branch as well as national leader on the girls' side with Karimah Shepherd of Grassfield. Artis had already established his name last year as the multi-event athlete helped lead his team to indoor and outdoor track state titles, but Shepherd's name still was not mentioned often enough among the group of top jumpers in the despite being the only Virginian to leap up over 40 feet in the triple jump in 2008. Its safe to say that all in Virginia in know her name now and many across the nation are learning about Shepherd as well as she just leaped to her second 40 foot mark of the season in the triple jump at this past Saturday's Southeastern Invitational in Hampton. Read more...

State Best Performances this weekend... Girls TJ - Karimah Shepherd (Grassfield) 40'6.50" US #1 Girls LJ - Tiffany Harris (Churchland) 19'10.75" US #1 Boys Mile - Tyler Stutzman (Western Albemarle) 4:14.91 US #2 Girls 4x400 - Menchville 3:58.88 US #2 Boys 300 - Taylor Sykes (Great Bridge) 34.38 US #2 Girls 1000 - Paige Johnston (Midlothian) 2:58.68 US #3 Girls 300 - Marlena Wesh (Landstown) 39.73 US #3 Boys 4x400 - Albemarle 3:24.26 US #3 Girls 55 - Brittany McCants (Kempsville) 7.16 US #4 Girls Shot - Jaleesa Williams (First Colonial) 41'5" US #4 Girls 2Mile - Melanie Rice (Marion) 11:16.34 US #4 Girls 55H - Taylor Wheaton (Landstown) 8.14 US #4 Boys 55H - Vincent Brown (South Lakes) 7.52 US #5 Boys 4x200 - Green Run 1:31.75 US #5 Boys 55 - Damien Thigpen (Stonewall Jackson) US #8   A short 15 minute drive separates CNU's Freeman Center in Newport News from the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. On Friday night, two US #1 marks in the girls jumping event were produced at two meets being held in the small radius of 10 miles on the Peninsula. Photo by Ted Plunkett At the CNU Showcase, defending AAA state outdoor long jump champion and Churchland senior Tiffany Harris on her final attempt leaped past defending AAA state indoor long jump champion and T.C. Williams senior Tynita Butts (US #2 19'7.25") with a US #1 mark of 19'10.75" to catch Butts off guard who had all put packed it up after her short lived US #1 performance in the long jump passing on her previous attempt. Video: US #1 19'10.75" Long Jump by Tiffany Harris Grassfield's Karimah Shepherd had already possed the nation's best mark so far in the triple jump at 40'2.50", so she decided to extend her gap on the rest of country by launching another huge jump with a 40'6.50" mark on Friday at the Southeastern Invitational held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. Video: US #1 40'6.50" Triple Jump by Karimah Shepherd Photo by John Herzog Western Albemarle senior Tyler Stutzman was victorious in a loaded mile field at the Montgomery Invitational gathering top runners from Virginia and Maryland hoping to impress for a Millrose Mile berth in a full mile race. The pace was conservative through the halfway point at 2:12, but Stutzman had an impressive negative split with a 2:02 final half to win in a US #1 time of 4:14.91 as he broke open the race with a 60 second third quarter mile. The top four finishers were all from Virginia with Stutzman, Kellam's Bobby Peavey (2nd, 4:16.35), Edison's Leoule Degfae (3rd, 4:16.92), and Mountain View's Thomas Porter (4th, 4:22.87). If the Millrose selection committee wanted the best field possible, it would not only select race winner Stutzman, but ask Peavey and Degfae to join him. Photo by Ted Plunkett Top performances on day two at CNU were produced by Midlothian's Paige Johnston and Landstown's Marlena Wesh. Johnston appears to be a front runner to win her second AAA state 1000 meter title in three years after her US #3 performance this weekend of 2:58.68 to become the first female under 3 minutes this season so far in Virginia. Wesh, a winner on Friday in the 55 meter dash, completed her season opening meet with the nation's fastest flat track time for 300 meters at 39.73. Photo by Jesse Hutcheson The Southeastern Invitational at Boo Williams Sportsplex produced five state leading times and marks including a US #2 300 victory for Great Bridge's Taylor Sykes (34.38) over Nansemond River's James Taylor (US #3). Taylor had ran a US #8 and state best time of 6.36 in the 55 meter dash on Friday. The meet also showed a very promising future for the state in the sprints with the state's best freshmen present. Great Bridge freshmen Shakeela Saunders outdueled James Robinson freshmen Genamarie McCants in the 300 meter dash, but it was another underclassmen McCants in Kempsville 10th grader Brittany McCants who made the strongest impression with her state best and US #4 7.16 clocking on Friday night. The Albemarle boys did not load up a 4x800 meter relay while at the New York Armory this weekend for the Hispanic Games as they focused on individual events with Zachary Vrhovac leading the Patriots by winning the 800 meter run in a US #4 time of 1:56.76. Albemarle also showed they might have more than just a 4x800 meter relay capable of winning a state title as their 4x400 meter relay clocked a US #3 time of 3:24.26 to move ontop of the state leaderboard in the relay. More to come from this weekend's meets including results, photos, and video! Photo Galleries: CNU Showcase by Ted Plunkett Southeastern Invitational by Jesse Hutcheson

Virginia's best sprinter will be making her season debut on Friday at Christopher Newport University. Landstown senior Marlena Wesh (pictured left by John Herzog) will be hoping an Oklahoma victory tonight in the BCS championship football game will kickstart a big weekend for her as the future Sooner is slated to compete in the 55 meter dash, 300 meter dash, and 4x400 meter relay at the CNU Showcase. Wesh, the defending AAA state champion indoors in the 55 and 300 meter dash as well as outdoor state champion in the 100 and 200 meter dash, took advantage of her fall break from meets to visit many schools including LSU, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Georgia, and her final visit to Oklahoma. The high school star from Virginia Beach did not even think about attending any in-state schools. "I needed to get away and to a place where I know that nobody in Virginia would be. I didn't even know where Oklahoma was when I visited." Thankfully for the Sooners and Wesh that she found her way to Norman, Oklahoma to take full advantage of the five official visits that a high school athlete is allowed by the NCAA instead of potentially rushing into a decision after earlier college visits. Read more...

There is plenty of meets to look forward to this weekend as the state's best track athletes will be coming out of hiding and hibernation from the winter break to compete. Preview article to come on all of the major meets this weekend! Performance Lists: Bulldog Invitational CNU Showcase Montgomery Invitational Southeastern Invitational

Performance list for this weekend's Southeastern Invitational to be held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Virginia on Friday and Saturday, January 9th and 10th.

Performance list for Saturday's Bulldog Invitational to be held at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg, VA.

Performance list to the 2009 Bennett/Knight Invitational to be held Saturday, January 10th at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, VA.

The power went off at the UMES Coach O Invitational on Saturday to interrupt the meet temporarily, but meet management did not need to call in a electrician to restore the power to the facility. All they had to do was call on Western Branch senior Jeffrey Artis (pictured right by John Herzog) and a US #1 mark in the triple jump to electrify the building. "It was on my last jump. We had four jumps, but unfortunately the power went out during my first two jumps, but the power came back on for my third and fourth." Talk about poise. Despite the annoyance of the power outage, Artis leaped to a national leading mark in the triple jump of 49'0.75". He bettered the previous US #1 mark by a whole foot with his performance. Read more...

   Take a second and picture your normal cross country race.    Imagine the sound of the gun echoing in your ears as you take those first strides. Your family and friends stand on the sidelines cheering as hundreds of footsteps rumble around you. The crisp, fall air rushes against your face and cools your quickly inhaling lungs. Coaches and parents scream splits at you and the other runners around you as you pass each mile marker and teammates continue to cheer you on. As you reach the spectator-free areas of the course, you start to focus more on how tired your body feels, the soft breathing of the runners around you, their feet crunching the colorful leaves that have recently fallen on the trails you now tread on.    Now take away the gun. Take away the cheering, the rumbling, the screaming, the breathing, and the crunching. What do you have left?    The average cross country race of L.C. Bird junior, Andre McLean (pictured right by Linda D'Amato). Read more...

Heat sheets for Saturday's Montgomery Invitational to be held in Landover, Maryland at the Prince George County's Sports & Learning Center.

Performance list for the 2009 CNU Showcase to be held Friday and Saturday, January 9th and 10th at Christopher Newport University's Freeman Center in Newport News, VA.

Several national caliber performances were produced this weekend by Virginia high school athletes. Western Branch senior Jeffrey Artis (pictured above by John Herzog) leaped to a US #1 mark in the triple jump of 49'0.75" at the UMES Coach O Invitational this weekend in Maryland. Artis bettered the previous national leading mark (Carlton Lavong PA 48-0.25) by a whole foot. It was a personal best for one of the state's most versatile athletes and state leader in the 55 meter hurdles. The state of Virginia now has the fastest two times in the nation currently in the 3200 meter run and many of our state's top harriers have yet to race! Foot Locker All-American Leoule Degfae continued his early season tear fresh off his fantastic close to the cross country season with a runaway victory in the 3200 meter run at the Southern Maryland Mega Meet with a US #2 time of 9:13.34. Degfae has primarily focused on the middle distance events in the past, but has mentioned possibly turning his attention to the 3200 this track season after a successful cross country season. Only Kellam's Bobby Peavey at 9:08.34 has ran faster in Virginia and the nation this season in the distance event. The performance on Saturday was a 26 second PR for Degfae. The state's best pole vaulters flew out to Reno, Nevada this weekend for the Pole Vault Summit and two of the state's premier athletes in the event had stellar performances with Allen Kelly of King's Fork leaping to new personal best height of 15'8" to place third in the high school division, while defending AAA state indoor and outdoor champion Emma Dejarnette of Atlee cleared 12'4". Video: Dejarnette clearing 12'4" More to come from this weekend's meets. Results listed below from the East Coast Invite, Southern Mega Meet, and UMES Coach O Invite. East Coast Invitational Southern MD Mega Meet UMES Coach O HS Invitational

Henrico's Elaine Derricott will be shooting for a sweep of the jumps this weekend at East Coast as a top seed in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. (Photo by Ted Plunkett) Meet preview for the 50th annual East Coast Invitational being held Saturday, January 3rd at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond. There is a rich history associated with the East Coast Invitational and the preview highlights those athletes who will be favorites to become part of that history with victories on Saturday. MileStat.com will be on-site with coverage of Virginia's longest active high school indoor meet. Read full preview... Meet Performance List Time Schedule (Revised)

Revised time schedule for the 2009 St. Christopher's Invitational to be held this weekend in Richmond. The sections of the running events where there are only finals will go from slow to fast with the exception of the 3200 meter run. In the 3200 meter run, the faster sections will go first. If possible, the meet may try to get ahead of schedule. The meet will not go more than 30 minuters ahead at any time. St. Christopher's Invitational - Revised Meet Schedule

Meet previews forthcoming tonight for the St. Christopher's Invitational, Lashawn Merritt Invitational, Mid Area Track Classic, and Millrose Games. Performance Lists: St. Christopher's Invitational Lashawn Merritt Invitational Mid Area Track Classic Not to mention, district meets are already starting to begin with the Concorde, Liberty, and River Ridge districts all kicking off championship season early still in the month of January. Reminder to district meet directors to please email your meet performance lists to post on MileStat.com.

Photo by Brandon Miles The 3200 meter run concluded the first day of events at the 2009 St. Christopher's Invitational and those who left prior made a poor decision as the missed out on witnessing two sensational national caliber times posted by two athletes in impressive solo efforts. Trinity senior Barbara Strehler started things off in the girls' 3200 by running away from the field to a state leading and US #5 performance to 10:58.42. Strehler was 31 seconds ahead of the next finisher in her first sub 11 minute race ever. Photo by John Herzog Atlee senior Ben Dejarnette refused to let Strehler be the only national standout performer of the night as the defending Virginia 3A state champion motored his way around the 200 meter indoor track found within the St. Christopher's School Field House for 16 laps en route to a US #4 time of 9:12.83. Dejarnette went for it as he checked in through 1600 meters at 4:31 and likely could have ran faster with competition to pull him along. The state of Virginia currently has four of the nation's fastest five 2-milers this indoor season with Dejarnette joining Millrose Mile selections Tyler Stutzman, Bobby Peavey, and Leoule Degfae in the top five. Both performances by Strehler and Dejarnette broke meet and facility records at St. Christopher's. The first day of events were filled with meet and facility records as a total of 10 of the 14 events saw new records set.  Many of the record breaking performances were just outside of US top 10 rankings as shown below. Girls 55 - Brittney McCants (Kempsville) 7.14 US #12 Girls 4x800 - Midlothian 9:35.29 US #13 Girls Pole Vault - Emma Dejarnette (Atlee) 12'0" US #10 Girls Long Jump - Elaine Derricott (Henrico) 18'5" US #12 Boys 55 Meter Dash - Mitchell Shiflett (Cosby) 6.40 US #13 Boys Long Jump - Ryan Beaver (Princess Anne) 23'1" US #11 St. Christopher's Invitational Day 1 Results St. Christopher's Invitational Day 1 Photos by John Herzog Plenty of photos and video coverage from the two day meet on the way!

The meet grew a bit larger than anticipated, so the schedule is now revised. Girls shot has been moved to Friday evening and horizontal jumps have 2 sections. Please also note the following: - make scratches upon arrival - concessions available both days - coaches meal is for Saturday only - admission for spectators is $6/3 for two day and $4/2 for one day - Riverside Runners store will be open and will be selling t-shirts for $10 each - no relay practice or spikes in the hallways or classrooms

Performance list for the Southern Maryland Mega Meet to be held Saturday, January 3rd at the Prince George County's Sports & Learning Center in Landover, MD.