There was some uncertainty as to whether or not Albemarle might load up their talented 4x800 meter relay as they might spread their athletes around in various events to put them in better position to go after a team title, but a group like this does not come around often and they decided on making history on Friday night instead with their "A" team. After Garrett Bradley put the Patriots in the lead with a 1:58.4 opener, the Albemarle boys showed no mercy as each successive leg poured it on despite having no teams close with Zachary Vrhovac at 1:54.5, Luke Noble at 1:57.9, and Anthony Kostelac on anchorg at 1:53.6.
Their new US #1 time of 7:44.70 not only broke the state meet record of 7:48.63 held by Westfield from 2004, but also set a new state indoor record (regardless if in state meet or not) as the 1998 West Springfield 4x800 previously held that honor at 7:45.78. The Albemarle boys were actually gunning for the indoor national record of 7:42.22 (Syossett NY - 2005). They will get another opportunity at the record with more competition at the indoor nationals in March.
US Top 5 All-Time
4 x 800
#1 7:42.22 Syosset, NY 2005
#2 7:42.67 York, Elmhurst, Il 2000
#3 7:42.84 Shaker, Latham, NY 2005
#4 7:44.6+ Catholic, Roselle, NJ 1969
#5 7:44.70 Albemarle VA 2009
Their 4x800 meter relay meet record performance and personal best mark of 48'3.75" from Jordan Hill to take runner-up in the triple jump give Albemarle plenty of momentum heading into Saturday, but Western Branch was right with them on Friday to negate any attempt of separation by the Northwest Region champs.
Western Branch only lost two points to Albemarle in the 4x800 meter relay since their own relay stepped up with a runner-up finish of 8:01.31. Despite Hill's surprising finish ahead of Western Branch's top jumper Jeffrey Artis in the triple jump, Artis was in third (48'0.75") and teammates Marcus Dean (5th, 45'1.50") and Kendrick Smith (6th, 45'0.25") came through to place higher than expected to give Western Branch a total of 13 points in the event compared to Albemarle's 8 from Hill's runner-up mark. Western Branch leads after the first day of events with 21 points and Albemarle is second with 18 points.
Despite the significance of the triple jump in regards to the team standings, the event belonged to George Washington senior David Wilson who finally got the 50 plus footer in the triple jump that he has spent a year reaching for you. The defending AAA state champion extended his US lead in the the triple jump on his first attempt with a mark of 50'1", which ranks him #6 all-time in Virginia high school history.
It has been over 20 years since the state of Virginia has seen anyone over 50 feet in the triple jump indoors when current US high school national record holder Keith Holley of Bayside (52'7.75") and Larry Moore of Kempsville both dazzled track fans in the same year in 1988 with several 50 plus performances including a 52'7.50".
Wilson kept his legs fresh for other events as he passed on all of his attempts for one in the finals in which he still leaped a great 49'6" mark. Wilson will be headed to Virginia Tech next year to play football, but intends to continue to compete in track at the next level as well.
Other highlights from day one included an outstanding girls' high jump competition with two athletes, Tynita Butts of T.C. Williams and Pearl Bickersteth of Potomac, tying the state meet record with clearances of 5'9". Butts "cleared" 5'10" on two occassions, but the bar fell moments later after each attempt. Both jumpers move themselves to #4 on the Virginia indoor all-time list, but Butts certainly has to be anxious to get another chance at the high jump in the national meet with a 5'9" clearance well over the bar and two heartbreakers at 5'10".
The girls 4x800 meter relay shaped up to be a two way battle between Ocean Lakes and Lake Braddock as expected. After a 2:16 third leg by state cross country champion Stacey Nobles brought them from way behind into first, all anchor leg Natalia Kuhn had to do was hold off Northern Region cross country and track champion Liana Epstein with less than a second advantage. Kuhn was aggressive in the first 400 meters to gap Epstein, but Epstein reeled her in to come up on her with a lap to go. Kuhn responded and found another gear to finish with a 2:14 split as the Ocean Lakes girls became only the second 4x800 indoor state champions from the Eastern Region in a 9:21.00 win with Lake Braddock in a close second at 9:21.92. Both teams ran season best times which rank #6 and #7 in the nation as well as #10 and #11 all-time in Virginia high school indoor history.
Despite being the defending indoor state champion and having jumped well at the Central Region Meet in the Ashe Center, J.R. Tucker senior Jasia Richardson was not considered the favorite in the triple jump. After all, Richardson had never leaped over 40 feet before and the event featured two girls who had done so this season in Grassfield's Karimah Shepherd and Great Bridge's Shakeela Saunders. Shepherd had leaped over 40 feet on several occassions this year at the Boo Williams facility and is the US leader with a season best of 41'2.50". Meanwhile, Saunders won the Eastern Region Championships last week with US freshmen national record leap of 40'2.50".
Well Richardson finally joined the 40 foot club on Friday at the state meet and denied both Shepherd and Saunders from joining her club as a state champion once again of 40'2.25". She went over 40 feet twice actually and Shepherd had to settle for state runner-up despite going over 40 feet once again at 40 feet even.
2009 has been a very special year so far for the girls triple jump with three having gone over 40 feet indoors. The only year prior which can boast so many girls jumping this far is in 1998 when three girls from the Northern Region (Yolanda Thompson - West Potomac, Naccole Guinn - Thomas Jefferson, Ayanna Patterson - McLean) and Aprelle Wilson of Salem all went over 40 feet during the course of the indoor season.
Almost none of the top girls in the shot put threw over their season best marks as Latona Jackson of T.C. Willams was the first finisher to exceed her seed mark coming out of the lower flight to place seventh, but the Williams household can boast two All-State throwers with Jaleesa Williams of First Colonial winning her first state title with a mark of 40'6" and sister Jessica Williams of Landstown taking fifth place (37'3").
The girls were rolling in the prelims of the 55 meter dash as Nansemond River's Tanay Chandler caught many by surprise from the first heat with her 7.01 personal best clocking to shave considerable time off her season best of 7.16. Defending 55 state champion Marlena Wesh of Landstown had the second fastest time of the prelims in 7.05, while three others ran times faster than Wesh's 7.11 win in last year's 55 meter dash finals.
The boys were not playing around either with a round to go as Nansemond River senior James Taylor (6.33) and Bethel senior Earl House (6.34) both clocked personal best times in winning their heats.
Western Branch's Jeffrey Artis has been the ultimate team player and Mr. Versatile for Western Branch with his ability to handle competing in numerous events and placing high in all, but he may have set himself up to finally enjoy some individual glory for the first time after running a personal best clocking of 7.33 in the prelims of the 55 meter hurdles. It should be a great finals race though between Artis and second fastest qualifier Vincent Brown of South Lakes (7.41) who went 7.30 last weekend in his regional meet. The time posted by Artis in the prelims ranks #12 all-time in state indoor history.
The Eastern Region girls showed their dominance in the hurdle races with seven of the top nine qualifiers including the top six overall. Landstown's Taylor Wheaton did not compete in her district or regional meet, but appeared to show no signs of race rust by clocking a personal best time of 8.10, which was significantly faster than her top competition in Chantal Luedeke of Deep Creek (8.23) and Courtni Pannell of Bethel (8.24).
The girls' pole vault was just beginning late as most of the crowd had departed for the night, so these results will come along with Saturday's events. The event started later than expected because the boys were vaulting so well as six went over 14 feet with Allen Kelly of King's Fork adding an indoor title to his outdoor title from last spring with a clearance of 15'3" to withstand a challenge from past outdoor champion Matthew Armentrout of Deep Run (2nd, 15'0").
More to come from day 1 one later including photos, videos, and interviews.
VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Championships - Day 1 Results
Previews for this weekend's state indoor championships will be posted soon. MileStat.com will be examining each event closely looking at the potential winners as well as predicting the top 8 all-state finishers.
Group AA preview girls will be posted first, followed by Group AA boys then both Group AAA previews. Expect all previews to be posted by Thursday evening.
Group AA GirlsGroup AA Boys
Group AAA Girls - Thursday evening
Group AAA Boys - Thursday late night
An in-depth preview of the boys' events for the 2009 VHSL Group AA State Indoor Championships to be held Saturday, February 28th at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center. Overview of each event as well as top 8 predictions.
The Jamestown boys look to have a slight advantage of the Region II champions from Louisa for the team title heading into the meet, while there appears to be more meet records in jeopardy for the boys than the girls. Read more...
An in-depth preview of the girls' events for the 2009 VHSL Group AA State Indoor Championships to be held Saturday, February 28th at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center. Overview of each event as well as top 8 predictions.
The Blacksburg girls could double the team score of the runner-up team thanks to events such as the 1600 meter run which they have the top four seeds in. No state meet records appear to be seriously threatened, but there are several athletes back to defend their state titles as well as others capable of winning two titles including Joanna Stevens in the 1600 and 1000, Krystal Parrish in the long jump and triple jump, Sherelle White in the 55 and 300, and Danyelle Kent-Robinson in the high jump and 55 meter hurdles. Read more...
As the VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships approach this weekend at the new Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton and the excitement builds for a showcase of the best high school track & field athletes in Virginia, so do the complaints about the logistics and any shortfalls with the new facility which was build with a first priority to basketball.
There should be a warning though for those ready to fire away with complaints about this facility, because instead of pushing the VHSL to look at another venue, you might be pushing the state association to instead think about limiting the number of athletes that can qualify for state competition or elimination of the sport altogether.
We honestly do not have many great options as far as venues and that is what it comes down. Several of the colleges in our state have nice venues, but their first priorities are not to the high school meets. There might be hope in the new facility being built in Virginia Beach which could produce great performances, hold adequate number of spectators, and be setup well to host track meets, but that facility is yet to be completed.
I'm a big proponent of progress and reform in our sport and will usually be the first to be critical of anything in the sport that holds us back from progressing to become a more popular and stronger sport, but this is an issue I'm willing to keep quiet in order for our sport to at least maintain in tough economic times when some school districts are considering cutting the sport altogether. Our championship meets have quite frankly have been held in much worse facilities and conditions. The Eastern Region Championships were held for the longest time outdoors in the freezing cold. The Central Region Championships are still held on a spikeless 145 meter track surface at the Arthur Ashe Center. The Boo Williams facility is a huge improvement for a venue when considering our past in the sport.
Would hate to see some of these hard working athletes not have an opportunity to qualify and compete in a state meet next year, because the spectators complained so much that the VHSL decided to make the meet much smaller so they no longer have to deal with the complaints. Yes there are likely going to be some inconveniences this weekend at the meet, but remember that it could get worse. The Tidewater area is fortunate that Boo Williams even considered to put an indoor track in his facility and the number of national caliber performances produced from there this season is enough to show the positive effect this facility has had on the area.
I'll make sure to get plenty of video of the events this weekend so any action you miss or couldn't see from a bad angle, it will be replayed on the site. Try to go into this weekend with a positive attitude and willing to work around anything that does not meet your standards. Survive this weekend and then we can look ahead to next year. I'm very fearful that there might be a negative result out of a bunch of angry complaints about the facility this weekend and post-meet. Lets thank the people first that are going to work hard to make this meet happen and then give any constructive criticism in an amiable rather than hostile way. Remember that this event should be for the athletes first and not the spectators and coaches. Be careful what you wish for...
Scoring the upcoming VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Championships based off the performance list. Top 3 schools on paper appear to be Landstown, Bethel, and Grassfield for girls and Western Branch, Albemarle, and Nansemond River for boys.
Scoring the upcoming VHSL Group AA State Indoor Championships based off the performance list. On paper, it appears that Jamestown and Louisa County could be battling it out till the end of the meet for the boys' team title, while Blacksburg could be a runaway winners by a wide margin for girls.
Several scratches of the top entrants left Trinity's Barbara Strehler out in front in the girls' mile run at the Eastern States Championships on Tuesday night at the New York Armory to make her pursuit of a sub 5 mile tougher. In her final race of the year since she plays lacrosse in the spring, Strehler had to push the pace on her own and represented the state well to lead wire-to-wire in a 5:01.54 victory, which converts to a sub 5 minute 1600 meter time. Her next competitive race will not be until she is running for the University of Virginia next fall.
The St. Christopher's boys also competed in New York as it was their first meet this season outside of their own indoor track facility. The private school state track champions turned in solid times in relays with a 1:31.74 in the 4x200, 3:28.28 in the 4x400, and 8:08.95 in the 4x800. St. Christopher's senior Alex James also had a good mark in the shot put of 54'7" for his third straight meet with a throw over 54 feet.
While we are preparing for our in-depth coverage of this weekend's indoor state championships being held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex and Liberty Univerity's Tolsma Track Center, we are also gearing up and refueling for the outdoor season.
Working on making the site's outdoor calendar as complete as possible. Send in your meet schedule and meet directors email information you would like posted for your outdoor meets to post. Meet dates and informatin can be emailed to milestat@gmail.com.
Also a good time to trump up MileSplit's online registration system, which is at a very affordable rate at 10 cents per athlete entered (5 cents goes to support MileStat.com). Especially with the option to verify seed times with performances only from the database, many championship meets should consider the entry system. It is my dream that eventually one day in Virginia we eventually go paperless away from verification system and can use the internet and this site's database to make the verification process much easier for both coaches and meet directors. There are many great features with the entry system which meet directors will certainly find to make their jobs much easier and efficient.
Two important dates for coaches to consider to put on their team's schedule this spring with MileStat.com hosting two track invitationals this spring at Sports Backers Stadium in the first annual MileStat.com Elite Track Classic on Saturday, April 25th and the fourth annual MileStat.com Elite Track Gala on Saturday, June 6th. The Gala is an elite post-season meet which has produced many US top 10 performances over the past few years and drawn many athletes from outside of Virginia, while the track invite on April 25th is setup to allow coaches to enter more athletes than their usual invitational lineup for a more inclusive event and cater to team's strengths.
Good luck this weekend at the state meet and expect MileStat.com to continue to improve its coverage this spring!
Barbara Strehler, the state leader in the 3200 meter run (10:58.42) and private school state champion two weeks ago in the 1600 and 1000 meter run, will be concluding her indoor season tonight in pursuit of a sub 5 mile at the Eastern State Championships held at the New York Armory. Strehler (pictured left by John Herzog), a senior at Trinity Episcopal in Richmond, will be not be competing in outdoor track for the second year in a row since she competes in lacrosse in the spring. This will be Strehler's last year of lacrosse though as she heads to UVA next fall on a scholarship for cross country and track.
She will be in a loaded race with several top distance runners from the state of New York and New Jersey as her personal best time of 5:03 two weeks ago at the VISAA State Championships ranks her as the 8th seed in the 1600 meter run tonight at 9:30 PM. Strehler ran a personal best time in the 1000 this past weekend at the Prep League/LIS Championships in 2:57 at St. Christopher's. Strehler's race can be watched live online as the meet is being webcast live on ArmoryTrack.com at the following link:
http://ny.milesplit.us/meets/40868/live
Photos by John Herzog
The Atlee boys won the Central Region title thanks to a selfless effort by Ben Dejarnette in the 3200 meter run to help pull along his teammates Andrew Catanese and Andy Hesse to top 6 finishes to advance onto the state meet as well as make a late surge of points to allow the Raiders to hold off Douglas Freeman for the team title. Dejarnette also anchored home a 4x800 meter relay on Friday.
With Erica Dobbs in the distance events and Briana Hudson in the jumps, the Deep Run girls were able to successfully defend their Central Region title with a 15 point margin between themselves and Capital District champions Lee-Davis (80 pts) with a final score of 95 points. Read more...Central Region Championships Complete ResultsCentral Region Championships Photo Gallery by John Herzog
Race videos coming!
Photo by Ted Plunkett
The South Lakes boys with 59 1/2 points claimed the Northern Region Championships thanks to virtually a one man show from Vincent Brown. Brown won four individual titles in the 55 meter hurdles (7.30), 55 meter dash (6.48), 300 meter dash (36.32), long jump (21'9.25"), and placed higher than expected with a third place finish in the high jump. Brown's 7.30 clocking in the 55 meter hurdles moves him to the top of the state leaderboard and ranks him #3 in the country.
Chantilly senior Wesley Sun was the lone athlete to set a regional meet record with his 15 feet clearance in the pole vault and set himself up to be the top challenger for Allen Kelly of King's Fork at the state meet. Sun along with 3200 winner Chris Foley (9:30.84) and sophomore 500 champion Mohammed Labor-Karoma (1:06.77) helped Chantilly to a third place finish with 50 points.
In between South Lakes and Chantilly was the National District champions Thomas Edison. Leoule Degfae made his return from injury for a runner-up finish to Robinson's Jared Berman (4:18.93) in the 1600, but was upstaged by his brother Tihut Degfae who won the 1000 meter run in a personal best time of 2:30.10.
Photo by Ted Plunkett
The return of freshmen Genamarie McCant from an ankle injury suffered at Virginia Tech boosted the James Robinson girls to their first regional track title in 22 years. McCant won her first two of likely many future regional championships in the 500 meter dash (1:14.49) and 300 meter dash (40.93) and also anchored Robinson's first place 4x400 meter relay.
The Herndon girls were team runners-up with 55 points as the 3200 meter run went very well for the Hornets with Hiruni Wijayaratne winning in a Group AAA best time of 11:05.08 and teammate Carolyn Hennessey following in for second place at 11:14.17.
T.C. Williams senior and defending state long jump champion Tynita Butts tuned up for the state meet by winning three individual titles at the Northern Region Championships in the long jump (19'4"), high jump (5'6"), and 55 meter dash (7.25).
Northern Region Championships Complete ResultsNorthern Region Championships Photo Gallery by Ted Plunkett
The boys' team from Albemarle this weekend continued their hot season crushing their opponents by nearly tripling the point total of 2nd place Mountain View. Pulling down 123 points to Mountain View's 46 points, the Patriots from Albemarle looks to be ready for their toughest competition of the year next week as they will attempt to win the overall AAA state title. Led by seniors Zachary Vrhovac, Garrett Bradley, and Luke Noble with strong help by juniors Anthony Kostelac and Jordan Hill, the Patriots seemed invincible.
The Osbourn Park girls' team made it one step closer to winning all three of the running regional titles this year as they added a regional indoor title to their cross country title from the fall. Much closer than the boys' competition, the girls' competition was decided by only 12 points as Osbourn Park (65) was followed by Colonial Forge (53). The team was helped out tremendously by two first place finishes in the relays. Osbourn Park took 1st in the 4x400 meter relay as well as the 4x200 meter relay, both of these along with a 3rd place finish and state qualifier in the 4x800 relay. Read more...Northwest Region Indoor Championships Complete Results
Videos from Northwest Region Meet found on meet page
Complete results from the Eastern Region Championships are now posted and the performances from the meet are now entered in the database. The Western Branch boys and girls made it a sweep of the Eastern Region team titles.
Eastern Region Championships - Complete Results
Eastern Region coaches please enter your state meet entries in the online entry system through the following link. Remember that entries close at 10:00 AM on Sunday, February 22nd.
Eastern Region Coaches - State Meet Entries Link
After the first day of events, Deep Run leads the team competition on both sides with the Deep Run girls out in front with their 4x800 meter relay victory and Briana Hudson picking up 16 points between a first place finish in the high jump and third place finish in the triple jump. Despite missing their top hurdler Brad Carnahan due to illness, Deep Run boys are leading after Friday's events with strong performances out of the field events with Matthew Armentrout winning the pole vault and Thomas Fuson taking runner-up in the shot put. The Atlee boys appear to be in strong position though for day two after a 4x800 meter relay victory anchored by Ben Dejarnette.
The shot put was won by Clover Hill senior Anthony Davis (pictured above by Anthony Davis) with a personal best throw of 52'6.50" and is the first regional champion track athlete for Coach Miles at Clover Hill aka "MileStat". More to come from the Central Region Championships including photos from John Herzog and videos from Brandon Miles.
Central Region Championships - Day 1 ResultsCentral Region Championships Photo Gallery by John Herzog
The Eastern Region & Central Region will both be hosting their regional championship meets over the next two days with the Eastern Region at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton and the Central Region at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond.
The Eastern Region Championships will be a great preview for next weekend's AAA State Championships with many of the same teams, relays, and individuals who will be in contention for state crowns facing off this weekend. Many indoor state championships on the East Coast are not as competitive and have as much as talent which will be showcased by the Eastern Region this weekend.
The two-time defending state indoor champions Western Branch boys will be heavy favorites to repeat led by Oklahoma bound Jeffrey Artis in the triple jump and 55 meter hurdles. The Landstown girls also have a Oklahoma recruit who will be looking to lead them not only to a regional title this weekend but successful defense of their state title from a year ago in sprinter Marlena Wesh as defending 55 and 300 state champion will be featured in both events as well as likely one relay for Landstown.
A regional title and repeat state title will not be easy for Landstown as their region presents many of their toughest challengers with Bethel and Grassfield in particular as formidable opponents. A youthful Bethel squad has the state's fastest 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays and state title contender in the hurdles with Courtni Pannell. Grassfield has two of Virginia's best on their roster with US leader Karimah Shepherd in the long jump and triple jump and defending 800 meter state champion Amanda Smith.
At the Central Region Championships, Deep Run is capable of sweeping both team titles if they are not snake bitten once again by disqualifications as was case last weekend for them at last weekend's district meet with their boys 4x800 and girls 4x200 being disqualified. With a deep distance crew and a past state champion in the jumps in Briana Hudson, Deep Run will be the favorites with Capital District champions Lee-Davis, Dominion District champions Manchester, and Central District champions Prince George as their top challengers.
The Deep Run boys were defeated by Douglas Freeman for the district title, but could easily come back and reverse the order this weekend agains the defending regional champions as they will be led by pole vault favorite Matthew Armentrout and hurdles favorite Brad Carnahan. Atlee and Lee-Davis from the Capital District both figure to both be within striking distance led by their two distance stars in Ben Dejarnette and Cody Snyder. Atlee also has the top seeds in the triple jump (Isaiah Woodson) and 500 meter dash (Marques Atkinson)
Several past state champions will be competing in the Ashe Center including the Dejarnette twins, Ben in the 3200 and Emma in the pole vault, Paige Johnston in the 1000, Jasia Richardson and Briana Hudson in the triple jump (high jump for Hudson as well), and Armentrout in the pole vault.
Eastern Region Championships Performance ListCentral Region Championships Performance List
The Jamestown boys put on an impressive team performance at Thursday's Region I Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex garnering 118 points through sweeping all 3 relay races as well as having a total of five different individual regional champions. Individual winners for the Eagles include Nick Durante in the pole vault (14'0"), Greg Farrell in the 300 meter dash (36.95), Russell Hornsby in the 1000 meter run (2:37.89), Colin Mearns in the 1600 meter run (4:19.97), and Andrew Colley in the 3200 meter run (9:28.84).
The Courtland girls also looked to their relays to lead the way to another Region I title with victories in the 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays as well as a 1-2 finish in the 500 meter dash from Jaime Lott (1:19.85) and Nya Johnson (1:21.92). Courtland's time in the 4x400 meter relay of 4:09.88 is the fastest performance so far in Group AA this season. The Battlefield District champions finished 26 points ahead of runner-up Lafayette (60 pts) with a team score of 86 points.
There were also impressive double winner performances from Krystal Peterson of Park View in the long jump and triple jump, Sherelle White of York in the 55 meter dash and 300 meter dash, Heidi Peterson of Lafayette in the 1600 and 1000 meter run, and D'Angelo Scales of Lafayette in the triple jump and 55 meter hurdles.
Region I Indoor T&F Championships Complete ResultsAdd your photos from the Region I Meet
The South Lakes boys and Robinson girls will assume the roles as favorites for the team championships at the 2009 Northern Region Track and Field Championships to be held at the George Mason University Fieldhouse on Saturday, February 21.
The South Lakes boys, winners of the Liberty District title two weeks ago, are led Vincent Brown (pictured left by John Herzog). The Seahawks senior posted region leading times at his district meet in the 55 dash (6.42 seconds), long jump (22 feet, 1.5 inches) and also in the 55 hurdles at 7.46 where he is the defending champion in that event and the lone returning champion in a boys individual event.
The Robinson girls finished as the runnersup at the Concorde District meet but should be in a position to move up to a first place finish at the regional level, especially with the return of freshman Genamarie McCant.
Tyler Stutzman may have not had the performance that he wanted on a short banked track for the Millrose Games high school mile, despite making a valiant effort to push the pace and lead after a slow first half of the race. However, the Western Albemarle senior's performance on Wednesday at the Region II Indoor Track & Field Championships on another short track at the unbanked 160 meter track at Fork Union's Estes Athletic Center showed his true potential by shattering the facility record for the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:14.33 on the 10 laps to a mile track. The previous best times at the Estes Center were 4:17 by Axel Mostrag and 4:19 by Seneca Lassiter to put Stutzman's performance in historical perspective. The Stanford University signee nearly ran a personal best time on the short track as his all-time best of 4:14.20 was recorded last outdoor season at the Dogwood Track Classic. Stutzman was able to find the energy to come back and compete in the 1000 meter run as he added another regional title with a 2:37.47 win. Read More...Region II Indoor T&F Championships Complete Results
With US leader and defending AAA state triple jump champion David Wilson opting not to compete in the triple jump at the regional meet, the door is open for Albemarle junior Jordan Hill to potentially win all three jumping events as a top seed in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Hill will also be featured in what expects to be a great battle at 300 meters with two-time 300 meter hurdles state champion Damien Thigpen of Stonewall Jackson. (Photo by Ted Plunkett)
The Northwest Region Championships will feature one squad in the Osbourn Park girls who suffered major losses due to graduation and transfers, but still finds itself in position to win yet another regional title albeit not as dominant as recent years. Meanwhile, the Albemarle boys are certainly not limping in Friday's regional meet at Liberty University and are hitting on all cylinders with one of the state's most loaded squads with their talented 4x800 relay members and jumper Jordan Hill. Read more...
Performance list for the 2009 Central Region Indoor Championships to be held Friday & Saturday, February 20th & 21st at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond.
While indoor track might be disappearing from several parts of the state including Fairfax and Spotsylvania County due to budget cuts, there seems to a boom for indoor track in the area which has been the hot bed for high school talent for years in the Hampton Roads area. For years, the area competed in the indoor track season without an actual indoor facility until Christopher Newport University built a 200 meter indoor track in the early part of this past decade.
Now there is the potential for several quality indoor track facilities to go along with CNU and the addition this year of the Boo Williams Sportsplex, which will host the 2009 VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Championships. NFL cornerback Dre Bly, a native of the Hampton Roads area, has spearheaded an effort to build a sportsplex in Virginia Beach which would feature a 200 meter banked indoor track. Also playing a role in the making the dream of a 200 meter banked indoor track become a reality are Portsmouth native and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Lashawn Merritt and his coach Dwayne Miller, who will head the track program at DLH Sports Complex.
The Virginian Pilot Article on the facility
A list of automatic qualifiers so far for the 2009 VHSL Group AA State Indoor T&F Championships. Individuals can still qualify through a top 6 finish and relays through a top 3 finish at their regional championships or reaching an automatic state qualifier at the regionals.
A list of automatic qualifiers so far for the 2009 VHSL Group AAA State Indoor T&F Championships. Individuals can still qualify through a top 6 finish and relays through a top 3 finish at their regional championships or reaching an automatic state qualifier at the regionals.
Orange County sophomore Ashontae Jackson (pictured above by Ashontae Jackson) is quite a talent and capable of dominating the Region II Championships as a favorite to win three individual titles. Jackson is a top seed in the long jump (17'4.25"), 55 meter dash (7.37), and 300 meter dash (40.92). She will be a heavy favorite in all her events as the 300 meter dash has no other athlete other than Jackson under 43 seconds this season.
The Louisa County boys and girls are in great position to make a sweep of the Region II team titles on Wednesday at Fork Union's Estes Athletic Center. The Louisa girls should have a much closer competition with Jefferson District rival Western Albemarle and defending Region II champions Brentsville, while the Louisa boys should be runaway winners in a meet which should be dominated by the Jefferson District schools in the team standings. Read more...
Mearns vs. Gunnerson in the 1600
Photos by Ted Plunkett
The Bay Rivers District champions from Jamestown will be the overwhelming favorites to win the team title at the Region I Indoor Championships on Thursday in Hampton. The Eagles will rely on their deep distance crew, which won a state cross country this past fall. However, Jamestown is not a strong track team due to their distance runners alone as they possess some of the region and Group AA's best in the sprints and field events. Nick Durante is one of Group AA's best in the pole vault, while Greg Farrell is an All-State caliber athlete in the sprints at 300 meters.
Courtland expects to follow up their Battlefield District title with a succesful defense of their regional title from a year ago. The Lott sisters, Jaime and Jaquonna, with the help of their teammates are capable of pushing Courtland's team score over 100 points and out of reach of any challenging squad in Region I. The Lott sisters will score in multiple events with the best chances of individual regional titles for Jaime in the 500 meter dash (1:20.48) and for Jaquonna in the triple jump (35'0") as top seeds in those events. Read more...
The Blacksburg boys joined the Albemarle boys as the only other 4x800 meter relay in Virginia to break 8 minutes this season and possibly are the first Group AA school to ever dip under the time indoors ever. The team of Brian Hencke, Matt Howard, George Carter, and Quinn Hill ran a US #12 time of 7:58.95 at the Region IV Championships held Saturday at Virginia Tech. It was a solo effort for the relay with 50 seconds to spare on the runner-up team.
Three of the four relay members came back to win individual regional titles with Hencke in the 1000, Carter in the 1600, and Howard in the 3200 while Hull was a runner-up in the 500. Blacksburg decisively won both team titles with the boys' team tallying 142.50 points and the girls' team scoring 137 points. Joanna Stevens led the Blacksburg girls with a sub 5 PR effort in the 1600 at a US #18 4:58.94, while running under 3 minutes for the third tme this season in the 1000 for a fine double in 2:59.18.
Region IV Championships Results
With all of the state's indoor district championships now completed with results and performances entered in the database, regional team rankings can be generated heading into next week for the 8 regional indoor championships.
Group AAA
Central Region: Deep Run boys & Deep Run girls
Eastern Region: Western Branch boys & Landstown girls
Northern Region: Thomas Edison boys & James Robinson girls
Northwest Region: Albemarle boys & Osbourn Park girls
Group AA
Region I: Jamestown boys & Courtland girls
Region II: Louisa County boys & Louisa County girls
Region III: Harrisonburg boys & Brookville girls
Region IV: Blacksburg boys & Blacksburg girls
The Fork Union boys tried to keep pace, but St. Christopher's School showed itself as the superior team in the private school ranks by winning the VISAA State Indoor Championships with 145 points. Fork Union still has its streak of Prep League titles and VISAA State Outdoor titles alive, but those streaks will be in danger with a formidable and well-rounded squad found at St. Christopher's.
Norfolk Academy girls did not have a lot of first place finishes with only Rebecca Karp in the pole vault and their 4x400 meter relay closing out the meet with a season best 4:10.19 win, but several strong individual performers contributed considerable points to help Norfolk Academy to the state title with 113 points including Michelle Sutherland as a runner-up twice to Nefertiti Smith in the 55 meter hurdles and high jump. Read more...
Performance list for the 2009 VISAA State Indoor Championships to be held Saturday, February 14th at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, VA.
Morning/Afternoon Sections of 3200
It looks like this week will be a great week of warm weather for those district championships which have to be held outdoors to produce some strong performances. The Northwest Region's Commonwealth and Cedar Run District Championships held on Monday proved just that as Anthony Kostelac of Albemarle (at the Commonwealth District Meet) and Kayla Tyrell of Osbourn Park (at the Cedar Run District Meet) ran faster the current national leading indoor times in the 500 meter dash, but cannot count as US #1's since the performances came outdoors.
The Cardinal District followed up on Tuesday with a big mark in the shot put by Woodbridge sophomore Isaiah Simmons (pictured right by John Herzog) as he threw for a personal best mark of 55'8" to establish himself as the state leader and great hope for the state of Virginia in a down year so far for the throws.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Region is a year removed from having to contest all of their district and regional championships outdoors in cold temperatures, but now all of their championship meets indoors at the new Boo Williams Sportsplex. Region I's Bay Rivers District was held on Monday at Boo Williams and the facility is booked for the rest of the week with the Peninsula District on Tuesday, Southeastern District on Wednesday, Eastern District on Thursday, and Beach District on Friday. Expect many fast and national caliber performances in particular from the sprints and hurdles out of the Eastern Region athletes at Boo Williams this week.
The short end of the straw this week with temperatures predicted over 70 degrees on some days this week in the state will belong to the Central Region competing in the spikeless 145 meter indoor track at the Arthur Ashe Center.
Also indoor championship season comes along at a time, which some counties could be enjoying one of their final indoor seasons ever as now two school counties in Fairfax and Spotsylvania are seriously considering cutting indoor track due to budget shortfalls.
District Meet Performance Lists:
Blue Ridge DistrictCapital DistrictCentral DistrictDominion DistrictSoutheastern District
Upload your photos from your district meet through the "Add Your Photos" link on the meet page of your district meet.
In New York, Paige Johnston and David Gunnerson held their own in the 1000 meter run at the New Balance Collegiate Invite. Johnston, finished fourth in the race in her second fastest time ever in the event at 2:51.85. Gunnerson placed sixth in the state's second fastest 1000 meter time at 2:30.15.
At the USATF Cross Country Championships in Maryland, Thomas Porter (pictured right by Tim O'Dowd of IrishRunner.com for MileSplit.US) was the second highest high school finisher in the junior men's 8K race with 15th place finishing time of 25:24. Griff Graves (10th, 24:55), formerly of Abingdon High School and now a freshmen at Syracuse University, was the top Virginian native finisher with his second top 10 finish at the USATF Cross Country Nationals in as many years. Other top finishers from Virgina included: Kyle Satterwhite (23rd, 25:41), Joe Lorusso (26th, 25:47), Tim Smith (37th, 26:26), and Ben Dejarnette (42nd, 26:43).
Satterwhite's teammate, Tyler Stutzman, posted a state leading 1000 meter time on Friday at Woodberry Forest in 2:29.78.
Plenty of district championships have already been completed this past week, but the large bulk of them will be contested this upcoming week.
List of Virginians competing at the USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, February 7th at the Agricultural Historical Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland. A total of three Foot Locker finalists from Virginia are competing in the race with current high school seniors Thomas Porter of Mountain View and Kyle Satterwhite of Western Albemarle as well as current college freshmen at Syracuse, Griff Graves (formerly of Abingdon High School). Also in the race are two AAA state indoor champions from last year in Atlee senior Ben Dejarnette and Villanova freshmen Joe Lorusso (formerly of Oakton High School).
Graves ran well in last year's junior men 8K race with a top 10 finish, while Porter (pictured right by Margot Kelly) put himself on the national map with his third place finish at the Foot Locker Nationals in December. Race favorites include high school national record holder German Fernandez (now at Oklahoma State), who recently ran a 3:56 mile indoors and Chris Derrick (now at Stanford), who ran one of the fastest prep 5K times ever last spring at Arcadia, but Virginia could potentially have its first qualifier in years for the World Cross Country Championships with Porter leading the way.
A much smaller representation from the Virginia girls in comparison for the junior women's 6K race with only Trinity's Barbara Strehler, Thomas Jefferson's Sarah Stites and Brentsville's Allison Bartels. The race will have plenty of national stars including two of the best from this fall's Foot Locker finals in Ashley Brasovan of Florida and Allie McLaughlin of Colorado as well as many of the top college freshmen across the country.
Strehler (pictured left by John Herzog) is coming off an outstanding distance double last weekend at the St. Christopher's Invite in which she broke 11 minutes for the first time for 3200 meters at 10:58 and came back to win the 1600 in the next day in a time of 5:06. Strehler was only a few places away from a Foot Locker Nationals berth in the fall with a 14th place finish in the seeded race at Foot Locker South.
A big step up for Stites as only a high school freshmen to run with the older girls though she was one of the state's best young stars in cross country capped off with an All-American finish at the USATF National Junior Olympics held at Pole Green Park.
USA XC Championships - Junior Division Entry List
Photo by John Herzog
Two Virginians will be competing in Friday's junior 1000 meter races at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held at the New York Armory. David Gunnerson of Grafton, one of the top ranked runners in Group AA in the event, will be competing at the Armory for the first time in a field which includes the current national leader at 800 meters (Sadiki White NJ), the Millrose mile champion (Robbie Andrews NJ), and a 2:28 1000 runner (Chris Carrington NY). Gunnerson will be aiming to be pulled along in the strong field to a time around 2:30 to 2:31.
This weekend will be Paige Johnston's second trip to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invite 1000 race. The Midlothian senior had a stellar performance in last year's race to take runner-up to Pennsylvania's Chanelle Price in a personal best time of 2:51.05, which ranks her #3 all-time in Virginia high school history. Johnston, currently ranked #4 in the US with a 2:54 performance at the Virginia Tech Invite, will be in a race which will include 3 of the top four ranked 1000 runners in the country with Claudia Francis (US #1 2:53.16) of New York and Amirah Johnson (US #3 2:54.39) of Maryland. Also in the race is New Jersey's Jillian Smith, who recently won her second straight Millrose mile.
ArmoryTrack, a MileSplit US affiliate, will be providing a live webcast of the New Balance Collegiate Invite, which will also include many past Virginia high school stars competing in the college events.
LIVE WEBCAST: NB Collegiate Invitational
The Washington-Lee girls have the first day lead with 46 points while Edison and Mount Vernon are tied for first with 39 points apiece on the boys side after the first day of the National District championship meet held at Episcopal High on Tuesday, February 3.
It's the Herndon girls and Robinson boys with narrow leads after day one of the Concorde District Championships held at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex on Friday, January 30. After the conclusion of seven of the 15 events, the Herndon girls have 54 points with one of the highlights, a win in the 3,200 run by senior Hiruni Wijayaratne in 11:08.63. The Robinson boys currently sit in first place with 56 points. The Rams posted one victory by senior Fabian Bailey in the long jump (20-5.25) and also received runnerup spots from senior Joey Esposito in the shot put (46-10.5) and junior Ryan Tarpey in the 55 dash (6.69).
The South Lakes boys and Marshall girls squads hold a slight edge in the team scoring after the first day of the Liberty District championships held at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, MD on Thursday, January 29.
Photos by John Herzog
Tuesday evening at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton for the Southeastern District Quad Meet, Grassfield's Karimah Shepherd and Nansemond River's James Taylor posted incredible marks in the jumping events. Shepherd, the current national leader in the long jump and triple jump, improved her best in the triple with her fourth 40+ foot performance of the season in a VA #6 all-time mark of 41'2.50". Taylor, ranked #2 in the 300 meter dash and #3 in the 500 meter dash nationally, moved up in the national rankings with his performance Tuesday in the long jump with a personal best mark of 24'8" to rank him second in the nation only behind Marquis Goodwin from Texas (24'11"). Historically, Taylor's performance ranks him #8 all-time in Virginia high school indoor history.
Southeastern District Quad Meet #2 Results
High School teammates now, but next year Grassfield's Karimah Shepherd and Curtis Campbell will be competing at fierce ACC rival schools with Shepherd headed to NC State and Campbell to UNC. Shepherd, one of the nation's top jumpers, and Campbell, one of the state's top sprinters, held a joint college signing session at Grassfield High School yesterday.
Send in your signing announcements and pics to MileStat.com at milestat@gmail.com. Tomorrow (February 4th) is the first day of the time period which high school athletes can sign their national letters of intent with their future colleges and universities.
Full list of college signings reportedCollege Signing Photo Gallery
Here are some of the big names who have verbally committed so far:
Boys Distance/Mid-Distance
Tyler Stutzman (Western Albemarle) - Stanford
Bobby Peavey (Kellam) - Georgetown
Zachary Vrhovac (Albemarle) - University of Virginia
Ben Veilleux (Clarke County) - Columbia University
Drew Hall (William Byrd) - Radford University
Girls Distance/Mid-Distance
Paige Johnston (Midlothian) - University of Arkansas
Stacey Nobles (Ocean Lakes) - James Madison University
Barbara Strehler (Trinity) - University of Virginia
Hiruni Wijayaratne (Herndon) - University of Kentucky
Megan Fitzpatrick (Bishop O'Connell) - College of William & Mary
Girls Sprints/Hurdles
Marlena Wesh (Landstown) - University of Oklahoma
Natalie Woodford (Patrick Henry) - Virginia Tech
Yvonne Amegashie (Potomac Senior) - Virginia Tech
Boys Sprints/Hurdles
James Taylor (Nansemond River) - Norfolk State University
Curtis Campbell (Grassfield) - University of North Carolina
Reynaldo Radlin (North Stafford) - University of North Carolina
Girls Field Events
Karimah Shepherd (Grassfield) - NC State
Kate Collins (Nelson County) - VMI
Jasia Richardson (J.R. Tucker) - Radford University
Shelley Parker (Brookville) - Liberty University
Elaine Derricott (Henrico) - Radford University
Boys Field Events
Allen Kelly (King's Fork) - Virginia Military Institute
Performance list for the 2009 Massanutten District Indoor T&F Championships to be held February 4th & 7th at EMU's University Commons in Harrisonburg, VA.
Performance list for the Southside District Indoor T&F Championships to be held Saturday, February 7th at Greensville County High School in Emporia, VA.
