Coach Elder gives his Charlottesville girls a big hug after winning the AA team championship. (Photo by David Fleenor) Many championships are won by shear talent. Other titles are won by a little luck of the draw. Charlottesville won the Group AA girls indoor track team title this past Saturday at Liberty University off of perseverance. The fighting attitude exhibited by the Charlottesville girls in refusing to accept Blacksburg as a runaway team champion started well before the start of events on Saturday. Their head coach in Curtis Elder was on his death bed last year, but refused to give up. Their star athlete Rashawnda James has been dealt a rough family life and now is in foster care, but has refused to make herself a victim of her situation. Both were made to be champions. Feature story on Ethan Nixon & the Brookville bees to come!
Coverage
Ethan Nixon nearly won the state meet by himself with 31 points individually from the Brookville junior with a meet record and successful defense of his 55 meter hurdle state title, two state runner-up finishes in the high jump (6'5") and long jump (21'8.75") as well as fourth place finish in the triple jump (44'5.50"). However, Brookville received 14 1/2 points from other Bees to put them clear ahead of a traffic jam among the top 5 teams with Jameston (2nd, 35 pts), Harrisonburg (3rd, 34.5 pts), Blacksburg (4th, 33 pts), and Caroline (5th, 31 pts). (Photo by David Fleenor) Charlottesville girls went from second in their region to first in the state as the upset defending champs and pre-meet favorite Blacksburg (2nd, 58.5 pts) with a grand total of 66 points. The big day for the Lady Black Knights was largely contributed by a huge day from Rashawnda James who won two state titles in the long jump (18'0.75") and triple jump (37'0"), while finishing second in the 55 (7.34) and 300 (41.74) meter dashes. (Photo by David Fleenor) AA State Meet Photo Gallery by David Fleenor - Over 1200 photos posted.Feature Story on Ethan Nixon & Brookville boys - To comeFeature Story on Rashawnda James & Charlottesville girls - To come
Plenty of photos will be uploaded to MileStat.com from both the VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships at George Mason University as well as the VHSL Group AA State Indoor Track & Field Championships at Liberty University. If you have not subscribed to MileStat.com, you are encouraged to do so now as you will be able to view a large abundance of great photos from this weekend's state meets from John Herzog, David Fleenor, and Ted Plunkett. VHSL Group AAA State Meet Photo Gallery by John Herzog - Photos still being added. VHSL Group AAA State Meet Photo Gallery by Ted Plunkett - Photos still being added. VHSL Group AA State Meet Photo Gallery by David Fleenor - Photos still being added.
Photos taken by David Fleenor from the 2007 VHSL Group AA State Indoor Track & Field Championships held at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg, Virginia on Saturday, March 3rd.
MileStat.com's Brandon Miles predicts the Blacksburg girls to win big for the second year in a row and Charlottesville to take second again. Top three predictions for all running and field events included.
Northside senior Catherine White will be looking to keep pace with Sarah Bowman's record total of 15 state championships with #11 and #12 this weekend at the Group AA State Championships as the returning state champion and meet record holder for 1600 meters and 3200 meters will be looking to repeat in the distance double again at Liberty University. Meanwhile, the defending state team champion Blacksburg girls will be setting a pace that no team in Group AA may come close to keeping up with as they could potential double the score of the second place team on Saturday. Pictured to the right: The 2006 Blackburg girls were all smiles after winning the AA State Indoor team title and are likely to continue their state of happiness on Saturday as the heavy favorites to repeat as state champions and set themselves up for AA state title trifecta in outdoors after winning the cross country title this past fall. (Photo by Prince Williams)
MileStat.com's Brandon Miles predicts the Ethan Nixon-led Brookville squad to win the team title with Harrisonburg taking a close second. Top three predictions for all running and field events included.
Four individual state champions return among the AA boys making certain there will be at least eight new individual state titlists for this Saturday's Group AA State Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center. Last year, only half of a point separated Heritage of Lynchburg from Appomattox Country for a state team championship and this year's fight for the team trophy should be even closer with roughly half a dozen squads in the running. Photo to left: Brookville jr Ethan Nixon hopes to not only flash a #1 in a defense of his state title in the 55 meter hurdles, but also help his squad to state championship competing in all three jumping events.
Performance list for the 2007 VHSL Group AA State Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held Saturday, February 3rd at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg, Virginia. MileStat.com will be on-site with photo coverage from David Fleenor.