Photos by Jon Fleming & Andrew Kicinski
The Group AA boys' race for the team title was everything that you could ask for. It all came down to the most exciting race of a track meet in the final event of every meet in 4x400 meter relay. Blacksburg, Lafayette, and Brunswick were all in contention for first place and were loading up strong relays to go for it. Blacksburg held the lead going into the last race of the day with 51 points, while Lafayette (48 pts) and Brunswick (48) were tied for second place.
Blacksburg had accumulated much of its points from its distance program, which was coming off a succesful fall in winning another state cross country title and finishing strong with a Nike Cross Nationals berth and top 10 finish in Oregon for the national race. For much of the winter, Blacksburg's top distance runner Nick Link had been out with injury. Matthew Borny stepped up as the team's top performer and entered in the state meet as the top seed and one of the favorites in both the 1600 (4:18 season best) and 1000 (2:33 season best). However, Blacksburg only ended up getting 6 points out of Borny in his third place finish in the 1600 (4:24.82) and nothing from him doubling back in the 1000. It was the return of Link who carried their distance crew once again as this past fall's Group AA state cross country champion was a runner-up in the 1600 meter run (4:24.54) and scored later in the 3200 meter run (6th, 9:47) with teammate Noah Combs (5th, 9:42).
The 1600 and 3200 meter run saw an identical runner cross the line first before any other in Western Albemarle senior David Taylor. Taylor was an upset state champion last year in the 1600 meter run, but his double victory this year was not much of a surprise after a strong indoor campaign which included a big 3200 meter win at the Virginia Tech Invitational and rolling out some fast times on the short Estes Athletic Center 160 meter track at the Region II Championships (4:27 1600/2:35 1000 double). In the 1600 meter run, Taylor had to contend with the Blacksburg tandem of Link and Borny before dispatching of them with the strongest kick in a season best victory of 4:22. In the 3200 meter run, Taylor (1st, 9:28) had to fight off a Lafayette duo of Kurtis Steck (2nd, 9:30) and Jason Menzies (3rd, 9:31) to claim the 3200 state title. Steck and Menzies gave Lafayette a huge late boost of points prior to the 4x400 with their top 3 finishes to catch Brunswick and get within 3 points of Blacksburg.
With both Link and Borny being seniors and graduating this spring, Blacksburg coach James Demarco might look to sophomore Jacob McCoy as his team's next middle distance running star on the track. McCoy picked up a huge 8 points needed with Borny struggling to double back in the 1000 from the 1600. McCoy ran a personal best time of 2:35.84 as a state runner-up in the 1000 meter run to Liberty's Craig Danner. Danner had a tough choice in deciding which event to focus on for the state meet with one of the fastest times in Group AA in the 500 meter dash this season as well, but apparently chose well as picked up his first individual state title in a 2:34.34 personal best performance in the 1000. Danner showcased his athleticism by clearing 6'4" and finishing third in the high jump earlier in the meet.
One of the first running events of the meet in the 4x800 meter relay turned out to have significant ramifications later in the day in the team scoring as Blacksburg and Lafayette battled it out over 4 legs with Blacksburg ending up as the winners in a time of 8:08.51, while Lafayette was two seconds back at 8:11.12. Impressive times for both squads considering neither was their true "A" team as Blacksburg was missing the likes of Borny, while Lafayette held out their top half miler Derek Holdsworth.
Holdsworth was saved for the 500 meter dash to make sure that he repeated as state champion in the event and picked up a key 10 points for the Rams. It served him well as he got a tough race and challenge from River Ridge District runners Kenneth Hagen (3rd, 1:06.99) of Blacksburg and De'Quan Green-Cause (2nd, 1:05.53) of Christiansburg before Holdsworth was able to pull away in the final 1000 meters for a new meet record time of 1:05.06 and nearly break 1:05 for the first time. The Lafayette junior attempted to be a double champion on the day as later in the 300 meter dash. Holdsworth was not in the fast section, but put down a fast time in section 6 of 7 which would be tough to beat for the fast section entrants.
A half second PR of 35.59 put him in great position to get another state title as he was pressed by 55 meter dash champion Stephen Racanelli (3rd, 35.79) of Brookville. Racanelli had an outstanding state meet with one of the better triples on the day as he earlier bested district rival Sydney Sandidge (2nd, 6.54) in the finals of the 55 meter dash with a 6.50 personal best clocking. Racanelli then was a featured leg on Brookville's state champion 4x200 meter relay which he led off against Sandidge to help his team get the better of Amherst County and win in a school record time of 1:31.79. Sandidge ended up getting revenge on the earlier losses to Racanelli and the Brookville relay in claiming the 300 meter dash state title with a 35.20 clocking in the fast section to best the times to beat produced by Lafayette's Holdsworth and regional foe Racanelli.
Brunswick got out to an early lead on Blacksburg and Lafayette between Da'Juan Seward and Donmanique Hardy as top 3 finishers in both the long jump and triple jump. Seward was a state runner-up in both events with marks of 21'10.25" in the long jump and a season best of 46'3.50" in the triple jump, while Hardy had third place performances of 21'9.25" in the long jump and 45'1.50" in the triple jump.
Standing in the way for Seward, Hardy, and the Brunswick boys of sweeping the top two places in both horizontal jumps, which would have tilted the state team title in their favor was Smithfield senior Marquis Childress. A state runner-up in the long jump and triple jump last spring in the Group AA State Outdoor Championships in Harrisonburg, Childress was not to be denied first place again in Lynchburg this weekend as he peaked at the right time to leap to season bestmarks of 22'4" in the long jump and 47'3.25" in the triple jump to earn state titles in both events. Childress almost won a third event and nearly swept all of the jumping events as his 6'4" clearance in the high jump placed him second in the event, which was won by Sherando's Chris Smith after clearing the bar 6'6".
Brunswick's Seward was a state runner-up twice, but he also won his first of potential several state titles as only a 10th grader in the 55 meter hurdles. Seward was one of only three hurdlers under 8 seconds in the prelims at 7.76, which he lowered that time down in the finals with a 7.72 victory.
In the pole vault, it was a highly anticipated face-off between two 14 plus foot vaulters in returning indoor state champion Chance Parmly of Fluvanna County and Region II outdoor champion Grant Holmes of Fauquier. Holmes appeared ready this season to replace Parmly as the state champion, especially after clearing a personal best height of 14'7" at the Region II Meet. In the same regional meet, Parmly struggled and no heighted. Well the defending champ Parmly wiped memory clean of his regional showing by defeating Holmes and repeating as state champ with a clearance at 14'6", while Holmes could only go over at 14 feet even for second place.
The weekend was filled with shockers in the boys' shot put at both Group AA and Group AAA as neither top seed favorites won. E.C. Glass junior Matthew Zajac ranked easily ahead of the next best throwers in his classification with a 57'3.75" season best. Meanwhile, Region IV champion Anthony Bowling of Marion was the second seed entering the state meet, but not close to Zajac with a best mark of 51'8" this winter. Bowling apparently was holding out and saving something for the state championships as while Zajac (53'8.50") struggled to throw near his personal best, Bowling seized the moment to improve nearly three feet with a big clutch throw of 54 feet even.
The top four teams in the team standings were all in the fast section of the 4x400 meter relay. The race saw lead changes, critical handoffs, some bumping and contact and all the drama needed to close out the last Group AA state indoor championship meet. Christiansburg boys were able to survive the 4x400 war and come out on top in a winning time of 3:28.20. Lafayette with Holdsworth on anchor trying to chase down Christiansburg, nearly pulled out first and a potential state team title as a result in second place at 3:28.44. Brunswick, who had not scored many points in the last few running events, threw one last punch in the fight for third place at 3:28.83. Blacksburg needed to hold onto fourth place and not drop any further or potentially lose the the lead and title which they held in close grasping distance, which they accomplished in a 3:29.73 effort.
2013 VHSL Group AA State Indoor T&F Championships Coverage:
