The Cave Springs girl squad was able to outdistance themselves from the 2A indoor state champions Jefferson Forest with great performances from their relay squads, in particular, their 4x400 and 4x800 squads who winners in both of their events.
The Jefferson Forest girls were competing without their star sprinter/jumper, Ebony Foster, but were almost able to pull off the win through adversity with Shannon and Kristin Saunders, best sibling distance combo in the state. Shannon finished first in both the 1600m and 3200m races, while Kristin finishing second in both.
The Albemarle boys were victorious with 77 points as the got solid contributions from hurdler Zach Drozda. Drozda was a winner in both the 110m and 300m hurdles.
Finishing second was William Campbell who had an individual winner in the shot put in 2A Indoor State champ, Roy Hubbard.
There were some very quick early season times out of the sprint events. William Fleming's Orren Prunty clocked a 10.81 in the prelims as he went onto win the 100m dash. He finished second in the 200m dash to Derrick Harvey of Appomattox who was timed at 22.41. Harvey also went onto win the 400m dash in a blazing time of 50.78.
TJ Tamagni was a double event winner, but in a strange combination, the 800m run and the long jump. Normally you don't expect to see an uncoordinated distance runner speeding down the runways and leaping into the sand pit. You also rarely ever see a horizontal jumper see if he can run the two lapper, unless he wants to be recessitated shortly thereafter. However, the Lord Botetourt track athlete is able to break down this stereotypes with his incredible versatility. An All-State 800m runner in outdoor last year, Tamagni ran a 2:04.94 at Libert to easily win his race. He then went to leap to a distance of 21'10.50" to win the long jump as well.
If the Liberty Invitational is any indication of what the outdoor track season will bring, then this year will be truly a season to remember in outdoor track.