LYNCHBURG, VA -- Footlocker South champion Aurora Scott was competing in her first indoor meet ever, while Deep Run senior Courtlin LaReau was racing for the first time at 3200 meters on the track. The outcome was a US #1 from Scott and US #3 from LaReau proving talent can override inexperience.
Liberty University gave the homeschooled Scott a rare opportunity to compete an indoor track meet and the Footlocker Nationals runner-up took full advantage in winning Friday night\'s 1600 meter run in 5:01.82 and coming back on Saturday to run the nation\'s fastest time this year for 3200 meters or two mile distance converted in 10:29.12. Not bad for someone unfamilar with the tight turns, hot air, and crowded setting of an indoor track.
Surprisingly, Scott was challenged over the halfway point from Deep Run senior Courtlin LaReau as the two runners blazed through the first 1600 meters in approximately 5:12. Scott was able to pull away in the second half of the race clocking away 40 second 200\'s to distance herself from LaReau and run the last 1600 meters in 5:17 for the win. However, LaReau still held strong in her 3200 meter debut to finish second in 10:45.86 for a US #3 time in the event.
LaReau has only been running for roughly a year after picking up track last year as a junior, but showed her clear talent in hanging onto one of the nation\'s top high school distance runners in Scott as long as she did and dragged into a fast time. However, a more evenly paced race for LaReau (5:12-5:33 1600m splits) and she can potentially run much faster. Her performance was not entirely surprising as she has really come on in her final year and first full year of high school running as this past fall was her first cross country season.
LaReau, a member of a state champion volleyball team this fall, split time between the two sports and ended up beating a lot of quality runners at the Virginia State Meet in the AAA race finishing state runner-up. She showed a hint last weekend of being able to pull off a sub 11 performance in the deuce by doubling 5:04 for 1600 meters and 3:00 for 1000 meters in a quad meet. However, looking ahead to the indoor state meet in March, Deep Run coach Lake Stockdreher is still scratching his head on what event will best suit her at George Mason University with her great times in all three distance events.
Scott was somewhat pleased with her double at Liberty University. She is still in cross country training mode as she is gearing up for the USA Cross Country Nationals to be held in Boulder, Colorado next month. She hopes to qualify for the World team and represent the USA in Kenya. Her lack of experience racing indoors and not training for track races at all gave her some degree of confidence in her fitness heading into next month\'s big race.
Last year, Scott skipped the track season almost entirely with the exception of a few summer AAU races to focus on training for this past cross country season and it showed with her Footlocker South record breaking victory and runner-up showing in San Diego for Footlocker Nationals. However, she is not looking to wait till next fall again to mix it up with some of the nation\'s top distance preps. She plans to compete at both Nike Indoor Nationals and Nike Outdoor Nationals and did not rule out attending US Junior Nationals either. Her focus for right now though is set entirely on Boulder, Colorado with a trip to Kenya on her mind.
Scott got a special treat following her US #1 at Liberty University in having the opportunity to meet current collegiate star runner for the Flames in Josh McDougal, who also competed as a home schooled runner in high school. It was obvious that Scott and her parents thought very highly of McDougal with not only his success as a runner, but also in appreciation of McDougal\'s similar homeschooled situation in high school and his strong Christian faith. Both McDougal and Scott\'s results and times leave no doubt that homeschooled athletes can compete on a national level in high school.
Clarence Powell made a long trip to Lynchburg with his teammates to Lynchburg as Powell is currently a senior at Marianna High School in Florida. His coach happened to be an alum of Liberty University and decided to bring his kids up to compete at almamater. Powell spearheaded the talent bunch as he had a big weekend leaping to a personal best and US #2 best mark of 48-2.50 on Friday evening. He finished out his night with another US top ten performance with a clearance of 6\'8\" in the high jump to tie with several others in the nation at US #8 position. Powell concluded his meet on Saturday by sweeping the full slate of jumping events with a 22\'00.75\" to best the field. Powell\'s previous coming into the meet were 6\'4\" in the high jump and 47\'5\" in the triple jump from the 2006 outdoor season in Florida.
The high jump turned out to be a deep event and lasted well past the final running events on Friday as Virginians Kirk Fischer of Deep Run and Ethan Nixon of Brookville both cleared 6\'6\" to round out the top three behind Powell.
The distance races were the story of the meet though as Liberty University\'s spongy 200 meter track surface at the Tolsma Track Center, named after long-time LU coach Brant Tolsma, give a bit more benefit and bounce to the distance runners over the sprinters that may prefer a slightly harder track surface. Blacksburg junior Peter Dorrell has definitely enjoyed his time at the Tolsma Track Center this year.
In December, Dorrell posted swift early season times of 4:23 for 1600 meters and 9:26 for 3200 meters at Liberty, which stood as Virginia\'s fastest times in both events for roughly a month. Fast forward to one month later for Dorrell at the Asics Invite and he is still around the Tolsma Center.
In Friday evening\'s 1600 meter run, Dorrell led from wire-to-wire and set a swift early pace in hitting 800 meters at 2:06. The Footlocker All-South performer in cross country slowed up slightly in the second half, but not too much as he finished with a five second personal best time of 4:18.55 to win by four seconds over John Vial of Hermitage (4:22.73). It was a personal best for Vial as well. Dorrell\'s time ranks as the fourth fastest time in the country on an unbanked track based off leading performances heading into this weeked including Axel Mostrag\'s 4:17.76 state best last Saturday on a 160 meter unbanked track at Fork Union.
While Dorrell\'s 1600 meter race was simply a race for time from start to finish, the 3200 meter win on Saturday turned out to be a bit more strategic with the quality field found at Liberty featuring Footlocker Nationals finalist Thomas Porter from Mountain View. Both Porter and Dorrell were found up front with a lead pack through 1600 meters at 4:47, but Dorrell showed to be more race sharp and fitter than Porter in the field in the last 1600 meters as he distanced himself for a 9:23.67 victory with a 4:36 second 1600 meters. Porter held off 1600 meter runner-up Vial (9:34.96) for second place in 9:34.81.
Blacksburg had another distance runner with an impressive double as senior Cate Berenato finished as a runner-up to Aurora Scott in Friday\'s 1600 meter run with a personal best time of 5:09.34 and then came back for Saturday\'s 1000 meter to clock another best time of 3:00.25. Berenato\'s time moves her ahead of previous Virginia state leader LaReau (3:00.76 on 1/13) to the top of the state leaderboard.
There were definitely no slouch times in the sprints as the Bethel relays proved that as the girls\' 4x200 meter relay clocked a state best of 1:45.60, while the Bethel boys closed out the meet with a state leading time of 3:27.48 to win the 4x400 meter relay. The Bethel boys earlier showed their great depth as well as Coach Eddie Williams has a \"tough dilemna\" in trying to determine their \"A\" team in the 4x200 meter relay with their \"B\" squad actually winning the event out of a slower section in 1:34.26 and their \"A\" team finishing third overall in 1:35.95
Last weekend at the CNU Showcase in Newport News, Shakia Forbes and Crystal Carrington finished 1-2 in the 55 meter dash with two of the Virginia\'s fastest three times in the event with Forbes winning in 7.19 and Carrington in second at 7.21. The Bethel girls had the same pair sweeping the top two places in the 55 meter dash at Liberty, but with a reversed place order as Carrington (7.28) finished one hundredth of a second ahead of teammate Forbes (7.29) in the finals.
Forbes, a US top five performer in the long jump, won the event on Friday evening and was not too far off her US #5 season best performance of 18\'9.50\". She leaped to a mark of 18\'7.75\" in her qualifying flight for the finals and opted to skip the finals as her best jump was a full foot ahead of the next competitor. The Seton Hall University recruit also took second in the 300 meter dash at 41.51 in her first race of the season in the event.
George Marshall senior Jacqueline Hargrove won the 300 meter dash narrowly over Forbes with a 41.48 clocking and gained her second victory of the meet on Saturday in the 500 meter dash with a bit breathing room than her first win with a 1:17.65 clocking.
Osbourn Park girls have the only 4x400 meter relay in Virginia that has ran under four minutes this season and remain the only team after this weekend, while posting their second sub four minute time with a 3:59.79 win at the Asics Invite. Expect them to past a fast time next weekend at Virginia Tech on a fast banked track as they return all members from last year\'s All-American squad at Nike Indoor Nationals.
Despite competing with a wrap on one of her shins and walking with a gimp, Brentsville\'s Danyelle Kent-Robinson was able to still beat a strong field of high jumpers with a 5\'4\" clearance. Earlier misses by Huguenot\'s Wanetta Kirby, Deep Run\'s Briana Hudson, and Osbourn Park\'s Katie Trizna gave the injured Kent-Robinson a victory with a total four competitors clearing 5\'4\" in the high jump.
Both pole vault competitions at Liberty turned out exciting performances to determine the winners as Patrick Henry\'s Annie Powell and Franklin County\'s Erin Patterson battled for first among girls, while Daniel Inge of E.C. Glass challenged 15\'3\" state leader Tim Beierle of Harrisonburg for the boys. Powell cleared 11 feet for the first time ever to win the competition over Patterson at 10\'6\". Meanwhile, Inge had Beierle on his heels after clearing 14\'6\", but Beierle came through in the clutch by clearing 15 feet for the win.
The favorites did not come through in the shot put for either boys and girls as there were surprise winners. John Pavia of Jefferson Forest had won earlier in the season over both Erik Kuster of Liberty and Justin Smith of Turner Ashby at the Tolsma Track Center. However, this time around it was Pavia finishing third in the shot put with Kuster as the winner at 53\'3.50\" and Smith in second at 51\'6.50\".
Meanwhile, the battle of the Kayla\'s with William Fleming\'s Kayla Lewis and Bethel\'s Kayla Campbell did not happen or at least for first place as both top seed throwers had off days in throwing for equal bests of 35\'1\". Kim Jones of Heritage (Lynchburg) took advantage to earn a 36\'8.50\" win in the shot put.
With LaReau looking strong in the distance races for the Virginia AAA State Meet, Deep Run\'s chances to fair well as a team look even stronger after having two jumpers take the top two places in the triple jump. Ashley Orr was favored in the event as she has a best of 39\'11\" in the event from last spring, but teammate Brianna Hudson had a personal best day to win with a leap of 37\'6\". Orr was a close second with a mark of 37\'3\".
Hughsville senior Rachel Houseknecht was the lone competitor from Pennsylvania and she did not disappoint in representing the Keystone State by winning the finals of the 55 meter hurdles in 8.42. Huguenot\'s Wanetta Kirby finished runner-up to Houseknecht with a 8.52 clocking.
Huguenot teammate Donnie Seward posted the fastest time in the boys\' 300 meter dash, despite racing in the far outside lane with a winning time of 36.44. Seward nearly won his second event of the meet as his 1:07.37 clocking won the final section, but D.J. Haskins won his second race out of a slower section with a 1:07.34 win at Liberty after winning the 300 meter dash at VMI several weeks ago in similar fashion.
Defending Group AA state champion for 55 meter hurdles in Ethan Nixon regained his AA state best in the event after Lafayette\'s D\'Angelo Scales clocked a 7.66 in prelims at CNU last weekend. Nixon posted a time not far off his 2006 state championship time of 7.60 at the Tolsma Center with a 7.64 win on Saturday at the Asics Invite.
Rockbridge County\'s Scott Crews nearly pulled off the upset in the 1000 meter run with a long kick, but Colonial Forge\'s Blake Arnold had too much closing speed for Crews to hold off with Arnold nipping him for a 2:37.16. Crews was a close second at 2:37.24.
Patrick Henry senior D.J. Thomas clocked a personal best time of 6.53 to walk away as the winner in the 55 meter dash.