6A South Regional Coverage

Coverage from this weekend's 6A South Regional Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

VHSL Group 6A Regional Indoor T&F Virtual Meet Rankings (1/1)

Virtual meet indoor track & field rankings for each of the two regions for the VHSL Group 6A classification. Bethel's Nehemiah Lipford started off his senior year with a breakthrough performance in the high jump at the Real Deal Classic in early December with a personal best clearance by two inches at 6'5", which still leads all high jumpers in the 6A South Region.

Photos: VHSL Group 6A South Regional Indoor T&F Championships by mamagnant

Videos

6A South - Boy's 55m Prelims	6A South - Girl's 55m Prelims	6A South - Girl's 55m Hurdle Prelims	6A South - Boy's 55m Hurdle Prelims
6A South - Girl's High Jump	6A South - Boy's Pole Vault	6A South - Boy's Triple Jump	6A South - Jacqueline Meeks Interview
6A South - Western Branch Girl's 4x800m Relay Interview	6A South - Girl's Triple Jump	6A South - Girl's 4x800m Relay Heat 1	6A South - Girl's 4x800m Relay Heat 2
6A South - Boy's 4x800m Relay Heat 1	6A South - Boy's 4x800m Relay Heat 2	6A South - Mustaqeem Williams US #1 55m

Meet Preview:

Despite some great performances from many different regional meets the 6A South Regional may be the most anticipated one of them all. Leading the way on the girls side will no doubt be Western Branch who has year and year out been the dominant force in Virginia girls track. The Bruins are estimated to total more points then second and third combined en route to their victory. On the guys side it should be a much closer race. Leading the way on for the guys will likely be Grassfield. Grassfield will be looking for major points from their key runners and jumpers while the team chasing them, Western Branch and Forest Park will be looking to add up midlevel points throughout the meet.

Boys Preview:

In the guys sprints their will be some very close races between some of the fastest runners in the entire nation. Mustaqeen Williams will be headlining these races despite not being the fastest seed in any of his races. Williams will be chasing Grassfield's Vincent Lowe who is the US #3 in the 55 slightly ahead of Williams. In the 300 Williams will be looking to keep pace with another Grassfield runner, Grant Holloway who ranks as US #11 and besting him on the track at the Southeastern Invite.

In the longer races, 500 and 1000, it will be more of a story to see how coaches strategize towards the team title and whether to run in the 1000, 500, 1600, or relays. Some of these intriquing choices will be posed to the Western Branch coaching staff especially for Tyson Robinson who has the ability to score in multiple events. Favored in these two events are Ricky Morgan of Forest Park and Darrick Thornhill of Varina .

In the 1600 it will likely be a foot race between these two guys and James Broom of Grassfield who is favored in both the 1600 and 3200. These distance races will really come down to race strategy and will depend on work load coming into the later races.

In the guys relay races it will come down to how the Bruins of Western Branch plan their lineups. Western Branch is ranked in the top two in all three of the relays and could pick up substantial team points in these three races. As they have done many times in the past, it would be no suprise that these relay teams are their "A" teams in a strategy to secure a team title.

In the field it will again be Williams to look to with his state leading 24-06 to lead all competitiors by over two full feet. In the triple it will be Isaac Arriola leading the competition with a season best of 47-11.25. Though Arriola leads the competition, it should be an event to watch with Steven Dunbar of Tallwood and Williams chasing him by only a couple feet. Tyler Powell of Cosby in the shot should also be someone to watch.

One of the events with the tallest buildup is the boys high jump. This event will feature nation's best high jumper, Steven Dunbar of Tallwood with a season best of 7'1". He will have to make a few clearances to win this competition as he will also be competing against Grant Holloway of Grassfield who has cleared 6'10" this season and ranks fifth in the entire nation. Holloway will also be the athlete to follow in the 55m hurdles as he is US #1 in that event.

Girls Preview:

Though the team race may not end in a nail-biting finish like many of the northern region meets, this meet will no doubt provide some of the fastest and most impressive times, jumps, and relays of the entire indoor season. Some of the key races to follow will be the relay races featuring two teams that will be neck and neck the entire way, Western Branch and Woodbridge, in both the 4x400 and 4x200.

In the short sprints and hurdles it will be a team effort with Western Branch set to sweep the top positions in each race. Leading the Bruins in the 55 will be Milan Parks (State #4) and in the 55H it will be Irielle Little and Funlayo Oluwole who rank second and third in the state. In the 300 Destiny Ward of Oscar Smith will lead the way but could face some stiff competition from Western Branch and Woodbrige.

In the middle distance races it will still become a points grab for Western Branch as they are slated to pick up more points in these events. Favored in the 500 is Jewel Christian of Woodbrige with a seed time of 1:15.30 that ranks her fourth in the entire nation. In the 1000 Erica Jackson of Ocean Lakes will likely have to hold off Cosby and Western Branch from upsetting her in this distance.

In the two distance races it will seem to be a big place for Cosby to attempt to make up points on Western Branch. Leading the Titans of Cosby in this front will be 1600 and 3200 runner Kate Birnbaum who is the top seed in the 1600 and third seed in 3200. The top seed in the 3200 is Megan Rebholz of Colonial Forge is over 30 seconds faster then any other competitior.

On the field for the girls will another area for Western Branch to add more points to their total. One of the most secure points they have is in the girls long jump where Parks, Smith, and Oluwole are the top three seeds. In the triple and high jump it will be a very close competition that could end with a new state leading mark, one thing to keep an eye on in these events are the distances and heights and how they shape up in the state.

Don't forget to keep checking back on this page where we have a live Twitter feed that will have all tweets from us about the meet, results, records, and top marks in the state. Also after the meet is over there will be videos, photos, and much more to follow!