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.
The University of Arkansas recruit White as quietly went about a stellar indoor track season without much fanfare despite having some of her best track performances ever. The 10-time state champion in cross country and track has ran personal bests this winter for the mile indoors (4:55:38) and 1000 meters (2:52.25).
Both performances rank as two of the faster times ever run by a Virginian high school girl indoors. White's 2:52.25 clocking at the New Balance Collegiate Games 1000 on February 2nd was the third fastest all-time in state history. Only national record holder Sarah Bowman at 2:43.40 and US #3 all-time Katie Doswell at 2:47.21 (both times in 2005) have ran faster. Meanwhile, white's fifth place finishing time of 4:55.38 at the Boston Indoor Games high school mile ranks her fourth fastest all-time in Virginia high school history as only the likes of Bowman at 4:46.79, two-time Footlocker Nationals champion Erin Keogh at 4:49.46, and Centreville alum Laura Heiner 4:53.65 have ran faster as high school preps indoors from the state of Virginia.
Virginia All-Time Indoors List: Girls 1000 Meter Run
VA #1 - Sarah Bowman (Fauquier) 2:43.40 2005
VA #2 - Katie Doswell (St Catherine’s) 2:47.21 2005
VA #3 - Catherine White (Northside) 2:52.25 2007
VA #4 - Kelley Otstott (Thomas Jefferson S&T) 2:52.41
Virginia All-Time Indoors List: Girls Mile Run
VA #1 - Sarah Bowman (Fauquier) 4:46.79 2005
VA #2 - Erin Keogh (Langley) 4:49.46 1987
VA #3 - Laura Heiner (Centreville) 4:53.65 1998
VA #4 - Catherine White (Northside) 4:54.84 2007
VA #5 - Jackie Kerr (Thomas Jefferson S&T) 4:55.71 1996
White set two meet records in the 2006 AA State Indoor Meet in the 1600 meter run and 3200 meter run with strong times of 4:53.24 and 10:40.10 respectively in virtually solo efforts. Her winning time in last year's state race is actually superior to her converted time from Boston this year, so it will be interesting to see if she can beat her times from last year as she set the bar so high for herself in 2006.
The race for the team championship stays distance focused as the Blacksburg girls will once again rely heavily on their distance corps to trounce the competition this Saturday. Blacksburg senior Cate Berenato will led the way as the second seed in the 1600 meter run at 5:09.34 and the favorite to win in the 1000 meter run with the fastest time at 2:58.21. This past Saturday's Region III Meet showed though that a win is not in the bag for Berenato in the 1000 meter run as after Berenato took second to White in the 1600 meter run, she had to settle for second in the 1000 meter run at 3:04.95 to Heritage's Laura Rapp, who ran a personal best of 3:00.98 for the win.
Based off the times from the Region III Meet, which was not exactly hosted at a facility known to produce incredibly fast times at Heritage High School, expect some very fast times produced deep into the girls' distance races at the Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg on Saturday. Rapp's winning time in the 1000 as well as White posting a 4:55.66 1600 meter time inside Heritage's indoor track facility were particular noteworthy.
Blacksburg should have the next finisher after White in the 3200 meter run in junior Laurel MacMillan as that was her place order to White at the regional meet last weekend. MacMillan had an impressive race earlier in the month at the St. Christopher's Mid-Atlantic Track Clash to win in a personal best time of 11:08.95, which is second fastest in Group AA by 12 seconds. MacMillan also figures to score points earlier in the meet in the 1600 meter run as the fourth seed at 5:15.38.
Also figuring to contribute major points on the track for the defending indoor state team champions will be Annie Grant in the 55 meter hurdles and Avery Mattingly in the 500 meter dash. Region III champion Annie Grant was a narrow winner at last year's state championships in a personal best clocking of 8.58 as thousandths of a second separated her from Cave Spring's Tina Crawford with both at 8.58. The finals at the state meet should put the F.A.T. timing to hard work again in determining the champion when throwing in Region II champion and top seed Tanisha Jenkins of Louisa at 8.59 and Region II runner-up Danyelle Kent-Robinson of Brentsville at 8.67. Grant clocked her season best of 8.60 in a Region III victory.
William Fleming's Brittany Cabbler (pictured left with trophy, by David Fleenor) won state titles in the 500 (1:18.08) and 300 (41.55) meter dashes last year as a junior and returns this year to repeat the same sprint double. Cabbler will also look to lead William Fleming to at least a state runner-up team finish after finishing fourth as a team in 2006. Cabbler has almost a full second on second seed Avery Mattingly of Blacksburg (1:20.14) with her leading entry time of 1:19.21, which she posted at the Tolsma Track Center on December 16th at the Wally Gilbert Invitational.
Cabbler may receive a bit more heat in her second individual running event in the 300 meter dash as she also has the fastest time in the event here at 41.39, Region I champion Kisha Garrick will be breathing down her neck after the Caroline senior clocked a time of 41.54 in her regional championship. The outcome of the race will result likely in either one of the two become a two-time state titlist on the day as Garrick is looking to win the 300 and 55 meter dash as has one of the state's fastest times in the event with a 7.16 clocking from the Region I Meet.
Charlottesville's Rashawnda James, Region II champion, has the next fastest time in the short sprint at 7.37. James will look to give Garrick a fight, but also will contend for state championships in the jumping events. James has the best mark in AA in the triple jump at 37'2.25" from a mark at the Virginia Tech Invite, which is nearly a foot better than Region III champion Kristin Smith of Rustburg at 36'4.50". James will also be competing in the long jump as the fourth seed at 16'11", which happens to be another event Caroline's Garrick leads all competitors in.
Garrick (pictured right, by John Herzog) may nearly put Caroline into a top three team finish all by herself if she is able to win three events individually with the long jump, 55 meter dash, and 300 meter dash. Garrick won four events at the Region III Meet to make up 40 of Caroline's 44 total points. The long jump title is guarantee for Garrick as her 17'9.50" season best ranks her just ahead of Region III champion Brooke Heller of Staunton River, who achieved her best mark of 17'9" only last weekend in a regional championship. Nonetheless, Garrick can pick up close to 35 points on her own, which would certainly move Caroline into a top five team position.
The Blacksburg girls look to really distance themselves from opening to beginning against the rest of the teams with their top ranked 4x800 and 4x400 meter relays. They will not be running a loaded 4x800 meter relay, which posted their top time of 9:38.84, as both Cate Berenato and Allison Homer will be absent from the teams to prepare for their individual races. However with the Stevens twins, Kathleen and Joanna, along with their distance depth, Blacksburg should field a competitive team to go for first place or at least settle for second. The team that could spoil a win by a Blacksburg would be cross country rival and Region II champions Brentsville, who set a regional meet record with a 9:53.32 win at the Region II Meet. The girls from Nokesville should knock off considerably more time at the state meet on Liberty University's faster track.
The 4x400 meter relay for Blacksburg should close the deal on a state team championship, which should already be a done deal by the time the final event of the meet comes along. However, they will not mind picking up ten points and a win in this event as the top seed at 4:11.51.
Region I team and 4x400 meter relay champions Courtland should make it a very competitive race with their 4:12.90. Courtland will come ready for this event as they should be fighting it out for other teams after a second place team trophy. Their four relay legs in Jamie Lott, Jaquonna Lott, Christina Phillips, and Monae Waller will all have key roles as individuals in contributing points to their team.
Courtland junior Monae Waller will be the strongest challenger to high jump favorite Danyelle Kent-Robinson of Brentsville, who has cleared 5'6" this year. Kent-Robinson will be aiming to win her second AA state title in the high jump after clearing 5'4" to win the outdoor title last spring as a freshmen. Waller is coming off a 5'4" clearance to win the Region I title, which is the same height which Kent-Robinson cleared to take the high jump competition at the Region II Meet.
On the track, Waller can possibly score points in the 55 meter hurdles as the eight seed, but teammates in the Lott twins, Jamie and Jaquonna as well as Christina Phillips also are expected to place in their respective events. Jaquoanna Lott is seeded fifth in the 500 at 1:20.99, while twin sister Jamie is seeded seventh in the 300 at 42.80. Phillips is the Region II runner-up to Garrick in the 55 meter dash and will be the fourth seed in the sprint event at 7.40. The Courtland girls were second last year to Blacksburg by 22 points and would like to at least match their team finish from 2006. Courtland won the 4x200 meter relay last year in a swift time of 1:44.10 and will be hard pressed to repeat this year with regional rivals Riverbend (1:47.00) and Brunswick Senior (1:47.51) having posted superior times, but figure to at least score needed points as the fourth seed at 1:48.24.
After finishing second at the Region II Meet to district rival Louisa County, Charlottesville should surpass them at the state meet as the top finishing team from the region and district as they wil be led by Rashawnda James and backbone of solid relay squads. James can pick up close to 20 points individuall between being the top seed in the triple jump and in the middle of the pack among the top eight entries in both the 55 meter dash and long jump. James finishing in the top half of the top eight in those two events would only help Charlottesville in sneaking into second place as a team.
Callie Hlavin also looks to score ten points individually between the pole vault and high jump. The high jump competition will have a total of ten competitors with season best clearances of 5'2", which is Hlavin's best. Hlavin will have no room to have an off day in the vertical jumping event with the deep field found for this weekend's state meet. The pole vault is the same in the regards with plenty of athletes coming in with very similar personal best heights at the top. Region II champion Emma Pelton of Monticello and runner-up Ashley Atwood of Western Albemarle are the only two entrants who have cleared 10 feet this season as both did at the regional meet. Atwood will be looking to follow in the footsteps of former Warriors teammate and state record holder Ashley Early as a Group AA state champion in the event.
Back to Charlottesville and their team hopes. The Lady Black Knights are capable of scoring points in all three relay events as the their 4x400 meter relay looks to be their strongest of the three as the third seed at 4:15.26, while their 4x800 meter relay ranks fourth in AA at 10:05.84.
The Brentsville girls finished third at the Region II Championships last week, but could very well match their regional finish at the state meet thanks to Kent-Robinson and their distance girls. Kent-Robinson will be favored in the high jump and also will be in contention in the 55 meter hurdles as the third seed at 8.67, while the Brentsville girls can challenge an unloaded Blacksburg girls for the win in the 4x800 meter relay. However, points will still be needed out of the individual distance runners.
Becky Stewart should be the most reliable source of points in the 3200 meter run as she is a two-time state runner-up in cross country to Catherine White and has a best of 11:26.59 in the 3200 meter run this season. Brentsville sophomore Maggie Gentry also can score points in the 3200 meter run with her 11:45.80 season best. Points also can gained in the 1000 meter run with Amelia Emerson (7th seed, 3:07.83) and Sarah Earman (10th, 3:09.57).
The throwing events in AA are always enertaining events to watch with some of the state's best throwers typically found in Group AA. Unfortunately for track fans, we have to wait till the outdoor season to see All-American Natalie Baird throw as her school at Park View does not have an official indoor team. Nonetheless, sophomores Kayla Lewis of William Fleming and Katie Cummings of Fort Defiance should have an great battle for the state championship in the shot put with both coming in with season best throws just under 40 feet with Region III champion Lewis at 39'11" and Region II champion Cummings at 39'2.75".