With the season now officially over it is time to go back and award those most deserving for athlete of the year overall and specifically in their discipline.
Athlete of The Year
Matthew Zajac (E.C. Glass)
Not only has Matthew won four state titles in the discus but he also has not lost a discus competition in two years in the state of Virginia and never not placed in scoring position in this event his entire high school career. Though those are all career stats and not truly applicable to his award this year, they do enhance an already impressive resume. Matthew was the 4A state champion this year in the discus and the shot put as well. He has season personal records of 59-6 and 203-9 in these two events. The latter of those is a state record in the discus. He actually set the state record twice, the first time he broke it was at the Penn Relays Carnival. Not only did he do it here but he did it when it mattered most, on his very last throw to improve from third to first to win the event. Zajac will go down as the most prolific thrower the state has ever seen not only due to being the best discus thrower ever but also because of the fact that he compiled six state titles and even a win in the hammer throw at New Balance Nationals in 2012. Zajac will be attending the University of Tennessee in the fall.
Runner of The Year
Andrew Hunter (Loudoun Valley)
Andrew Hunter has done nothing but turn it on this outdoor season. Many people in the state knew he was a good runner but very few knew how good this super-sophomore was. Andrew really started gaining attention when he won the 3000m run at Penn this year, not only for winning the race but for his time of 8:16.31 which is a sophomore national record. Andrew also leads the state in non-converted 1600m runs with his time of 4:10.04 when he beat Kenneth Hagen to win the 3A state title. He also won the 3200 at states and finished in a close second at nationals running 8:53.81 for the full two Miles. He finished in 11th in the Mile running 4:10.94 at Nationals as well. Though these are all impressive, one of the most impressive things about his season is that he has not lost a single race longer then 800m in the state of Virginia this year. His only non-top finish in an open event in the state was a second place finish in the 800 at the John Handley Invitational when he finsihed second to Logan Carrington in a time of 1:58.05.
Field Event Athlete of The Year
Matthew Zajac (E.C. Glass)
Sprinter of The Year
Jospehus Lyles (T.C. Williams)
Up until Nationals this was his brother's, Noah, to lose but insteadof Noah losing it, Josephus won it by winning the national title in the boys 400. Josephus not only won the event but he did so out of lane 8 and still managed to run a 46.23 as only a sophomore. Josephus was the 6A state champion at 400m, runner-up at 200m and also a New Balance National finalist in the 200. He was a key member on both of their Penn Relays gold-watch-winning-relays and their state champion 4x400 team.
Distance Runner of The Year
Andrew Hunter (Loudoun Valley)
Thrower of The Year
Matthew Zajac (E.C. Glass)
Jumper of The Year
John Warren (Prince George)
John Warren is winner of this award because he is the best long and triple jumper in the state this year. He won the state 5A crown in the triple jump and likely would have in the long jump if he did not leave for graduation. John was also the national champion in the triple jump going 50-6 to win the event. That was 2.5 inches shy of his national leading mark of 50-8.5. John has also been a state champion in three different states (Texas, Kansas, Virginia) and will be attending the University of Missouri in the fall.
Hurdler of The Year
Gregory Chiles (Western Branch)
In a state where hurdling is very strong this was one of the more difficult choices to make. Gregory wins this honor for turning it on most when it mattered most at the state meet. Gregory ran a state leading 36.81 time in the 300, that is not only a state best but it is a state best by nearly a second over anyone else. He also solidified his position for this award by being a part of the national champion shuttle hurdle relay team this past week at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Vaulter of The Year
Bryce Simpson (Atlee)
Bryce wins this award for ending the seaon atop the state leaderboard in this event. He is joined however at 15-2.25 with Caleb Rider (Western Albemarle) who also cleared this height at New Balance Nationals. Though they have the same clearance now after the season, Bryce performed much better when he won his state title. Bryce was the 5A state champion and won the event clearing 13-6 and 15-0 at his regional tournament. These were better clearances then any other vauler in state and regional competition. Both Rider and Simpson are junior and will be back next winter to look to improve on their already impressive marks.
Freshman of The Year
Brandon was one of only a handfull of freshman to end the season ranked in the top 30 for an event. He ranked highest in the 800 which was due to his 1:56.76 seaon best that got him eighth place at the 6A state outdoor championship. He also finished just outside of scoring the high jump with his clearance of 6-2 which was good enough for 9th place.
Coach of The Year
Jim Holdren (Maggie Walker)
Coach Holdren wins this award for not only winning one of his nearly two dozen state championships this year but for completing the very difficult triple crown by winning the cross country, indoor, and now outdoor state team title. Coach Holdren is one of the few coaches to pull this off multiple times as he has done so on numerous occassions. His Green Dragons almost pulled off the doubel-triple crown if it were not for the Stith sisters and Brunswick winning this outdoor season's girls team title.
First, Second, and Third team nominations will be named later this week.