After winning the 1600 meter run at VMI last weekend in an exciting battle over Midlothian's Ryan Witt, Maggie Walker senior Daniel Howard continued flashing solid times in facilities not as conducive to fast times by winning the same event at Green Dragon with a swift Ashe time of 4:32.96. Teammate Rohan Patel was the next closest competitor at 4:36.58 for second. Howard and Patel were also members of the winning 4x800 meter relay who finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the entire field with their time of 8:32.19.
Hermitage's Melvin Edison appears to be one of the early front runners for the Central Region title in the 55 meter hurdles as he took the win in the event at Green Dragon with a 8.05 clocking.
Deep Creek from Chesapeake dominated most of the sprint relay events as they took victories in the varsity and junior varsity 4x55 meter sprint shuddle relay as well as in the varsity 4x200 meter relay and junior varsity 4x400 meter relay.
Lafayette's Dakari Watson has positioned himself early as a contender for the AA state title in the long jump and triple jump this indoor season after winning both events at Green Dragon with an impressive leap of 22-02.00 and 45-05.00. Watson's mark in the triple jump currently ties him as the state leader with Colonial Forge's Jerome Miller.
Dinwiddie's Deonte Winfield was the sole competitor in the boys' shot put to throw for over 50 feet, thus he came away with the win in the event with his throw of 50-04.50.
The girls' 1600 meter run saw a very competitive race with many quick early times coming out of the race, but in the end it was AAA state cross country champion Natalie Sherbak of Kellam who came out on top. Sherbak, a recent Virginia Tech signee, ran away from the field with a strong Ashe time of 5:14.31 as with such a performance hints at a sub 5 clocking eventually sometime this winter or spring.
Norfolk Academy's Ginna Ellis looks to be on the comeback trail and coming close to returning to the level of competition she was at prior to her stress fracture injury last outdoor track season as she took runner-up honors to Sherbak with a time of 5:18.70.
A trio of Central Region talent finished bunched up together after Sherbak and Ellis with Maggie Walker junior Ritchie Vaughan (3rd, 5:20.50), James River junior Rebecca Ward (4th, 5:20.65), and James River senior Lindsay Traudt (5th, 5:20.97).
Kecoughtan's Keshia Ashe has looked impressive in early season competition as took a win last weekend at the UMES Invitational with a state best time of 8.59 in the 55 meter hurdles. She followed up that performance with another win at Green Dragon in a 8.65 clocking.
The Bethel and Manchester girls did battle in the sprint relays. Manchester struck first with a win over Bethel (29.92) with a 29.86 clocking in the 4x55 meter shuttle hurdle relay. However, Bethel took the next two wins in the 4x200 meter relay (1:49.76) and 4x400 meter relay (4:14.73) with Manchester taking respectable runner-up honors in both events with times of 1:53.83 and 4:20.80.
The girls' 4x800 meter relay saw some great times posted by three schools in Kellam, James River, and Maggie Walker. Kellam, even with the graduation of the likes of Kelly Taylor and Tiffany Howell from last year's indoor state championship relay, looks to remain a powerhouse in the event as they won the event at Green Dragon with a time of 10:09.13. James River (10:12.37) and Maggie Walker (10:21.33) also looked strong and should be in the mix on the regional and state level this season with their formidable relays.
Lee-Davis had two girls take individual wins in the field events with Rachel Butler in the high jump (5-2) and Kathy Howard in the shot put (37-08.50) having exceptional days.
To go along with Bethel's success in the sprint relays on the day, Bethel senior Britni Spruill, who will be joining Kellam's Sherbak at Virginia Tech next year, posted the state's leading mark in the long jump with her 18-03.50 winning leap.