Aside from nationals and potentially another invitational either in late April or early May we never really get to see these two powerhouses square up. Though that may be the case, it is almost just as exciting to build that matchup up and look at the numbers to see how they compare against each other.
Indoors both teams finished #1 and #2 all-time for Virginia and ended the year ranked US #1 and US #2 with Team War taking the lean over Western Branch. Outdoors though things get a whole lot different.
There is no denying that right now Branch has a whole lot more speed at 100 for the 4x100 than War but just like in indoors the handoff is very important. If War has clean handoffs and Branch repeats what they did at indoor nationals then we have a pretty even matchup of powerhouses.
Here is how the teams break down based on 100m speed.
| Name (Team) | All-Time Best 100m Time (YeaR) |
|---|---|
| Shadajah Ballard (Branch) | 11.69 (16) |
| Jessica Tucker (Branch) | 11.85 (15) |
| Syaira Richardson (WAR) | 12.00 (16) |
| Adriana Shockley (Branch) | 12.03 (16) |
| Dajah Parker-Love (Branch) | 12.17 (16) |
| Jazmine Tilmon (WAR) | 12.23 (16) |
| Kori Carter (WAR) | 12.25 (16) |
| Brene' Donaldson (WAR) | 12.34 (16) |
| Inaya Boone (Branch) | 12.36 (16) |
| Anaya Monroe (WAR) | 12.36 (17) |
*Asia Crocker (WAR) sits just off this list as well does Jada Terrell (Branch). Both ladies have improved significantly and could be on their "A" relays.
As you can easily see, both teams have some heavy hitters but it is going to be a matchup that require good baton passes.
Branch leads the clubhouse with a total time of 47.74 & a 11.935 second average. War comes right behind them at 48.82 & a 12.205 average. These numbers are significant because last year War ran (and won the national title) a 45.08 4x100 with a team average of 11.9075 seconds.
That number may seem like it validates Branch's dominance but when coupled with the fact that this year's Team War 4x2 broke last year's record and beat Branch it makes things very interesting. To put it plainly, we need this matchup now and get ready for VA's first and second sub 45 second 4x1s. The national record in this event is 44.50 set by Long Beach Poly.