A summary of performances by Virginians fairing well in Friday's events at the 2009 Nike Outdoor Nationals included the Blacksburg 4x800's running fast including a 7:45 Group AA record from the Blacksburg boys, the Bethel girls running a state top 5 all-time performance in the 4x200, and Sydni Cobb winning the emerging elite division of the girls shot put. Also standing out individually were Thomas Porter joining a small group of sub 9 milers with an 8th place 8:59.08 performance in the 2 mile run and Briana Hudson became an All-American in the triple jump. Read more...
Nike Outdoor Nationals - Friday Results
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay - With only one senior on the relay albeit their strongest leg in Brian Hencke, the Blacksburg boys once again claimed the Group AA state record in the 4x800 meter relay with an impressive 7:45.21 run in Greensboro to place fourth overall in the event and earn All-American honors. Blacksburg had previously ran 7:49 earlier in the season to set a new AA record only to see Western Albemarle best the time a few weeks later in 7:46. Blacksburg was leading the fast section into the final handoff by three seconds after 1:57, 1:55, and 1:54 splits from their first 3 legs and then a 1:58 on anchor.
Girls 4x800 Meter Relay - The Blacksburg girls posted the second fastest time in the state this season behind only Lake Braddock's 9:11 regional performance in winning their section and placing 10th overall in the 4x800 meter relay at 9:13.19. Their splits went 2:21, 2:17, 2:17, and 2:16.
Boys 2 Mile Run - Thomas Porter of Mountain View and Tyler Stutzman of Western Albemarle went after the sub 9 minute barrier in the 2 mile, which only select few of past Virginians have ever achieved the feat. Porter ended up joining that list of sub 9 2 milers with his 8th place finish and final time of 8:59.08 to just dip under the time.
Girls Triple Jump - Two-time AAA state outdoor triple jump champion Briana Hudson of Deep Run earned All-American honors with a fifth place mark of 39'11.25". Just missing All-American honors by a few inches was Thomas Dale sophomore Siobhan Ford-Holland in seventh place at 39'6".
Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Prelims - South Lakes senior Vincent Brown will move onto the finals of the 110 meter hurdles later this evening as he qualified by time in his preliminary heat with a 14.07 clocking, which puts him sixth fastest of the 8 qualifiers. The Group AAA state runner-up broke 14 seconds for the first time two weeks ago at the MileStat.com Gala in a 13.98 clocking and will likely need to run close to that time to maintain a top 6 finish to earn All-American honors in the finals.
Emerging Elite Girls Shot Put - Western Branch junior Sydni Cobb with a previous personal best of 40'0.75", came through in national competition with a big throw of 40'11.75" to smash her all-time best and also claim the event record in the emerging elite division of the girls shot put.
Boys 100 Meter Dash Prelims - Both DeVaughn Benion Jr. of George Washington and Earl House of Bethel will be advancing onto the finals of the 100 meter dash as the 7th (Benion 10.68) and 8th (House 10.71) fastest qualifiers of eight athletes moving onto the 5:35 PM finals today.
Emerging Elite Girls 400 Meter Dash - King's Fork sophomore Qualitra Brown snagged the sixth and final medal position in winning her section with a time of 57.22. Her time, which beat her previous personal best of 57.91 from the Southern Track Classic, placed her sixth overall in the event.
Emerging Elite Girls 1 Mile Run - There were no Virginians able to meet the cut to qualify into the championship division of the girls mile run, but three faired very well in the emerging elite division with top 6 finishes. The seeded section was won by Blacksburg junior Joanna Stevens in 5:00.05, but the winning time from the first section by MileStat.com Gala 1500 meter champion Kaitlin Harman from Maryland was faster at 4:59.16. Also placing from Harman's section were Potomac Falls junior Christina Lee (4th, 5:02.49) and Deep Run sophomore Erica Dobbs (6th, 5:03.18). All times were personal best converted 1600 meter performances for all three girls including a significant drop for Dobbs with a previous best of 5:07.
Girls 4x200 Meter Relay - The Bethel girls became the fourth fastest 4x200 meter relay ever in state history (fastest this decade) and even beat the state indoor record time by a Francena McCorory-anchored and Nike Indoor Nationals-winning 4x200 relay from Bethel in 2006 of 1:39.52. The Bethel girls finished fourth in the early Saturday event at NON with a time of 1:39.36. The relay consisted of Rachel Burrelll, Anise Cuffee, Emmy Fraenk, and Olicia Sharp. The fastest 4x200 meter relay ever in state history ever recorded were 1:39.1 performance by Marshall-Walker girls in 1980, 1:38.51 by the Bayside girls in 1997, and 1:38.1 by the Armstrong-Kennedy girls in 1980.
Emerging Elite Boys 4x200 Meter Relay - Despite racing a man down from their typical "A" sprint relays with Travius Yancey out due to a stress fracture, the Louisa County boys were able to muster a swift time in the 4x200 meter relay and place in the top 6 with a third place effort of 1:29.92. The relay was anchored by a 21.8 split from Tyler Jackson. Louisa had won the Group AA state title in the event indoors with a time of 1:32.71.
Emerging Elite Boys 4x800 Meter Relay - The boys from Varina High School competed for the second year in a row in the emerging elite 4x800 and once again will be returning to Richmond with medals to show for themselves. Varina finished fourth and just missed breaking 8 minutes for the third time this season with a final time of 8:00.16. The relay consisted of a seniors only group of Nyler Gaskins, Khristopher Johnson, Devin Lacks, and Matt Nolte.
Emerging Elite Girls 4x800 Meter Relay - The Western Albemarle quartet of sophomore Mattie Webb, freshmen Katie Farina, sophomore Claire Johnson, and senior Hillary Wayland finished off a great spring of races together in the 4x800 meter relay by dropping 10 seconds from their previous season best at the Region II Championships by winning the emerging elite division at the NON in an event record time of 9:30.03. Their time is 10th fastest in Virginia this season and joins only Blacksburg as the only other Group AA squad ranked among the top 10 in the state.