Recap of 2021-2022 Virginia Girls' Distance Running
Virginia girls distance running had an incredible year in 2021-22. Cross Country saw Virginia place eight runners in the top 20 at the Eastbay South Regional, easily walking away with the State Team title - and five of the top 15 Virginia runners did not compete. Indoor track saw some incredible stats, with the most girls running sub 5:00 1600's ever in Milestat history (14), and the most girls running sub 4:55 (7). For the 3200, Virginia girls set another performance milestone, with the most runners under 10:50 (12) and more girls broke 10:40 this year (9) than have broken 10:50 in any previous season. To top it off, the girls laid down two of the top 20 1600 times and SEVEN of the top 20 3200 times in Virginia (Milestat) history this year.
Class 1
800
Senior Hailey Smith has the top seed by 10 seconds over sophomore Tess Somervell. Hailey is doubling (at least) so she will have the 1600 first, but both her PR's came from a meet earlier this season where she doubled. Tess ran her PR where she had good competition, finishing sixth. We have to give the nod to Hailey Smith.
1600
Hailey Smith is again top seed, this time by 12 seconds over sophomore Carol-Anne Garrett. Garrett has finished first in every race she's run this outdoor season, 800-3200, so we have yet to see what she can do with competition. She'll also be running the 3200 to start the day while Smith will be fresh - but likely looking to save something for the 800. We'll be rooting for a good race, but think that Smith will finish on top.
3200
Carol-Anne Garrett is the top seed over junior Jessi Looney by 43 seconds. Looney's PR came in a race where she had good competition, finishing seventh. We have to go with Garrett for the title in the 3200.
Class 2
800
Senior Carly Wilkes is the top seed at 2:18 with second seed Kate McLearen at 2:24. McLearen has won every race she's competed this season from 400-3200, so we don't know how competition may drive her performance. McLearen will be starting her day with the 3200, where she is the top seed, so she will not be fresh. Wilkes is a seasoned competitor at the state and national level and a Furman University commit, so we expect that she will win this race. (Furman has been recruiting solid talent, and have multiple runners through to NCAA regionals this year.)
1600
Carly Wilkes is doubling in the 800/1600 and is the top seed again in the 1600. Her 4:53 is significantly ahead of junior Lauren Keene whose PR of 5:32 came in a second-place finish earlier this month. Keene will be coming back from opening the day in the 3200. Again, Wilkes' speed, endurance and competitive experience give her a leg up, and we think she will cross the line first.
3200
Kate McLearen is the top seed by 40 seconds over senior Abby Patterson. McLearen may be working to save some oomph for the 800 while Patterson may be trying to do the same for her later 1600. Patterson's PR came in a handily-won first place finish, but she's had some competitive races this season where she did not prevail. We find it likely that McLearen takes this race.
Boys
Recap of 2021-2022 Virginia Boys' Distance Running
in Cross Country, at the Eastbay South regional race, Virginia boys had an impressive showing, qualifying two runners to the national meet, and placing third in the state "team" competition - with only eight of Virginia's top 15 in the race! Over the course of the 2021/22 Indoor season, more Virginia boys ran the 1600 under 4:20 than any other year in Milestat history (20). In the 3200, more boys ran sub 9:30 (19), and more ran sub 9:20 (11), than any year in Milestat history. At the conclusion of the national meets in March, Virginia boys had run two Virginia top 20 all-time 1600 times, and four Virginia top 20 3200 times.
Class 1
800
Senior Lakotah Pecina is the top seed with a 1:59. While this is Lakotah's fourth season of high school track, this is his first season running the 800, so likely he is still learning how to run his best race. Second seed is junior Alexander Gomez-Hernandez at 2:02. Gomez-Hernandez set his PR in his only race with competition so there is potentially some gas in the tank. However, we think Pecina will take the gold.
1600
Senior Cameron Stearns has the top time for 1A 1600 at 4:31. Behind him at 4:37 we have senior Luke Ellis and sophomore Kovyk Chandler. None of these three have seen much competition in the 1600 this season, and all three are entered in the 3200 to start the day. Stearns and Ellis have consistently done the 1600/3200 double all season, while Chandler has doubled in the 800/1600. With Stearn's experience and performance through a season of doubling, especially his PR in the 1600 running solo, we think he will emerge victorious.
3200
Sophomore Kovyk Chandler has the pole position and leads second seed senior Jamison Wall by 27 seconds. Jamison's PR came in a race with solid competition where he was 7th, leading us to believe that he will need a big breakout race to challenge Chandler. All of Chandler's 3200's this season have been sub-10. While he will likely be looking to save something for the 1600 he is running several hours later, we expect him to cross the line first.
Class 2
800
Sophomore Asa Fletcher comes in with the top seed at 2:01, and his worst 800 this season is 2:02. Behind him we have five boys running 2:06 - senior Riley Brim, senior Michael Hijduk, senior George Austin III, senior Miles Baldwin and freshman Davey Johnson. Fletcher, Brim, Hijduk and Baldwin squared off at their regional meet where Fletcher won by just under five seconds. Austin III and Johnson squared off at their regional meet, with Austin III taking the win by 1.4 seconds. Fletcher is also top seed in the 1600 by 15 seconds, with Baldwin entered as sixth. Austin III is the top seed in the 3200 by 17 seconds. Brim, Hijduk and Johnson will all be fresh. Fletcher did the 800/1600 double at regionals and took the title in both. We expect Fletcher to win in this race, but the battle for second should be one to watch!
1600
Sophomore Asa Fletcher has the top seed time of 4:22, followed by the regional runner-up, freshman Mason Erchull at 4:37. Erchull PR'd at regionals finishing just behind Fletcher. Fletcher should take home the title in this race, but we hope to see Erchull make a good race out of it.
3200
Senior George Austin III is the top seed in the 3200 at 9:55, followed by senior Daniel Zearfoss at 10:12. Austin III will be coming back in the 800 while Zearfoss will hit the track again in the 1600, so they both may be looking to save a little for the next race. Austin III clocked a 9:53, but the meet only had four teams, so cannot be used for seeding for VHSL states. We see Austin III breaking the tape in the 3200.
