Team VA Showed Out At The VA Showcase

It was quite the weekend for the home team down at the VA Showcase. Over 20 state leading marks were recorded and Team VA also claimed seven victories. 

Though the 20 state leading marks is a big number, those seven victories are certainly more impressive. Over the eight prior years Team VA had won 46 times, or an average 5.75 times per year so this year's eight is well above the average and brings the current total to 53 victories for Team VA. 

Here are the individual winners for the home team. 

Andrew Salvodon (Bayside) Boys 500 - This was the race of the meet and probably the entire history of the VA Showcase. Not only did Andrew win, he beat an Olympian and shattered the national record. 

Cole Boone (Pulaski) Boys 1K - Cole lowered the state record with his victory here and joined an elite list of athletes who have won an event back-to-back. He still has one more year in high school and could become the first ever three-time champion in any event if he runs it next year. 

Sophie Rambo (Grassfield) Girls 500 - The queen of sprints in VA showed us why she still holds that title. She took down the Jamaican national champion and then some to take home the 500 title. 

Kobi Bonds (Auburn) Boys Shot - Not only did Kobi win but he threw a monster throw on his sixth and final throw to take over the lead. His throw of 60'0" is a new VA #1 and ranks him 6th all-time in the event. 

Kaitlyn Bullock (Grassfield) Girls Shot - Bullock made it a VA sweep in the shot with her big 45'4" mark. This mark is a big state leading mark and US #13 on the season. 

Caroline Elliott (South Lakes) Girls Mile -  Caroline is a gamer, she knows how to turn on the jets when it matters most and that is exactly what she did to take home the Mile title. She is just the third VA athlete to win this event in nine years. 

Destini Gatling (Deep Creek) Girls High Jump - Destini took home this title by beating out athletes from numerous other states. Her 5'6" clearance is also a new VA #1. 

Isaiah Washington (Prince George) Boys 60mH - Isaiah ran a US #4 time for the win in the hurdle race and boy was it a race. The entire crowd was watching as a wall of stars crossed the line together, ultimately it was Isaiah taking down the best in the country for the win. 

As for the state leading marks, it was a clean sweep by the relay teams bringing home new VA #1 performances in the 4x2, 4x4, and 4x8's for both boys and girls. 

Historically speaking, this was a huge meet for the all-time list. There were a staggering 19 additions to the all-time list from this meet and that doesn't include the big performances from athletes who already ranked highly on the list. 

Here are some of the athletes who ran their way onto or up on the list. 

Top 40-50

Oscar Smith Girls (4x2 - 43rd), Trent Daniels (3200 - 41st), and Julia Wallace (300 - 40th). 

Top 10-40

James W. Robinson Boys (4x4 - 39th), Hadley Vanek (1K - 34th), Caroline Tribbett (1600 - 24th), Kobi Bond (Shot - 22nd), Laura Fiegel (300 - 22nd), Tori Goodson (Long Jump - 21st), Finn Middleton (55mH - 17th), Kaitlyn Bullock (Shot - 13th) 

Top 10 

Here is where things got really good. You had two state records, Cole Boone in the 1K and Andrew Salvodon in the 500, and an additional seven top 10 performances all-time. 

In the 4x2 both South County boys and girls ran their way up the list. The girls' 1:37.48 ranks 6th all-time while the boys' 1:26.55 ranks 4th all-time for VA. 

In the 55m dash Mia Mason's 6.89 ranks 6th all-time and in the hurdles her 7.77 ranks her 7th all-time. Just behind her in the hurdles was Ava Rice who went 7.78 to rank 8th all-time. 

In the long jump, Mia Mason's 20-9.75 ranks 5th all-time and finally we also saw Sophie Rambo run 38.38 to move herself up one spot on the all-time list to 8th. 

In the boys 55m hurdles, Isaiah Washington stormed to a VA #7 all-time performance of 7.23 to take home the win and move up the list.