Photos by Frank Locascio
The Stevens twins can only take a few days off from producing another front page and eye popping performance. In one week, the Stevens twins finished among the top 4 at the Boston Indoor Games mile last Saturday, ran US #1 and US #2 3200 times of 10:19 and 10:20 on Monday at their district meet, and today at the Region IV champions posted the US #1 and US #2 times in the 1600 meter run with Kathleen Stevens at 4:48.76 and Joanna Stevens at 4:49.61.
In the same race, sophomore teammate Hannah Brown broke 5 minutes for the first time much earlier in her high school career than either of the Stevens twins as the Blacksburg girls appear primed to take down the national 4xmile relay record next month in Boston. More to come from the meet.
Watch Region IV Girls 1600 Race Video!
The girls long jump was one of the best events in the meet with a rare Group AA feat of two girls leaping over 18 feet as Christiansburg's Brittany Bostwick (18'1") and Pulaski County's Amber Church (18'0.50") had only half of an inch separating each for the top two marks at the Region IV Championships in Blacksburg.
Church looks to be earning the title as the most versatile female track & field athlete in Group AA as she added regional titles in the 55 meter hurdles (8.56), 55 meter dash (7.35), and high jump (5'4") along with a pair of runner-up finishes in the horizontal jumping events.
Blacksburg junior George Carter won the boys 1600 meter run in a new personal best and Group AA leading time of 4:18.36. Excluding converted mile times, Carter's 1600 meter performance ranks him #4 in the country.
The Christiansburg boys may have finished as team runners-up to Blacksburg for a second straight meet, but the Blue Demons under the guidance of head coach Shayn Guynn are a squad built to do some damange and potentially win the Group AA state crown later this month in Lynchburg. The Region IV runners-up have a handful of individuals who are capable of scoring big points in state competition.
Christiansburg is especially strong in the field as shown at the Region IV Meet in having individual winners in all four field events with Travis Hudson in the high jump (6'7"), Chris Dobbins in the long jump (21'5.50"), Zack Snell in the triple jump (43'3.50"), and Zach Weller in the shot put (47'2"). Dobbins will be a favorite to win the hurdles in state competition with Hudson likely to score points in several points including the hurdles and jumps. Meanwhile, Andy Eddleton was a runner-up in the 1600 and 3200 meter races to Blacksburg's Carter and will be expected to earn All-State honors and points in the distance events.
Region IV Championships Complete Results
Region IV Championships Race Video by Tayloe Skelton - All videos added.
Region IV Championships Photo Gallery by Frank Locascio - To be added late on Sunday.
Below are the performances entered for the meet that met the national silver standard.
47 National Elites
Photos by Frank Locascio
The Stevens twins can only take a few days off from producing another front page and eye popping performance. In one week, the Stevens twins finished among the top 4 at the Boston Indoor Games mile last Saturday, ran US #1 and US #2 3200 times of 10:19 and 10:20 on Monday at their district meet, and today at the Region IV champions posted the US #1 and US #2 times in the 1600 meter run with Kathleen Stevens at 4:48.76 and Joanna Stevens at 4:49.61.