Coach Eddie Williams at Bethel has had some great pairs and depth of stars at once in the sprint events during his coaching career, but never has he had a pair of hurdlers or quite possibly any high school coach in Virginia as fast as Samantha Scarlett and Courtni Pannell. Both are ranked on the state's all-time top 25 list in the 55 meter hurdles with Scarlett as the current state leader and US #7 performer at 8.09, while Pannell is working herself back into her 8.08 Boo Williams facility record form from a year ago after suffering an emergency appendicitis surgery just before the season.
Pannell grew up in the Hampton track scene through summer track and middle school feeding into Bethel, while Scarlett came from out of the country (Jamaica) at the start of her junior year when her stepfather took a job as the hurdles coach at Hampton University. There is a strong shot of a 1-2 finish at the state indoor championships from the Bethel pair in the 55 meter hurdles and a ch...