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First of all, Derrick Robbins of Denbigh High School is without question the finest freshman distance runner in the in the state of Virginia, and one of the best in the nation. When comparing groups of athletes one must be careful in how the analysis is derived. Even though Robbins is an older freshman, approaching or already 16, his 1600m time of 4:17.87 at the CNU Captains Classic would be good for any grade or age. This was not the first time he broke the 4:20 barrier. Robbins truly has a legitimate chance of breaking 4 minutes in the 1600m or even the mile in high school, and becoming the next Alan Webb. His 1600m times are the 2nd best all time for any freshman, and would have set a national record if another freshman (from a different state) had not beat him in a race. Robbins posted a 9:55.79 3200m at the Indoor Microtel Invitational. In cross-country, Robbins posted a 16:18 at the Eastern Regional AAA cross-country meet and no other freshman was close. He placed 13th overall at the state meet and again no other freshman was in sight. Therefore, when comparing freshman boys there is Derrick Robbins, and then the rest are battling to see who may be #2.
Speaking of #2, it is difficult to tell who is next because too many meets do not send in the grade of the athletes. Also, some meets have the wrong grade for some athletes, are completely missing grades for others, and some meet results only post the athletes scoring in the events which is usually six places. Therefore, any analysis is incomplete and subject to be significantly incorrect. Some notable freshman accomplishments do exist from the data of the meets listed on the MileStat.com outdoor track results page and these need to be recognized. However, due to the age of some freshmen this does not necessarily indicate best performance levels.
As for the 1600m, the Dogwood Track Classic had thirteen 9th graders break the 5 minutes barrier. Leading the way and with the 2nd best time in the 1600m behind Robbins was Ryan Call of Midlothian with a time of 4:40.32. The Dogwood Classic also had two 9th graders in the varsity 1600m run under 5 minutes. Andrew Riscart of Jefferson Forest has posted the 3rd best time behind Robbins and Call with a 4:40.33 at the South West Invitational. This was on a cold, rainy and windy day. Brian Fussell of Hayfield, 4th in the freshman 1600m, posted a 4:40.85 at the Dogwood Classic and a 4:40.94 at the Allen Johnson Invitational. Brandon Herzog, ranked #5, of Maggie Walker ran a 4:41.60 at the Lee-Davis Invitational. For the complete list (as far as we know) see the list below. There are 22 freshmen that have run sub 5 minutes in the 1600-meter run.
In the 3200m, Dawit Legesse of Annadale is the top freshman runner in the state (Robbins has not posted a 3200m outdoor time.) Legesse is listed as a freshman on the Scudera Team Challenge results page with a time of 10:08.80. As in the 1600m, there is a big gap between Legesse and the rest of the field. The rest of the sub 11 minutes freshman 3200m runners are: Darin Brownlee of Prince George 10:33.75 Lee-Davis Invitational, Andrew Buckland of Westfield 10:35.62 Scudera Team Challenge, Jordan Jarrells of Spotswood 10:37.84 Turner Ashby Relays, Mike Robertson of Central 10:45.39 Turner Ashby Relays, Brad Bell of Clover Hill 10:46.06 Lee-Davis Invitational, Ben Knight of Spotswood 10:46.27 Turner Ashby Relays, Alex Gillula of Madison 10:48.05 Brian Watkins I-95 Invitational, and Pat Eppley of Oakton 10:53.97 Seahawk Invitational. Only five other freshman have posted times under 11:30 in the 3200m. They are Lance McDaniel 11:11.88 of Pulaski County, Devin Huline 11:13.56 of Garfield, Kevin Meehan of Oakton 11:17.21, Jesse Hutcherson 11:28.30 of Christiansburg, and Matt Baer 11:28.48 of W.T. Woodson.
However, with so many results missing grades, there are some great runners left off this report.
Virginia\'s Freshman Boys 1600m - Sub 5:00 1 Derrick Robbins Denbigh 4:17.87 CNU Captain\'s Classic 2 Ryan Call Midlothian 4:40.32 Dogwood Track Classic 3 Andrew Riscart Jefferson Forest 4:40.33 South West Invitational 4 Brian Fussell Hayfield 4:40.85 Dogwood Track Classic 5 Brandon Herzog Maggie Walker 4:41.60 Lee-Davis Invitational 6 Danny Gordon Herndon 4:46.65 Allen Johnson Invitational 7 Kelly Watt Albemarle 4:48.22 Dogwood Track Classic 8 Arthur Denna Garfield 4:48.54 Brian Watkins I-95 Invitational 9 Pat Epley Oakton 4:52.26 Dogwood Track Classic 10 Kevin Meehan Oakton 4:53.16 Dogwood Track Classic 11 Adrian Smith Tabb 4:53.26 Colonial Relays 12 Brandon Regan Albemarle 4:54.03 Dogwood Track Classic 13 Will DeCamps Collegiate 4:55.43 Dogwood Track Classic 14 Jason Weiskopf Westfield 4:55.83 Dogwood Track Classic 15 Lance McDaniel Pulaski County 4:56.08 South West Invitational 16 Chaz Henderson Great Bridge 4:56.17 Dogwood Track Classic 17 Kurt Witt Midlothian 4:57.83 Dogwood Track Classic 18 Pat Kintzing Great Bridge 4:58.50 Dogwood Track Classic 19 Jason Vick Oakton 4:58.63 Dogwood Track Classic 20 Ben Knight Spotswood 4:58.73 Dogwood Track Classic 21 Zach Sykes Annandale 4:59.13 Dogwood Track Classic 22 Mike Mozes Madison 4:59.28 Scudera Team Challenge Virginia\'s Freshman Boys 3200m - Sub 11:30 1 Dawit Legesse Annandale 10:08.80 Scudera Team Challenge 2 Darin Brownlee Prince George 10:33.75 Lee-Davis Invitational 3 Andrew Buckland Westfield 10:35.62 Scudera Team Challenge 4 Jordan Jarrells Spotswood 10:37.84 Turner Ashby Relays 5 Mike Robertson Central 10:45.39 Turner Ashby Relays 6 Brad Bell Clover Hill 10:46.06 Lee-Davis Invitational 7 Ben Knight Spotswood 10:46.27 Turner Ashby Relays 8 Alex Gillula Madison 10:38.06 Seahawk Invitational 9 Pat Eppley Oakton 10:53.97 Seahawk Invitational 10 Lance McDaniel Pulaski County 11:11.88 South West Invitational 11 Devin Huline Garfield 11:13.56 Scudera Team Challenge 12 Kevin Meehan Oakton 11:17.21 Seahawk Invitational 13 Jesse Hutcherson Christiansburg 11:28.30 South West Invitational 14 Matt Baer W.T. Woodson 11:28.48 Allen Johnson Invitational 15 Shawn McNulty Northside 11:30.37 South West Invitational