Photo by Nicoll Knudsen
Day one of the 2010 MileStat.com Elite Track Classic will be held on Friday at Maggie Walker Governor's School with only the relay races of the 4x800, 4x100, and 4x400 meter relay being contested. Last year's meet produced some stellar winning times (9:20 girls 4x800, 7:49 boys 4x800, 47.95 girls 4x100, 43.31 boys 4x100, 4:00.97 girls 4x400, and 3:21.94 boys 4x400) in all three relay races to set a high standard for this year's top seeded relays to beat. The most anticipated race on Friday might be the closing event and final race of the evening in the boys 4x400 meter relay fast section with Atlee, Cosby, and Booker T. Washington all ready to roll times closer to 3:20 flat.
Friday Meet Details: Meet starts at 6:00 PM and Friday's events should conclude a little after 8:30 PM. Athletes and coaches need to stay off the infield and away from the finish line area. We will have a designated warm-up area on the half of the infield away from start/finish line (second turn area). Schools should set up their team areas on the grass areas outside of the track on the turns and backstretch. No teams will be allowed to setup in the homestretch stride, which is for spectators only. Check-in area will be down by the 100 meter dash starting area. Packet pick-up will be at the tent/table immediately as you walk in the gate. T-Shirts will be sold on-site. No admission fee on Friday. Parking is somewhat limited at Maggie Walker and late comers might need to park on the streets.
Girls 4x800 Meter Relay - The Loudoun Valley girls have the leading time with their 9:40.34 performance, but the second seed Deep Run girls might be the favorites if they can find a decent enough fourth leg to compliment their stellar front three of the Dobbs sisters (Courtney & Erica) and Madalyn Nuckols. On the same Maggie Walker’s Jim Holdren Track this past Wednesday, Courtney Dobbs broke 5 minutes for the first time for 1600 meters in 4:59 to be quickly followed in by teammates Erica Dobbs and Madalyn Nuckols at 5:04. Audrey Houghton will be the top leg for Loudoun Valley as she has dipped well under 60 seconds for 400 meters and an 800 PR of 2:22.34. The girls 4x800 on Friday at Maggie Walker could see half a dozen teams running times under 10 minutes with Maggie Walker at 9:47, Lee-Davis at 9:52, and Colonial Forge having already run under the time barrier this year.
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay - The boys 4x800 features the 2010 Group AAA state indoor champions from Atlee, who had a come from behind victory in the state meet with a strong anchor leg from Marques Atkinson. Atlee will be loading up their relay for the first time this outdoor season as their legs have been focusing on individual events so far including Atkinson, who ran 1:57 open 800 this past Wednesday and has clocked several 38 second 300 meter hurdles performances this outdoor season. The two Commonwealth District schools Colonial Forge and Riverbend might be Atlee’s top challengers with 2010 bests under 8:10 and should be consistently solid through all four legs without a true stud leg like Atkinson. The Collegiate boys look to prove themselves as just as formidable relay against the top public school teams in the area with a 4x800 featuring Cabell Willis, who had a 2:03 last 800 meter negative split in a 4:20 PR 1600 race last week at Fork Union.
Girls 4x100 Meter Relay - Three of the four legs return from last year’s event champion and meet record holders from Meadowbrook in Ciarra Morris, Angela Harris, and Torie Cunningham. The threesome last outdoor season had almost identical 100 meter dash personal bests with Cunningham at 12.29, Harris at 12.30, and Morris at 12.34. Meadowbrook has as a season best of 48.89, which seeds them second behind rival Central District school Thomas Dale at 48.57 who lost one of their top legs and jumpers Siobhan Ford-Holland in a transfer to Bethel this past week. With Ford-Holland gone, Thomas Dale’s other legs will have to step up to keep Meadowbrook from repeating as meet champions. The Patrick Henry girls might be one of the top 4x100 relays in the Central Region to challenge as their relay is bookend by one of the area’s fastest young sprinters in Shyra Molton.
Boys 4x100 Meter Relay - The Booker T. Washington boys come from Norfolk ready to roll out some fast relay times in a rare absence from the Penn Relays. In the 4x100 meter relay, Booker T. Washington has the state’s second fastest time in the event at 42.48 and should be the class of the field with good exchanges in a fast section without another Eastern Region school to match-up with them and all over 43 seconds. It should be a dogfight for second place though with the Central Region’s best of John Marshall, Lee-Davis, and Thomas Dale along with out of area teams Potomac Senior, Riverbend, and New Kent trying to get into the mix.
Girls 4x400 Meter Relay - Maryland private school girls’ squad Elizabeth Seton has made the trip down to Richmond and looks to be the first team in the meet’s second year history to run under 4 minutes in the 4x400 meter relay. Last year’s champions and current meet record holder Riverbend ran just a shade over 4 minutes last spring and return to this year’s fast section minus one of their top legs from 2009. Thomas Edison girls last week at Lake Braddock ran a season best time of 4:04.16 with a strong anchor leg from their 800 meter star Myah Hicks. Douglas Freeman and John Marshall are the top seeds among the Central Region schools and both have run under 4:10 this year.
Boys 4x400 Meter Relay - Without a doubt the most anticipated race on the first day of events at Maggie Walker’s Governor School will be the fast and final section of the boys 4x400 meter relay with three of the state’s top tier squads in this event with Atlee, Cosby, and Booker T. Washington. Atlee and Booker T. Washington have been strong from indoor into outdoor in the 4x400 meter relay as Atlee has two strong legs in the Atkinson twins Marques and Michael (both ran 1:05 500 indoors), while Booker T. Washington has one of the fastest quarter milers in Virginia in DeShawn Wilson who also ran under 35 seconds indoors in the 300 meter dash on a flat track. Wilson has pretty good teammates as well including 1:06 500 meter runner Lamonti Charity. Meanwhile, Cosby has put together their best relay late in the spring with their best leg Andre’ Redd (48 second 400 PR) appearing for the outdoor season. The Titans caught many by surprise with their 3:24.93 early season state leading performance in March at the Manchester Relays and their relay also has a sub 40 second 300 meter hurdler in Josh Rymer and another 50 point leg in Ajani Kingslow. A new state leading time could definitely be produced in this event as well as a push to go after Varina’s 3:21.94 meet record performance from 2009.