Lafayette boys come into the state meet this weekend with great momentum from their dominating Region I Meet victory last week as they won the regional title by a 45 point margin. Lafayette will be looking to give Coach Jones a second state title this year to go along with the indoor title from March. Their greatest point contributor will be senior Dakari Taylor-Watson. Taylor-Watson is the defending state champion in the triple jump and will be looking to repeat here once again as he comes in with the state\'s best mark at 47-09.75. He is the top seed in the event by nearly two feet. In the 110 meter hurdles, Taylor-Watson is also the top seed as his season best time of 14.59 puts him just ahead of William Fleming\'s Brandt Hicks at 14.60, so there is no guarantee on who will come out first in what looks to be a down to the wire finish. Taylor-Watson could also pick up unexpected points with a strong performance in the long jump where he is seeded seventh at 22-03.
Lafayette senior Caleb Stuart could also score major points for the team as he has the third highest clearance among the competitors with a personal best of 14-9. Fellow senior teammate Leon Barrow is a seventh seed in the shot put with a mark of 50-10.
Lafayette junior Ryan Gaul should score more than a handful of points in the middle distance races as he is seeded fourth in the 1600 meter run at 4:30.10 and will double back to compete in the 800 meter run in which he has the third fastest time in the field at 1:58.46.
Brentsville will be relying entirely on their distance guys to keep them in the team hunt. In particular, senior Pat Eggleston will be carrying the load as he is entered in all three distance events with the 3200 meter run on Friday night and 1600 and 800 meter races on Saturday. Eggleston is the defending state champion in the 3200 meter run and currently has the state\'s fastest time at 9:15.29. Eggleston should have no problem defending his title as his closest competitor is junior teammate Nick Gehlsen at 9:35.61. Brentsville also has two other potential point scorers in the race with sophomores Adam Henken (6th seed, 9:50.05) and Henry Melius (9th, 9:53.59). It will be interesting to see who Brentsville puts on their 4x800 meter relay on Friday as well since Eggleston is ineligible to compete in any other running events being entered in three other races already and three of their distance runners are also entered in the 3200 meter race on the same day. Eggleston will be coming back on Saturday to try his luck in the 1600 and 800 meter races. In the 1600 meter race, Eggleston is the top seed by nearly six seconds with a season best time of 4:21.33. Like in the 3200 meter run, Gehlsen is not too far behind his teammate as the third seed with a time of 4:29.50. Eggleston will see whats left in the tank in the 800 meter run as the fifth seed at 1:59.98.
Rarely does a Region IV school compete for the state team title, but this year is different thanks to Bassett and star sprinter Brandon Dillard. Dillard is currently the state leader in the 100 meter dash at 10.65 as he has beat the best that Group AAA has to offer in Dennis Boone at Southern Track Classic and should have no problem taken care of the best in Group AA. Bassett will need a bigger performance from Dillard though in the 200 meter dash where he is tied with two others at 22.14 with the second fastest time. Appomattox junior Rashad Kelso currently sits as the top seed at 21.99 in the event. Dillard is also a member of the Bassett 4x100 meter relay, which is the second fastest team coming in at 43.04 and will be in contention to win the state title in the event. In the field events, Bassett can also score points with Marcus Muse in the long jump (4th seed, 22-06.50) and Nictae Moore in the triple jump (7th seed, 44-04.25) and high jump (T-4th seed, 6-04). Josh Tyree (40.24) may also score some surprise points in the fast section of the 300 meter hurdles.
Defending outdoor state team champions Fauquier are looking to do only one thing and that is to defend their state crown. Brandon Edwards leads the way for the defending champs as he is the top seed in the 400 meter dash at 49.32. While Taylor-Watson of Lafayette should win the triple jump competition, Edwards can take runner-up honors as he has the second best mark coming in at 45-10.50. Edwards is also entered in the 200 meter dash at 23.34. The 4x100 meter relay team for Fauquier could give the team an additional ten points as they are the only team with a sub 43 second clocking at 42.55. Fauquier senior Dereck Clegg should be in the thick of things in the discus throw as his season best throw of 155-10 has him ranked third overall going into this weekend.
A team that many may be sleeping on going into this weekend is the Region III champions William Fleming. William Fleming has one of the state\'s best jumpers in Iziah Logan, who is the top seed in the long jump competition at 23-03.50. Logan will have to be on his \"A\" game on Saturday though because teammate Mijuan Curtis is just behind him at 22-10. Stephen Robertson could also pick up points in the event for William Fleming as the eighth seed at 22-02.50. Curtis can also score points individually on the track as the third seed in the 400 meter dash at 49.73. William Fleming senior Brandt Hicks will be the favorite in the 300 meter hurdles with the fastest time in the event at 38.98. In relay action, Fleming should also add onto the team tally with their 4x100 (6th seed, 43.53) and 4x400 (5th seed, 3:27.48) meter relays.
The pole vault competition will be a exciting showdown between two 15 foot vaulters in seniors Steven Thompson of Western Albemarle and Chad Harpine of Broadway. Thompson got the better of Harpine recently at the Region II meet as Thompson cleared 15 feet for the regional title, while Harpine took second with a 14-6 clearance.
The boys\' 4x800 meter relay will pit Jefferson Forest and Fort Defiance against each other in what looks to be a close race as both teams have season bests of 8:07 this spring.
With 13 throwers over 50 feet, the boys\' shot put will have plenty of power as Liberty senior Erik Lindamood comes in as the favorite as the top seed at a throw of 55-07, which he recently threw at the Region III Meet. Regional rival Jordan Purvis (54-04.50) of Waynesboro will be Lindamood\'s biggest challenger.
Warren County senior Kevin Boggs should take the discus throw competition with ease as he boasts a season best throw of 171-08, which puts him 15 feet ahead of his nearest competitor in Lindamood at 156-05.
John Handley senior Josh Thompson ranks first in the high jump competitiong heading into this weekend as he recently cleared 6-07.25 in a Region II title win, but plenty of competitors will be waiting in the wings with eight other entries at 6-4 or higher.
The boys\' 800 meter run should see a close finish with a cluster of athletes in the running. Turner Ashby junior Will Shoemaker has the top time coming in at 1:57.61. The Fort Defiance junior duo of Derek Hizer (1:58.76) and Matt Bailey (1:58.08) should also have a shot at the win. Lafayette\'s Gaul (1:58.46) and Brentsville\'s Eggleston (1:59.98) will be doubling and tripling and closing out the meet with this event, but could surprise by showing their resilience in the two lap event.
The final event of the day, the boys\' 4x400 meter relay, will be a hot race with the fast section containing eight teams under 3:30. Heritage of Leesburg leads the group with a season best time of 3:23.42.