RADFORD, VA -- The Clarke County distance boys (49 pts) were unable to put enough distance
on the Nelson County boys (55 pts) going into the final event as Nelson County won the Group A
State Meet held at Radford University with a 3:26.88 win in the 4x400 meter relay. A 1-2 finish by
Anthony Haliburton and Waddell Howard Jr. in the high jump with both at a 6-4 clearance and state
title victory from Peter Serkes in the 800 meter run (1:58.87) helped boost Nelson Countys team
score greatly. In the 1600 and 3200 meter races alone, Clarke County put up 39 points as sophomore
Simon Biddle-Snead led the Eagles with a second place finish in the 1600 meter run (4:27.16) and
state title in the 3200 meter run (9:57.53). James Monroe finished a solid second as Tim Young
simply reversed finishes with Biddle-Snead in the two races (44) with a win in the 1600 meter run
(4:26.63) and state runner-up honors in the 3200 meter run (10:14.89). Fellow Region A squad
Middlesex finished two points shy in fourth with 42 points thanks mainly in part to the sprint
tandem of junior Jerry Jones and sophomore James Harris. Jones won both the 100 (10.71) and 200
(21.92) with swift times, while Harris was not too far behind in second in the 100 (10.86) and
third in the 200 (22.28) meter dash. The Buffalo Gap girls (82 pts) were able to defend their state
title and hold off a very strong challenge from James Monroe (79 pts). The winner was decided in
the final event as the James Monroe girls (2nd, 4:08.13) were able to finish ahead of the Buffalo
Gap girls\' relay (3rd, 4:10.30), but there was not enough points separation to put the challengers
over the defending champs. Buffalo Gap was once again led by junior Angela Jenkins who scored 38
points individually with a state title in the long jump (19-0.50), two state runners-up in the
triple jump (37-2) and high jump (5-4), and two third place finishes in the 100 (12.38) and 200
(25.72) meter dashes. The duo of Marie Fields and Shylan Bumbrey did all they could to dethrone Buffalo Gap. Fields won two state titles in the 100 (12.35) and 200 (25.18) meter dashes. Bumbrey won two a piece as well in a tough double in the 400 (58.17) and 800 (2:12.76) meter races. Strasburg was a distance third with 59 points as they were led by a surprise triple jump winner in Marlana Frye (37-2) over Jenkins and hurdler Laurie Hines who won the 300 meter hurdles in 45.86 while taking runner-up honors in the 100 meter hurdles (15.34).