While the record books remained in tact and unchanged for the Group AA boys, their female counterparts will require the record keepers at the Virginia High School League to make some major revisions. A total of five meet records were set in the girls' portion of the 2012 VHSL Group AA State Indoor Track & Field Championship meet. A quick recap of those record breaking performances below along with photos and/or video.
Photos by Andrew Kicinski
Louisa County senior Javanique Burruss joins only former Blacksburg distance runners Peter Dorrell (boys 1600 & 1000) and Joanna Stevens (girls 1600 & 3200) as a meet record holder in multiple events. Burruss set a new meet record twice in the 55 meter hurdles. First in the prelims as the leading qualifier at 8.32 to break the record initially and then Burruss lowered her recently gained record by another 7 hundredths of a second in the finals to a personal best clocking of 8.25. In the long jump, the current US #3 performer with a season best of 20 feet 1 inches, Burruss once again etched her name in the VHSL state indoor meet record books with a leap of 19'7.25".
Video: Girls 55H Prelims - Girls 55H Finals
The meet started fast with all-time best performances between the double from Burruss and big throw from Christiansburg's Rochelle Evans. Evans, who already set the outdoor state meet record last spring at 45'9", is continuing to add more accomplishments to her high school career which will continue on next year the College of William & Mary. Evans bettered the old meet record by over 8 inches with her throw of 43'0" at Liberty University on Saturday.
Hard to imagine that the Tabb girls could come back this year with a faster relay last year's crew which featured one of the fastest Group AA sprinters ever in Kiara Porter. Porter has since graduated and running well collegiately at VCU. In the meet history of Group AA State Indoor Championships, no girls 4x400 meter relay had even sniffed at sub 4 minutes with the record standing at 4:04.75 from the 2004 Western Albemarle squad. Despite having no competition to press them after their first leg got them out into the lead, the Tabb girls were able to destroy the meet record and the 4 minute barrier in the process with their 3:59.39 performance. Their relay team included Brittni King, Leigh Soistmann, Taylor Omweg, and Alison Harmatz.
Video: Girls 4x400 Sections 3-4
The most impressive meet record performance of the meet may have belonged to John Handley senior Britani Myers in the girls' 500 meter dash. Not only did Myers successfully defend her state title in the event, but she broke a 10 year old meet record previously held by former Jamestown High and UVA runner Ashley Gore of 1:15.53 from the 2002 state meet at the banked track of Virginia Tech. The time by Myers at 1:15.34 would have won the AAA girls' 500 state race held on Saturday at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. Myers was not fresh for the race either having run a great anchor leg to break her John Handley 4x800 meter relay up into second place, but their team had been disqualified in the race.
Video: Girls 500 Sections 6-7