APPOMATTOX, VA -- While quite a few schools were on spring break during this past week, a solid field of teams was assembled for the Appomattox Invitational held at Appomattox County High School. The boys 400 meter dash featured two of the state\'s best in Appomattox\'s own Rashad Kelso and E.C. Glass senior Carlton Phipps. Kelso, an All-American indoor in the 200 meter dash this past March, clocked a quite impressive 400 meter time of 47.57 to move himself well ahead in the state rankings, while Phillps moved into the number two position his second place finishing 48.44 clocking. Kelso\'s time ranks him #6 in the nation going into this weekend\'s meets across the country.
Phipps\' teammate Michael Zajac also had a good day in throwing a state best mark in the shot put at 56\'9\", while winning the discus throw with ease with a top throw of 174\'6\" at Appomattox.
The Appomattox County boys would retain the team title in their home meet as their team total of 78 points bettered AAA indoor state champs E.C. Glass (57 pts) who competed without top distance runner Patterson Wilhelm.
Kelso was also a winner in the 200 meter dash as he posted a swift 21.88 clocking in the event. He also anchored the 4x400 meter relay to a winning time of 3:25.63. Appomattox also finished second in the 4x100 meter relay at a time of 44.03 without Kelso.
Appomattox\'s Spencer Croner had a PR day in the long jump as his best mark of 22\'6\" won the event by one foot over Amherst\'s Rodney Gibson. Croner finished third in the triple jump at 42\'11\" as the event featured one of the state\'s better jumpers in Halifax County\'s David Anderson as he leaped to a mark of 45\'9.25\" to better the field.
After missing the AA Indoor State Meet due to injury, Nottoway\'s Justin Stith was back in fine form on Saturday competing as he won the 100 meter dash in a 11.13 clocking and finished second to Kelso in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.70. Stith also ran a solid 400 meter time of 50.27 to finish third behind Kelso and Phipps.
Cave Spring had a 1-2 finish in the boys 1600 meter run with Zac Cates (4:38.45) and Tim Smith (4:40.09) taking the top two places.
In a Group AA battle, Fort Defiance\'s Matt Bailey took the victory over Christiansburg\'s John Horst (9:58.96) in the 3200 meter run with a time of 9:50.48.
AA 55 meter indoor state champion Ethan Nixon garnered a first place finish in the 110 meter hurdles with a 15.03 clocking, while Keith Gaines of Salem was in the winner in the 300 meter hurdles event with a time of 39.48 to dip under 40 seconds.
Nixon finished second in the high jump at a 6\'4\" clearance as AA high jump indoor state champion took top honors with his clearance of 6\'6\".
Rustburg won the team title on the girls\' side with 62 points putting them five points ahed of second place E.C. Glass (57 points). Rustburg had two winners in the field events with Cassidy Jones winning on a tiebreaker at five feet with two other athletes in the high jump, while Amanda Daily\'s 34\'1.50\" mark in the triple jump was enough for the win.
E.C. Glass was led by distance double victories from Sallie Ford as she crossed the line first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:18.10 and came back on a hot April today to win the 3200 meter run as well in a time of 11:44.87. E.C. Glass also closed out their day by taking the 4x400 meter relay in a 4:06.20 clocking.
William Fleming\'s Brittany Cabbler had two wins on the day as she started off with a 58.57 clocking to finish first in the 400 meter dash and then held off a challenge from 100 meter dash winner Tynesha Sydnor (26.89) in the 200 meter dash to win at a time of 26.46. Sydnor posted a time of 12.84 in the 100 meter dash earlier in the meet.
Tina Crawford of Cave Spring was an easy winner in the 100 meter hurdles with a 15.67, but found a tougher race in the 300 meter hurdles at 49.89 with race winner Shaday Barksdale of George Washington (47.59) and race runner-up Sarah Witt of Staunton River (48.85) also running under 50 seconds.
Fort Defiance\'s Miranda Wolfe had the best throw in the shot put with a toss of 37\'11.50\", while Liberty\'s Becca Mikulas posted one of the state\'s better marks in the discus throw with her first place finishing toss of 120\'2\" in the discus throw.