Looking back, this meet was packed with insane talent.
Lake Braddock junior Katie Roche finally ran her first open 800 meter race two weeks ago at the New Balance Nationals. The recent Group AAA 1000 meter champion and new Lake Braddock school record holder at 1000 meters, Roche debuted with a 2:12.44 to finish 11th from a slow section at the indoor nationals in New York City. She has run plenty of 4x800 legs including the fastest split (2:13) for the VA #3 all-time indoor Lake Braddock 4x800 meter relay (9:11) from the VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Championships in Hampton last month, but she has focused on the 300 meter hurdles mainly in the past two outdoor track seasons. Roche expects to see herself focusing more on the 800 meter run this spring after two back-to-back great seasons of cross country and indoor track to start her indoor season.
MileStat.com interviewed Oscar Smith's Michael Cherry as he reflects on his national record 300 meter race and stellar state meet triple from this past weekend, while also turning his attention to the New Balance Indoor nationals in which he should give an honest challenge the national record at 400 meters as well.
After her performance this past weekend at the 2013 Virginia High School League Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships in Hampton, South County senior Felecia Majors may have cemented herself as the greatest of all-time in Virginia high school track history. Majors scored the most points ever in the history of the state meet as her 49 points among 6 individual events propelled the South County team by herself to the state team title. MileStat.com interviewed Majors following their historic septuple (meaning 7 events) at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Virginia this past weekend for the Virginia high school 3A indoor state meet, which puts her strongly in the discussion as the greatest all-around and overall female track & field athlete in the state's history.
3rd times the charm for Finn at Brooks PR! Check out all the great Brooks PR and State Meet action from the weekend!!
A gallery of all the state champions in each event from the 2013 VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships including some of great close battles to the finish line to determine the winners.
Watch below race video of Oscar Smith senior Michael Cherry (Chesapeake) breaking a 27 year old national record in the 300 meter dash indoors. This past Saturday, Cherry broke the previous national record of 33.19 held by William Reed (Central, Philadelphia, PA) from 1986 with his incredible performance of 33.05 on Saturday at the 2013 VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships. The 300 meter dash national record like most sprint events indoors are usually set on a fast 200 meter banked track, but Cherry's performance holds even greater reverence as a record now by establishing the new all-time national best in the 300 on a flat 200 meter track surface at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA.
MileStat.com's central coverage page for the two VHSL State Indoor Track & Field Championships being held this weekend at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton (Group AAA) and Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg (Group AA).
US #5 performer Anna Williams of Thomas Edison leads all competitors into this weekend's state championships in the girls' triple jump. The Northern Region champion Williams earlier this winter joined a select group of past Virginians to have leaped over 40 feet in the event with her 40'3" win at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Williams is coming off a regional title against one of her toughest challengers for the state meet in multi-event star Felecia Majors. The Columbia University recruit Williams hit her second best mark of the season at 39'6.50" last Saturday.
Two 40 plus foot throwers are found in this year's field between a pair of juniors in Central Region champion Shania Williams of Patrick Henry (Ashland) and Northwest Region champion Galissia Cause of Battlefield. Cause is coming off the better regional meet performance which she threw for her season best mark of 41'4" last Wednesday. Williams popped her season best very early in the indoor season on December 14th at CNU when she launched her first mark ever over 40 feet at a state leading best of 41'11.50".
Midlothian coach Stan Morgan probably wishes that he got the opportunity to work with senior distance runner Tessa Riley more than just one year. The feeling is clearly mutual from Riley. After moving all the way from Missouri for her senior year after her father's job transferred him and the family to the Richmond area, Riley has really shined and excelled almost instantly once becoming a member of the storied Midlothian girls' cross country and distance track running program under Coach Morgan.
Douglas Freeman senior Zach Campbell is one of the top returnees from both last year's indoor and outdoor state championships when he placed fourth at Boo Williams last February with a clearance of 14 feet and then earned a third place showing at Sports Backers Stadium last June at a height of 14'6". The Central Region champion Campbell is the top seed with a season best clearance of 14'9" from a vault earlier this season at Boo Williams in the Hampton Roads Elite Invitational.
Since his arrival from Texas at the start of his junior year, Woodside's Aaron Worrell has continued to rise up the charts as one of the state's best in the triple jump. In his first track season at Woodside, Worrell just missed qualifying for the state indoor championships with a 10th place finish in the Eastern Region Championships. Fast forward 12 months later and Worrell has a scholarship signed to attend and compete in track & field at the University of Virginia as the top seed and favorite in the triple jump entering this weekend's VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Championships. Worrell did not wait till this indoor season to make his huge improvements.
This event features last year's state champions from indoor in Brianna Hayes of Matoaca and outdoor in Crystal Jones of Colonial Forge. Hayes not only leads the state of Virginia with her season best clearance of 5'10" from the Suffolk Stars Invitational held in early January at Boo Williams, but shares the nation's top ranking in the event.
A 500 meter state runner-up last year and regional runner-up last weekend to Oscar Smith's Michael Cherry, Western Branch senior Byron Robinson is tired of settling for second and ready to experience his first state championship.
Performance list for the 2013 VHSL Group AAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held Friday & Saturday, February 22nd & 23rd at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Virginia.