Bay Rivers District Meet 2001

NEWPORT NEWS, VA --
It was expected for the Jamestown boys to win the Bay Rivers District Meet, but what wasn't
expected by many and shocked quite a few people was the Jamestown girls winning their
first ever district crown.

The Jamestown girls were able to knock off defending district champion and pre-race favorite
Grafton by placing four runners in the top 14 for a team score for 57, which was ten points
better than Grafton with 67 points. Jamestown freshmen Erin Mearns led the Lady Eagles assault
on the district by placing 4th in a time of 20:03. Also earning all-district honors for Jamestown
was sophomore Elizabeth Winthrop (6th, 20:41), senior Grace Zamora (10th, 20:59), and junior
Sarah Leonard (14th, 21:07). The district title was extremely gratifying for team captain and
senior Grace Zamora, who had been with program from the beginning when the school opened in
1997.

The Grafton girls still had a fine showing placing three runners in the top 15 with Mary Saprito
(8th, 20:46), Valerie Lambert (11th, 21:06), and Catherine Fleser (13th, 21:07) taking all-district
honors. The squad will take this meet as a wakeup call and will be looking to evening the score
with Jamestown at the Region I Meet next Thursday at Loriella Park in Fredricksburg.

The girls' individual wasn't as suspenseful as New Kent senior Eileen Wicker broke away from
the field early in the race to finish with a stellar time of 19:09. Wicker was one of the premier
distance runners last year in Group A, and looks to be maintaining that same competitive edge
over her competition in Group AA. She will be looking to defeat defending Region I champion Ann
Lee Cole of Nottoway next week.

The Jamestown boys chief competition was themselves. Coming into the race as the #1 ranked squad
in Group AA, and ranked #10 in the entire South region, much attention was paid to see how
the Eagles would perform with the new title of nationally ranked.
The Jamestown boys placed five runners in the top 12 for a team score of 33 points, which put
them well ahead of runner-up Lafayette with 69 points. The formidable five consisted of
Bryce Ruiz (1st, 15:36), Jonna Reinhardt (3rd, 16:12), Tony Davila (4th, 16:18), Phillip Cooke
(12th, 16:51), and Brandon Miles (13th, 16:53). The squad was able to deal
with the pressure and perform very well, but not to up to the level of their own self approval.
Even as they went to accept their trophy for winning the district, none of members of the team
showed any signs of celebration or even cracking a smile. This squad has only one goal in mine,
a state title.

Jamestown senior Bryce Ruiz seems to miss the rivalry between him and current James Madison
University runner Allen Carr. Ruiz and Carr had some epic battles while Carr was running
at York High School. Both runners helped push each other to some great times. However, with
Carr gone, it's harder for Ruiz to push himself to match the performances of his races with
Carr. Ruiz flirted with the idea of trying to break Senecca Lassiter's course record of 15:15
going into the race. However, with very strong winds and the lack of competition to push him,
Ruiz decided not to go full tilt in the race to finish with still a very impressive time of
15:36.

New Kent senior Guy Alton ran an exceptional race to take runner-up honors with a time of 15:58.
Alton never seriously challenged Ruiz and rather ran smart as he ran for second. Jamestown's
Jonna Reinhardt and Tony Davila had strong performances to solidify arguebably the best top three
in the state as Reinhardt finished 3rd in a time of 16:12 and Davila taking 4th in a time of 16:18.
Alton, Reinhardt, and Davila should all place very well at the state meet on November 10th.

The Lafayette boys showed signs that they could place very well at the Group AA State Meet as
they had three runners earn all-district honors with seniors Jimmy Kohlman (6th, 16:42), Preston
Wall (8th, 16:47), and Scott Tiernan (10th, 16:49). Advancing along with Jamestown and Lafayette
to Region I Meet are York (92 points), and York.

Bay Rivers District Preview

By Brandon Miles

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- For the past few years, the Bay Rivers District Meet has showcased some great teams
and invididuals. That level of talent has risen to it greatest level at this year's meet.

The Jamestown boys will be heavily favored to win the boys' team title. Coming off a dominating
performance at the William Tennent Invitational where they had a team average of 15:39, they
look to be the front runner currently for the Group AA state title. The team also received
their first ever national ranking as they were ranked #10 in the south region. Teams that
will in contention to advance onto the Region I Meet next week at Loriella Park in Fredricksburg
will be Lafayette, Tabb, and York.

Unlike the Jamestown boys, the defending district champs Grafton will have their work cut
off for them to repeat. The team is as strong as last year's squads, but the other teams in
the district have greatly improved. Jamestown, York, and New Kent will pose formidable threats
to the Grafton squad.

The boys individual race will be a battle between Jamestown junior Bryce Ruiz and the clock and
another battle raging for second place by a very strong chase pack. Ruiz will be looking to
break Senecca Lassiter's Newport News Park course record, which is 15:15. Ruiz ran a 15:26 at
this meet last year. As a much improved runner this year, the record should be well within grasp.
The chase pack of New Kent senior Guy Alton, Jamestown junior Jonna Reinhardt, Jamestown senior
Tony Davila, and Lafayette senior Jimmy Kohlman should make up for a very competitive and interesting
battle for second best in the district.

Eileen Wicker of New Kent is a strong favorite in the girls race, after going the entire year
undefeated and easily defeating the best the district has had to offer. Other runners who
should be in the mix will be York's Julianne Terry, Jamestown's Erin Mearns, and Lafayette's
Ashley Reyher.