Track Shorts - Volume I - Grant Holloway and Bobby Price

As seen on Ultimate Recruit -- please give the site a look --

Here's the story link - http://www.ultimaterecruit.com/ultimate-recruit/track-shorts-volume-grant-holloway-bobby-price/

Grant Holloway set the American high school record
for the 55 and 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season.
He will be heading to the University of Florida in
the fall to run track and play football for the Gators.

It would be remiss to begin the “Track Shorts” feature on Ultimate Recruit without spotlighting the state’s current premier football and track athlete – Grassfield’s Grant Holloway.

In last week’s introduction, a brief highlight of Holloway’s track career was presented. Truly, as the winner of a record eight individual combined indoor and outdoor state track titles, Holloway is the prime example of an athlete who has used his abilities to run fast and jump high to bring him unparalleled success in two sports.

The talents have served him well. This coming fall, the Grizzlies’ star wide receiver will be competing in football and track at the University of Florida.

Yet, it is Holloway’s track talents that will keep him busy throughout the spring and summer. He finished the 2016 indoor season with two championships at the New Balance Nationals. First, his 4,230 points in the pentathlon was enough to win the five-event competition by a staggering 531 points, while setting a U.S. high school #3 all-time performance for the event. And that was only his second-best performance of the weekend, as Holloway also won the 60-meter hurdles in 7.78, setting a new national high school record in the 60 (and 55-meter) hurdles.

Added to this is a personal-best high jump of 7-foot-1, as well as long jump of 25-11.25, which was ranked #2 for high school indoors nationally. The 2016 Olympic Trials may be in Holloway’s immediate future.

But there are still a few more meets for Grassfield. This weekend, they will take part in the 6A South region meet, held at Todd Stadium in Newport News, this Friday and Saturday.

Holloway earned the day off last weekend, as the Grizzlies competed in the 6A Conference 2 meet. According to the soon-to-be Gator, his competition schedule is being handled with care.

“I’m just taking (the season) one day at a time,” said Holloway. “We have regionals, then state. But my main goal is making the Junior (National) team. Then I’ll worry about everything after.”

The 5A/6A state meet will be held the following weekend, also at Todd Stadium. It will possibly be the last time for Hampton Roads track (and football) fans to see Holloway compete for a while, as the Gators have no football games scheduled in Virginia for the foreseeable future, while the track teams did compete at one indoor meet (Virginia Tech Elite) last February, and an outdoor competition (Virginia Challenge) in late April.

Bishop Sullivan’s Price Earns Field Athlete of Meet at VISAA Boys Champs

Bishop Sullivan's Bobby Price long jumps at last  weekend's
VISAA track championships. Price won the long and high
 jumps, and was named the meet's outstanding
 field athlete. (Photo by Mary Ann Magnant)

In some statewide circles, Bishop Sullivan’s Bobby Price is considered as the “Grant Holloway” of the private schools. Price played quarterback, wide receiver and running back for the Crusaders – who passed for over 500 yards, while rushing for 460 yards and earning the Offensive Player of the Year award for Sullivan.

And like Holloway, Price has made his presence known on the track and field. In three successive meets, the senior left an indelible mark of the victory stand, earning a combined 11 gold medals in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools (TCIS), Virginia State Catholic meet and Virginia Independent School championships (VISAA), held within an 11-day span.

Starting with the TCIS meet, Price scored four wins, in the 200 and all three jumps (high, long and triple), while finishing second in the 100, to Nansemond-Suffolk sprinter and running back Noah Giles. Price’s 48 individual points catapulted the Crusaders to a conference title as they upended local private school powerhouse Norfolk Academy while tallying 120 points.

At the State Catholic meet, Price truly found his stride, winning an unprecedented five events, with four personal bests. He dominated both sprints, capturing the 100 in 11.09 and 200 in a State Catholic record time of 22.16. Price also won all of three jumps with a 23-4.5 in the long jump, 46-3 in the triple jump and 6-2 to win the high jump. The first four performances were bests, as he had cleared 6-8 at the VISAA indoor championships. For his efforts, Price was named the male athlete of the meet.

Asked about the spark behind his record-setting performance, Price said, “I felt like I wanted to win the championship for our team and knew that I had to do my best.” Buoyed by Price’s 50 points, Sullivan captured the runner-up team trophy, just seven points (111-104) behind winner St. John Paul the Great of Dumfries.

“We almost got them,” added Price.

The senior, who has committed to play for Norfolk State football next year, also earned the Field Performer of the meet award at last Sunday’s VISAA meet. Competing in the Division I category against the stiffest prep competitors in Virginia, Price won the long jump (23-2) and high jump (6-2), while placing second in the triple jump.

Price has a bright future in store. While he has qualified for the New Balance High School Nationals in both the long and triple jumps, he is not committed to participating in the meet because “it is so close to graduation.” He did compete at Nationals during indoor season, placing seventh with a leap of 6-7.

Along with his engineering studies, he is looking forward to football season with the Spartans, a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

“Right now, they have me listed as a safety, but they might try me out at wide receiver,” said Price, who is listed at 6’3” and 180 pounds. Price is expecting to focus on the long, triple and high jump with the track team, led by long time NSU coach Kenneth Giles.

NSA’s Giles Wins VISAA Div. II 100 Meters

At the same VISAA meet, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s Noah Giles, mentioned earlier as the TCIS boys’ 100-meter winner, won the Division II 100-meter dash with a time of 11.15. Giles also placed second in the long jump (20-3) and triple jump (40-0).

Track Shorts is looking for football/track athletes to highlight in the Tidewater, Richmond and Northern Virginia regions. Please send information for “Track Shorts” to jfmcgrath65@gmail.com or @jfmcgrath on Twitter.

"Track Shorts" Coming to Ultimate Recruit Football Sites (757, 804 and NOVA)

For years, there has been an innate connection between football and track. Track, it is said, provides the opportunity for young football players to improve their running form, build short “burst” speed, and stay active while working out in the off season. The thought of keeping one’s players “in uniform” has been appealing to some football coaches. Admittedly, others would rather have their players on a football-oriented workout system with the weight room at the center of activity.

Regardless of whether football coaches are proponents or opponents of having their players lace up the spikes to run, jump or throw, there is no doubt of the impact that football players, turned track athletes, have had in Virginia. Before starring for UVA and the NFL, both Ronde and Tiki Barber were standout sprinters, hurdlers and long jumpers at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke. Before making his name with the Florida Gators and NFL, Landstown’s Percy Harvin helped his team win a 2005 AAA outdoor state title, winning five events on his own. The list of names goes on and on, from Menchville’s Al Toon (New York Jets), to George Washington – Danville’s David Wilson (New York Giants); O’Connell’s Eric Metcalf (Falcons) to Ocean Lakes’ Justin Hunter (Tennessee Titans); in fact, dozens of Virginia high school footballers have made the segue from the gridiron to the oval and found success with both.

More recently, Grassfield’s Grant Holloway has emerged as the premier football and track athlete in Virginia. Holloway has already signed with the University of Florida as a track athlete, and he holds nine state track titles and has won a national title in the indoor 55-meter hurdles as well as set a high school American record in the five-event pentathlon. Yet, the 6’3” Holloway is also a talented wide receiver and defensive back who is prepped to join the Gators football team as a “preferred walk-on.”

Realizing the impact of football players in athletics, Ultimate Recruit.com, which consists of recruit757, recruit804 and recruitNoVA, will be introducing a feature on Virginia high school football players and their accomplishments on the track (and field!). The first article will post early next week as many high school teams take part in their conference meets. We will post every week throughout the championship season, ending in late June. This trial run should give us a chance to gauge the support of this feature from the football and track communities, and also to test the viability of taking on such a large endeavor. The old “I can only be in one place at a time” adage bodes well for this feature. Even MileStat.com, with Nolan Jez at the helm, has several correspondents and photographers, and can place people at a few meets every weekend. They have even kicked me into play for the past three indoor/outdoor 5A/6A meets. Their help will be invaluable.

There should be several key benefits to creating such a feature. First, it gives high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to showcase their athletic exploits, in a game/meet situation, after the football season. The advantage here comes from athletes having new “highlights” and statistics to post for a large forum. For example, if a college wide receiver hopeful is running a 4.9 in the 40 in the fall, but can show that his 100-meter time has dropped from 12.0 to 11.3 over the course of outdoor track season, there is visual evidence that the young man has gotten faster, and more likely to justify the 4.69 run at a combine.

Second, it will give us at recruit757/804/NoVA another forum to flex our own considerable resources. One of our photographers, MaryAnn Magnant, is a key photographer with MileStat.com, and has thousands of track pictures at her disposal after any weekend of meets in the winter and spring. She also works here at Ultimate Recruit and now has a chance to showcase more of her non-football work. To a lesser degree, this feature will give me more time to spend at track meets. After 10 years of competition as a track athlete, 17 more of coaching (in Northern and Southeast Virginia) and another eight as a sports correspondent, I’m looking forward to seeing more meets, and getting back in the thick of the action. My next meet will be the 5A/6A state meet at Todd Stadium in Newport News on June 3-4. I’ll be working this meet for MileStat.com, as I have the past three state meets.

But while I’m covering the 5A/6A meet, I’ll be missing the 3A/4A and 1A/2A competitions, and here is where I need help. This feature is not just for the 757, or the 804, or Northern Virginia. It’s for everybody. With this in mind, I am asking for help. Football coaches – here’s your chance to build up a few emerging star players, and keep them visible to college coaches. And the opposite is also true. College coaches can now keep an eye on potential recruits and follow their athletic progress as it looks at the moment. This could be a symbiotic relationship for all involved.

Players and coaches (football and track) – please feel free to send me your results from each week’s meet. I’ll look to add a spotlight section for individual article entries on athletes each week as a way of showcasing a feature performance. This is currently a work in progress, but after a four or five week tryout to finish this school year, we should be able to reload and retool with the intention of becoming a weekly feature every year between December and June.

Poquoson's Jim Burden Continues His Over-60 National Diving Run

Jim Burden with coach Danita Fox at
Midtown Center, Newport News, VA

In late 2013, I became acquainted with Jim Burden, a 60-year old gentleman, who had started his competitive diving career again after a 38-year absence. To his, and everyone's surprise, Burden quickly worked his way into becoming a medal winner at the Master's level.

Two years later, Jim is still diving, and still making his mark, so to speak. Here's an update from Burden that I received last week.

"You asked me to keep you updated from time to time about my Masters Springboard diving.  I just got back from the Spring National Championships in Orlando Florida.

(2) Gold Medals. (1 meter and 3 Meter)

That qualified me for 2016 All American Status.

(1) 2^nd Place in Men's Syncro

(1) 5^th Place in Men's Grand Masters (Anyone who has won 1 World Championship or 2 National Championships)

(1) 6^th Place in Mixed Syncro

All in all, a good weekend.  Summer Nationals are in Greensboro in July."

I'll be looking to keep track of how the National meet goes in July. Great job Jim!!