The high school portion of this weekend’s VA Showcase accelerated into high gear on Saturday, with hundreds of Virginia athletes testing their skills against runners from all over the Mid-Eastern region, and in the case of invitational races, the country. Over 40 states were represented this weekend at the nation’s largest indoor track meet, held at the recently opened Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Virginia athletes enjoyed two relay wins on Saturday, and several top-eight performances scattered among the invitational events.
Most notably, the NOVA Athletic Club, featuring Loudoun Valley High runners, matched their female 4x1600 meter winning counterparts, and won the boys' distance medley in 10:30.95. The NOVA team featured the foursome of Matt Smith (1200 - 3:10.17), Blake Moore (400 - 52.69), Aiden Soto (800 - 1:58.93), and Graham Mussmon (1600 - 4:29.16).
Kiaeem
Thomas of Oscar Smith High and the Track757 club placed second in the high jump
with a leap of 6-8, while Jada Foreman of Atlee High and the Richmond Heat club
placed fourth for the girls at 5-4.
Mussmon
and Carly Wilkes (Glenvar) topped the Virginian boys and girls in the morning
session of the 1600-meter run. Mussmon nipped the time of Ben Madrigal
(Grafton) by .60 seconds to top state runners with a 4:28.61 time, while Wilkes
placed eighth overall with a 5:11.62.
Four Virginians placed 4-5-6-7 in the boys invitational 300-meter, which was highlighted by a #2 US all-time performance of 32.77 by IMG’s Jayden Slade.
Matthew Spicer (#4 – 34.09) and Jayson Ward (#6 – 34.36), of L.C. Bird and Central Virginia Track Club, found the top-seven, as did Jaylen Berringer (#5 – 34.22) and Trei Thorogood (#7 – 34.36) of Freedom High in Woodbridge and the PWC Panthers track team.
Four Commonwealth throwers also placed in the shotput, with Jordae Edwards (#4 – 52-1.75) and Atrell Williams (#6 – 51-8) of Grassfield High joining Loudoun Valley’s Thomas Gaertner (#5 – 51-9) and Grafton sophomore Shinobu Hawk (#8 – 47-5.25). All were entered as unattached athletes.
Caroline Bowe of Midlothian High placed eighth among a national all-star field in the girls 1600 meters, but broke the five-minute barrier for the first time of her indoor career at 4:59.48. Bowe, best known as a 1000-meter standout with her Class 5 championship in the event last year, had never broken 5:10 in the 1600-meter or mile event before yesterday.
The girls 55-meter hurdle trials were brutal for state athletes as 10 runners broke the 8.20 barrier. Jahnelle Saunders (Bethel) led the Virginia contingent with an 8.19 clocking, but her tenth place finish was not good enough to advance.
The
boys fared better, with two hurdlers Jayden Smith (Central Virginia Track and
Field) and Nazir Imhotep (Western Branch TC) advancing to Sunday’s finals.
Smith was fifth in 7.48, while Imhotep snuck into the eighth and final slot
with a time of 7.55.
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