McCorory Blasts Drake 400 Field in 50.13; Big Weekend for Virginia Track

Last weekend was just a superb time to be a track fan in Virginia. On the national level, Hampton's Francena McCorory blitzed a top-notch field, which included 2012 Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, in the Drake Relays women's 400. To watch the video is amazing as Francena passed several runners on the last turn and came into the straightaway about eight meters ahead of everybody. Her time of 50.13 is about a second faster than where she has been at this point of the season in recent years, so it's interesting to see how her progress ends up this year. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Some video from the Hampton Relays (below)

Today's article was printed two weeks ago in the Daily Press. I had enough sense to note that McCorory had a 50.1 split in the 1600-meter relay - this after running in two other events. Talking with her that day she was quite happy about the split. I started asking about her goals for the year. While some athletes just aim to maintain their fitness in the year before an Olympics, Francena talked about running her best 400 time - which is already a blazing 49.48.

"You know...break 49," she said, and I had to laugh. Honestly, I have no concept of breaking 49 -- my talent aced out around 51-52!

In other big news from Virginia last weekend, the Patriot HS girls, with Rachel McArthur at the anchor, won the HS girls distance medley at Penn Relays, while the Lyles brothers (Noah and Josephus) of T.C. Williams, both cracked the 46 second barrier on their 400-meter legs, leading the Titans to a US #1 1600-meter time of 3:12.17. On a side note, I am proud to note that the Lyles' live next door  (literally next door) to where I grew up as a young kid in Alexandria, so I'd like there's something in the water supply in Lower Alexandria!

In other Penn news, Drew Hunter of Loudoun Valley won the Penn 1500 AND 3000, becoming the first athlete since Matt Centrowitz to pull the distance double; Lake Braddock's super soph Kate Murphy out dueled fellow Virginian Libby Davidson of E.C. Glass to claim the girls 3,000 title, while Brandee Johnson and Nansemond River (Suffolk) took the small schools 400-meter relays.



HAMPTON -  After a six year hiatus, the Hampton Relays resumed business on the blue track of Armstrong Stadium this weekend. As expected, the host Pirates excelled on the oval, but the stars of the day may have been a few of their alumni.

Olympic gold medalist and indoor world champion (400-meters) Francena McCorory ran a trio of events, as did two-time NCAA champion Yvette Lewis. In the women’s 400 relay, McCorory and Lewis combined with fellow alums Breana Norman and Teiara Denmark to decimate the college teams with a time of 45.02, two seconds ahead of runner-up Campbell University.

Not to be outdone, the Hampton Alumni quartet of Reggie Dixon, Charles Clark, Je’von Hutchinson and Brandon Jones raced to a 40.43 win in the men’s 400 relay, edging Virginia Union (40.65). Hutchinson also won the open 400 in 46.65.

After the meet, Francena proved to
be a woman of many talents, even
helping a confused old runner
and current sportswriter take
a selfie. 

But McCorory wasn’t done. Later in the day, she breezed to a win in the 200 (23.01), and then saved the best for last, anchoring the winning women’s 1600-meter team with a split of 50.1.

For the 2006 graduate of Bethel High, the past year has a whirlwind. After being part of the winning women’s 1600-meter relay team at the 2012 London Olympics, it was apparent that McCorory was on the brink of a breakthrough year. And the Hampton native broke through in a memorable way. First, she won the indoor 400-meter world championship in Sopot, Poland, and followed up in the outdoor season with arguably her greatest performance to date, capturing the outdoor 400 national title with a career best time of 49.48. In the process, she outkicked Olympic legend Sanya Richards-Ross.

“Last year was crazy,” said the former world record holder in the indoor 400. Asked what she learned from the experience, McCorory was reflective.

“I learned how strong I am. I learned to believe in my training, and also to go out and have fun.” But she summed up her feeling in one word --- blessed.

Asked what she hoped to gain from competing in her hometown, McCorory added, “I know where I’m at in training and where my level of fitness is. But it’s also a chance to run in front of my family, friends and sorority sisters (McCorory is a member of Delta Sigma Theta).

Lewis, who also serves as a track coach at Hampton, has competed in invitational events in which the Pirates were competing. But as a world class hurdler, she has become accustomed to competing in only one event per meet. On Saturday, along with the 400 relay, she won the 100 hurdles (13.47) and placed second in the 200.

Asked about the last time she competed in three events, Lewis, who scored in as many as five events in high school (Denbigh, Menchville) and college championships, thought for a second and replied, “It’s been a while, a couple of years.” But the experience should help to prepare the MEAC Hall of Famer as she prepares to compete on the European track circuit later this summer.

For Pierce, who coaches both McCorory and Lewis, the busy day made for a good workout.

“They are getting ready for world competition. Yvette is getting ready to run in Shanghai next month, while Fran will be competing in Jamaica."

More than anything, the Pirates director of track and field was happy to the revival of a meet which hadn’t been run since 2009.

“The demand was there, from all the former runners and current athletes. In fact, many of our alumni are still involved in track and field,” said Pierce, citing his own wife, Hampton track alumnae and current assistant coach at Bethel, Cantrese Pace-Pierce, as an example.

“But it had to be the right time,” he added. In the past, the meet was held in March, usually under cold and blustery conditions. “The one thing I promised was – it will not be in March,” added Pierce. “We had to make sure that schools would come, and it was a gamble because they are on spring break.”

Hampton’s Trey Holloway (Grassfield) won the 110-meter high hurdles with a clocking of 14.31. Other Pirate winners included Stanley Davis (men’s 400 hurdles), Ce’aira Brown (women’s 800), Sulaiman Fareed (men’s shot-put) and Kayla Key (women’s javelin).

Desmond Fogg (Warwick High) of Norfolk State also treated himself to a 21st birthday present, winning the 1500 meters (4:07.77).

In the high school meet, most of which took place on Friday, it was Phoebus who stood out among the local high schools. Dartrez Thompson won the 100 (10.74) and 200 (22.39), Amira Aduma captured the 300 hurdles (44.26) and both the boys (8:21.62) and girls (10:23.15) 3200-meter relay squads won gold.

Hampton senior Tori Ray, who recently made a verbal commitment to North Carolina A&T, won the girls 200 (24.98), while the Menchville foursome of Jada Key, Jermyiah Jones, December Hutchinson and Jermyriah Jones cruised to a season best 3:54.68 in the girl’s 1600-meter relay.

In all, 23 high schools, ten colleges and four club teams took part in this weekend’s festivities.

Ironclad Bourbon Distillery To Open in Downtown Newport News

Although I have been aiming to focus more on sports posts, I couldn’t pass up this story. Best wishes to the King family and to the newly formed Ironclad Distillery. Cheers!!

Logo for the new Ironclad Bourbon

About a year ago, I noticed an e-mail message in my Google mail account. By itself, this is not an odd occurrence, but what stood out is that the e-mail came through an account I have with the Guru website. Guru is one of those one-stop shops for freelancers like myself who are in search jobs for their companies.

Turns out the mail came from a man named Steve King, and his message was indeed interesting. To paraphrase, it said, I’m looking to open a bourbon distillery in downtown Newport News, and can we talk? When I inquired for the directions, he told me to look for an older looking warehouse down on 23rd Street, in fact, just across from City Hall.

Really? You got my attention.

While I’m not at liberty to discuss what we talked about, I was pleased with the visit. Years ago, Steve bought a beautiful old three story brick building to house his Paul Davis restoration company. But the reality was that his company only needed about a third of his building’s 30,000 square feet.

Little ways to go before the distillery is finished,
but the bourbon is holding up well!

But that was OK, as I was about to see. King spent the next hour showing me the “other” side of the main level, and in the process taught me a little about the bourbon industry. He showed me the wooden casks – “new white oak! The bourbon picks up flavor from the wood” where his product will ferment and go through the process of becoming bourbon for a minimum of two years. I saw the 26-gallon stills – “we pour in 22 gallons and heat to 180 degrees.” I saw the barrels of corn, wheat, barley and rye, a distiller’s dream. King adds, “We get those (corn and wheat) from a farm on the other side of Williamsburg (Renwood Farms), which is the oldest operating farm of its kind in the United States.

At the end of the process, King will be the proud owner of Ironclad Bourbon. The name itself is reminiscent of the Monitor-Merrimac battle, which is apt because you can see where the actual battle happened from his spot at 124 23rd.

The (un)finished product!!

City leaders are hoping that Ironclad will become one more stepping stone in its efforts to revitalize downtown. Plans are in the works for tours of the plant (got mine already!). Davis already has a son, Owen working for on board. In fact, it was Owen who gave WAVY-TV 10 their tour of the plant. The Ironclad label was designed by Davis’ oldest son Ben, and Steve’s daughter Kara is the company’s Creative Director.

The plans for Ironclad are big for the Davis family. “We want to move up to a 100 gallon system, then possibly 150...200, says Steve. “A couple of 100 gallon systems would be enough to produce enough product to be commercial.”

As the only new bourbon distiller in Hampton Roads, the King’s have a clear path on the road to spirits success.

SEVA Girls Well Into Swim Season; Hosting Movie Benefit This Sunday

The South Eastern (VA) swim team season is well underway, and the girls team recently took part in the VSI SC Age Group Championships at the Collegiate School Aquatic center in Richmond.

Last year, it was the "7 Dwarfs" who led the girls team for
SEVA. Jacqueline Tinneny and Morgan Miller
are still around, but coach Jeff Kincaid is looking for
new talent.

It was a great outing for the Newport News based squad, who placed fourth of 31 teams.

According to coach Jeff Kincaid, Morgan Miller was his team’s standout in Richmond.

Says Kincaid, She really did the best job on our team, scoring and placing (in the 13-14 year old category) at night. She really shined in the 200 free and 500, as well as the 1650.”

Kincaid also noted that six other girls made it to the NASA cup, a new meet, which will be held in Florida later this summer.

South Eastern’s Jacqueline Tinneny, a DAILY PRESS all-star from Grafton High, won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.18.

While the girls were in Richmond, Dave Henderson took 8 boys to a higher level meet called NCSA. Said Kincaid, of his colleague, “It’s really a big meet with 2000 kids and extremely difficult to make it back in finals; but, we have a few horses that made it back in a couple of their best events. “

Unfortunately, the results aren’t available at this time.

In other South Eastern news,  the team is hosting a private movie showing of “Touch The Wall” featuring Missy Franklin and Kara Lynn Joyce.  It’s the story of two Olympians in a documentary chasing their dreams with their coach in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.  The team has invited a few folks from outside the team, but still has a small handful of tickets available. The event will be held this Sunday, April 12th at 2:30 at the Kiln Creek theaters on Victory Blvd. in Yorktown..

The team website can be found at http://www.sevaswimming.com/

Seaford's (VA) Joey Prata Repeats as National Prep Wrestling Champion

It's always great to see when someone you have been covering for years continues to accomplish great things. By nature, it is one of the most enjoyable aspects of covering youth and high school sports. Joey Prata, an 11th grade wrestler for St. Christopher's in Richmond, VA has been on my radar for about three years now - a bit more if you include a Virginia Duals conversation with his grandfather in January of 2012, when an elder gentleman bragged to me that the eighth grade kid on Mat 10 was on his way to becoming a multiple state champion.

Add repeat national champion to the conversation. At the beginning of the month, Joey accomplished a VERY rare feat - becoming a two-time National Prep champion at the prestigious meet, which is held annually at Lehigh. To accomplish this, Joey had to buzzsaw his way through a gauntlet of great wrestlers in the 113 lb. classification.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the matches, and haven't seen Joey wrestle since the last Virginia Duals on January. But I did find this article from the St. Christopher wrestling team site, which does a competent job at explaining how National Prep Championship # 2 happened weeks ago at Lehigh. The link is posted below.

From the Saints Wrestling web site
http://www.saintswrestling.biz/#!2015natpreps/crzn


BETHLEHEM, PA -- Leave it to Joey Prata to wait to the very last second to score the winning takedown in his 113 lb. National Prep title bout versus Blair Academy's Zach Sherman. Down 1-0 with less than twenty seconds left in the third period, Prata used his tried and true slide by on the edge of the mat for the go ahead takedown. But there was still eighteen seconds left on the clock and the junior had already been cautioned for two false starts. One more false start would give Sherman a point to tie the score. Undaunted, Prata rode the Blair grappler out and brought home his second straight National Prep title. He defeated Sherman in the 106 lb. championship in 2014.

Prata blasted through the 113 lb. field as the tournament's number one seed. He recorded two pins in the first two rounds, disposing of Haverford's Michael Clymer and Pallotti's Jared Butler. He then completely dominated Cape Henry's Luke Harvich 6-1 in a rematch of last week's State finals match. In the semis the junior took out Mount St. Joseph's Cody Trybus before defeating Sherman in the finals. Prata's intensity and focus was strong throughout the weekend, physically and mentally breaking his opponents. He finished his junior year for St. Christopher's with a sparkling 54-6 record. His career record stands at 146-22, which places him at number 12 on the career wins list, tied with Tyler Hamblin.

Olympic Spotlight - David Rudisha (800-meters - Track)

Olympic gold medal winning runner David Rudisha is a trendsetter. And a very fast one at that.

Most of the guys that race David Rudisha probably don't know
what he looks like -- Exhibit A.

His working uniform is unlike yours or mine, usually consisting of a mesh tank top, lightweight shorts and a pair of adizero spikes. But it’s the work he does in that uniform that has him winning medals, breaking records and traveling around the world.

Rudisha may not be well known to all of you, but he should be. As an 800-meter runner, the Kenyan native has accomplished feats that are matched by few others in any sport. His dominance at his event is legendary. In fact, the 26-year old recently became the first man to win both the Olympic and world 800 meter titles while also holding the world record at the event. He is the only man to ever break the 1:41 barrier for his race, with a 1:40.91 effort to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He has the best three 800 meter times ever, as well as six of the top eight.

Rudisha may have seemed destined for greatness, which is an attribute that can be traced back to his Maasain roots in Kenya. His father Daniel was a silver medalist with the Kenyan 4x400 relay team in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, while mother Naomi starred as a long hurdler. As he prepared for the London Olympics, he recalled his father’s influence.

"My father's encouragement is what has brought me this far, because when I grew up I wanted to be like him, and I knew I had that ability to become an athlete. Being an Olympian is one of the greatest things, and being an Olympic gold medalist is one of the most prestigious titles in the world."

The young Rudisha attended school at the Kimuron Secondary School, an institution that included Wilson Kipketer among its former students. It was Kipketer’s 800-meter record that Rudisha eventually broke at the tender age of 21, when his 1:41.09 at an ISATF meet in Berlin became the new world standard. A week later, he lowered the mark to 1:41.01 at a meet in Rieti, Italy.

But it was at the Olympic that Rudisha set foot on to the world stage. In the fastest 800-meter race ever, he took the field out at a blistering pace (49.28 after 400 meters), daring any runner to challenge. While no one could catch Rudisha, five managed to break the 1:43 mark, an unheard of feat.

Just before leaving for London, Rudisha reflected on his childhood and how the pride of his ancestry would help to motivate him.

“Going to the Olympics as a Maasai I want to make them proud because, after the warm welcome they gave me when I went back and being their leader, I want to also be the warrior in the Olympics. That will be something good because that will be the first Olympic gold medal for the Maasai."

While his parents and his heritage helped him along the way, it is also training and diet that are critical elements of Rudisha’s training. The greatest middle distance runner ever maintains a strict diet – one that mixes proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables. Junk food is a foreign term to Rudisha, and fortunately, there is little to be had in Kenya. Most of the food he eats is fresh, and the only thing he changes throughout the year is the amount he eats.

Rudisha’s training regimen has also remained consistent since his teenage days. A typical weekly training plan is chock full of speed work, with a lot of drills and striding. He’s never run more than eight miles in a workout, so his practices are fast and furious.

In the end, Rudisha simply loves his sport, and has said, “Running is so exciting! I really enjoy it because it’s something I am passionate about.”

One City Marathon Goes Without a Hitch (Unless You Were on the James River Bridge!)

By all accounts, the inaugural One City Marathon, which took exactly 2600 runners on a north-to-south route of Newport News, was a rousing success!

The best part of the One City Marathon came in the form of four separate races. You didn't have to be a marathoner to be part of the experience. Five hundred athletes were selected to run the 26.2 mile race, but there was also a marathon relay, a Maritime 8K (five miles), and also a Nautical Mile. Slightly overweight joggers could join in the fun.

Eric Rasmussen was the overall winner of the full marathon with a time of 2:39:14, while local favorite Sika Henry of Newport News took the women's crown in 3:11:17. Full results can be found by clicking the link below.

http://www.onecitymarathon.com/results/

For a first time race with thousands of runners, there were almost no logistical problems, much to the delight of city manager Jim Bourey, who conceived the idea of this hometown marathon, and Jason Todd, owner and director of FlatOut Events, the group which planned the course and handled all of the race details.

Here is Dave Johnson's article in the Daily Press giving more detail to the final analysis:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-marathon-race-0316-20150315-story.html

There was one hitch - a backup on the four mile long James River Bridge which intersects the marathon course on its north end. While organizers thought there would be breaks between runners to allow cars through, there was no such luck, and some motorists were held up for as many as 90 minutes. This is certainly a detail which can be fixed for next year, when I predict the number of participants will be closer to 5,000. In all, this is a great race for the City of Newport News, and in spite of its detractors, an idea that promotes, as well as salutes the city in which it is run.

From MileStat.com - One For The Record Books

Had a great two days at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton! Some incredible talent coming out of Virginia, as noted by the American record for the freshman girls triple jump, as well as the numerous US top-five performances. Here's the link to today's MileStat article:



http://va.milesplit.com/articles/148079-one-for-the-record-books-5a6a-state-meet-recap#.VQBYQoHF_v1

Day 1 Recap From 5A/6A Virginia Indoor Champs - Thomas Dale's Titiana Marsh Sets National Freshman Record in Triple Jump (41' 2")

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/147925-morning-session-recap-from-5a6a-states-#.VP7iT4F4pJ0

See milestat.com for pictures, videos and live meet updates.

Signs of rust from two weeks of missed practice because of snow and ice, coupled with the New Balance Indoor National Championships in New York City looming four days away, led to several unlikely field heroes on the opening day of the Virginia 5A/6A indoor track championships at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

Fans were also treated to an American prep record on Monday, courtesy of Thomas Dale’s Titiana Marsh, who set a freshman national record in the girls’ 6A triple jump, with a 41-2 effort.

Other 6A Girls

In the girls’ pole vault, both Leclaire Beres and Jessica Keys of Herndon cleared 9-9. But it was Keys who won the tiebreaker on fewer misses, and the championship. The combined effort was worth 18 points for the Hornets, who are currently second in the team standings. However, Western Branch remains the heavy favorite to defend their title.

Crystal Jones of Colonial Forge broke her own meet record, nailing a 5-8 clearance to equal her indoor best and win the girls high jump. Jones had the bar raised to a facility record 5-10.25, but failed to clear on her three attempts.

T.C. Williams jumped out to an early team lead with 29 points, followed by Robinson and Western Branch with 20. But the Bruins, fueled by the 3200-meter relay triumph (9:16.03) of Jewel Smith, Ceshay Joyner, Faith Ross, and Amanda Thomas are now in striking distance of taking the team lead, and enter Tuesday with a full lineup in place.

Herndon (18) currently holds the fourth spot in the team standings.

6A Boys

The upsets started early with Grassfield sophomore Seth Harrell. Harrell started the morning as the 14th and last seed in the shot put, almost nine feet behind the favorite, teammate Owen Chappell.

“All I wanted to do was get in the top eight and score, said the sophomore, whose 2013 knee surgery to correct a misplaced kneecap made his accomplishment all the more unlikely. “But once I got off a 48 (foot throw), I started feeling confident.”

With Chappell fouling twice, Harrell found himself in the thick of the competition. He was surprised to make the finals, but astounded everyone in the field with his last throw, a toss of 51-2, which propelled him into the lead, and his first state title.

And while the Grizzlies also scored well in the boys’ high jump, there was a mild upset for the top spot as Oscar Smith’s Bradley Jones nudged out Grassfield standout Grant Holloway.

Holloway entered as the top seed at seven feet. But Jones showed off his outstanding form in the early rounds as both jumpers, along with Noah Lyles of T.C. Williams, cleared 6’4”, then 6’6”.

The competition got interesting at 6’8”. Jones cleared the height first, while Holloway appeared to have trouble planting his left foot to jump after the approach. The resulting minor slips caused him to miss his first two attempts. In the meantime, Lyles missed three attempts and bowed out. But down to his last jump, Holloway dramatically cleared with a couple of inches to spare, setting up a two-man showdown at 6’10”.

Jones wasted little time, clearing the bar on his first attempt. As the lone jumper left to qualify at 6’10”, Holloway was forced to either make the height or lose. After missing the first two attempts, he was again down to a final jump. And for the second time, facing elimination, Holloway managed to plant his last step and soar four inches over the bar, setting up another duel at seven feet.

However, both jumpers missed all three attempts at the seven-foot height, leaving Jones with his first-ever state title, winning on the basis of fewer misses.

For Jones, like many athletes, the weather had affected his training. He noted only having one opportunity to practice jumping, that being yesterday. Looking for an edge, he went back to the basics.

“I wanted to really get it (state title),” said the senior, who is not participating in any other events. “My thought was to run fast and jump high.”

Quincy Watts of Landstown pulled off yet another improbable upset. Watts, whose previous best triple jump was 44-4, pulled a veritable rabbit out of his hat, jumping an unforeseen distance of 48-10.25 to capture the crown.

While the two weeks of snow had a negative impact on other athletes, Watts feels that he benefitted from the break.

“It actually helped me. The time off gave me a chance to heal,” said Watts, who will also be competing in the 55 high hurdles, long jump, 4x200, and 4x400 relays.

The Chantilly quartet of Titus Jeffries, Daniel Mitchell, Ryan McGorty and Brandon McGorty held up to their expectations, and kept their team title hopes alive with a well-needed 7:56.02 win in the 3200-meter relay.

And Andrew Arlint of Battlefield finished the day’s events, winning the pole vault at 15 feet even.

Grassfield holds the lead after Day 1 with 23 points, with Forest Park in second (16), Western Branch is third with 14, but poised to strike on Day 2. T.C. Williams and Lake Braddock are currently tied for ninth with six points, but look forward to strong performances tomorrow – the Bruins with their stable of distance runners (Corbett, Schafer, Monogue, Fogg), and the Titans with the double trouble combination of Noah and Josephus Lyles in the sprints and relays.




5A Girls

In the girls pole vault, Deep Run’s Adeline Scelzi added a couple of inches to her personal best, to win the event with an 11-3 clearance.

The Thomas Jefferson S&T foursome of Katrina Junta, Mary Pollin, Emily Moschella and Haley Stumvoll outpaced Great Bridge and Potomac to win the first heat of the 3200-meter relay in a season-best 10:07.23.  But the Atlee squad, with Laney Owen, Cornelia Brower, Kaitlyn Mason and Chloe Bavin claimed the top prize with their 9:52.08 time, helping to give them a tie for the top spot with Deep Run after three events on Day 1. Henrico (15) and Mills Godwin (12) are tenuously holding the third and fourth spots, while Maury and Princess Anne (10) are tied for fifth.

5A Boys

Matoaca’s Anthony Warner benefitted from the absence of top seed Devontay Doyle of Kempsville to leap from the seventh seed to the state crown with a hop, skip and jump of 43-5. Doyle, who is entered in this weekend’s Nationals, has topped 48 feet this year. But Warner, a junior, was able to add over seven inches to his previous best, allowing him to defeat the field of ten.

Atlee shot-putter Austin Cannon was one of the few favorites to win as expected on Monday. Cannon, who sported a seed of 54-7, launched a 53-7.25 to win the event and help the Raiders in their quest for the team championship.

Manchester’s Zack Marshall got past a quartet of evenly matched high jumpers to win with a leap of 6-4. Marshall credited his win to knowing his competition.

“I have jumped with a couple of the guys before, so I wasn’t surprised,” said the junior. I tried to stay focused and not worry.”

After the five events on Monday, Kempsville (23) is holding a three-point lead over Highland Springs and Manchester (20). Lee-Davis (15.5) and Hickory (15) round out the top five.

Things to Look For at 5A Virginia State Track Meet - POSTPONED FOR THIRD TIME!! WILL NOW RUN NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY 3/9 AND 3/10

With any luck, we will get to finally hold the 5A/6A State indoor track meet this Thursday and Friday at the Boo. As mentioned last Monday, we’re looking for a dogfight in the 6A Boys competition, while Western Branch is the strong favorite to win the girls 6A state title.

Things are not quite as tight in the 5A meets. Here’s the link to MIlestat.com which has scored the meet based off the performance list.

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/146837-5a-state-meet-performance-list-scored#.VPTWn1PF_v0

5A Girls Preview

Girls Meet Scored (top six): 1. Atlee 76.5; 2. Henrico 59; 3. Manchester High School 48.5; 4. Hampton 47.5; 5. Deep Run 37; 6 Douglas Freeman 36.  

As I had also mentioned, Milestat.com webmaster Nolan Jez has already written his preview for the 5A and 6A meets. I had provided a 6A preview just before he posted, but don’t see much reason to divert from Nolan’s predictions for the 5A meet.

Hampton's Tori Ray (center) could win both the 55 and 300
as well as the short hurdles this week at the 5A state meet

The Atlee girls, led by Chloe Bavin (distance), Carly Feyeraband (sprints, jumps), India Lowe (hurdles) and CeeCee Harris (sprints) are strong favorites to repeat as state champs.  After that, it will mostly be a Richmond lineup of schools through the top six. However, keep an underdog eye out for Hampton. Tori Ray has been a one woman wrecking crew for the Crabbers, and Marques Hamilton’s squad should not be counted out of a chance to take home some team hardware.

Nolan also highlighted Henrico’s star jumper LaChyna Roe and the general ability in the field from Gene Bowen’s Manchester contingent.

Homer alert – Admittedly, I’ll also be keeping an eye on my old Menchville team, particularly Jada Key (seeded third in 300) and the 1600-meter relay team of Key, the Jones twins (Jermyiah and Jermyriah), and Briana Hunter. The relay placed second to Douglas Freeman last spring and are seeded right behind the favorite Rebels again. It will probably take a sub-four minute effort to win this one.

5A Boys Preview

Boys Meet Scored (top eight): 1. Highland Springs 74.25; 2. Kempsville 55.75; 3. Manchester 46.25; 4. Douglas Freeman  43.5;  5. Lee-Davis 43; 6. Deep Run 40;  7. Atlee 38;  8. Hermitage 35. 

Deep Run's Matthew Novak is one of the top distance
runners in Virginia and should easily win the 1600
and 3200 at the 5A state championships

The outcome here will also be heavily influenced by the Richmond schools, with Highland Springs entering the meet as solid favorites. Nolan writes that “the Springers, who have added more range since last season, will feature stars Marcus Taylor and Felton Davis who will be tough to stop in anything they run in. If these two perform well and run on the relays then we are in for quite a show and could see the athlete of the meet be a battle between two teammates. After them though things get very dicey for that second place trophy.”

I’m specifically looking at two other athletes for potential outstanding individual performances. The first comes from Atlee, who have added a diamond to their mine of pole-vaulters. And Bryce Simpson might be their shiniest gem in some time, entering the 5A champs with a remarkable 15’6” effort.  Matthew Novak of Deep Run (4:13 – 1600, 9:24 – 3200) should dominate the distance events and add a stellar leg to the Wildcat’s 3200-meter relay.

Things to Look For at 6A Virginia State Track Meet - POSTPONED FOR THIRD TIME!! WILL NOW RUN NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY 3/9 AND 3/10

Going to put a brief hold on my 5A preview, but Nolan Jez posted one, and it can be found on Milestat.com.

I’m looking forward to getting back on track – figuratively and literally. After spending the entire winter diverted with other professional ventures, I’m finally realigning with Milestat.com to help provide coverage of this weekend’s 5A/6A state indoor track meet. For the record, it’s been about six years since I did any work with MileStat, and I thank current webmaster Nolan Jez for responding to my offer to help. With TrackNation magazine on hiatus (I think it’s a break?), I’ve been looking for more writing opportunities with cross-country and track and field.

Anyhow, enough of that. This weekend promises to be a barnburner at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. Nolan will be providing the more formal meet preview and recap, but I want to point out some aspects of this weekend’s meets that I’ll be looking to cover. Today, I’ll look at the 6A meets, while moving on to 5A tomorrow.

T.C.'s Noah and Josephus Lyles will be looking to help the
Titans to an indoor state track title, one to match the crown
they won last outdoor season.

6A Boys – The team champion could easily come down to the final lap of the final race. There are five real dogs in this race – Lake Braddock, T.C. Williams, Grassfield, Western Branch and Chantilly.

Grassfield will almost entirely rely on Grant Holloway for its points, although Owen Chappell should win the shot put.  Chantilly (seeded 5^th) will need top performances from all of their athletes, and at least 24 individual points from the McGorty brothers, Brandon and Ryan, as well as a win in the 3200 relay and top three placement in the 1600 relay. Lake Braddock features a trio of distance runners, Alex Corbett, Kevin Monogue and Colin Schaefer who can score heavily, as well as enough entries in other events to keep the other teams honest. Bruin distance coach Mike Mangan readily admits that Grassfield (with Holloway and Chappell in the field) could get to 50 points “in a hurry,” which could make them hard to catch. But Lake Braddock won the 6A North regional, and is seeded first this weekend, so they have to be slightly favored to win the title.

T.C. Williams is seeded second, and with the power of Noah and Josephus Lyles on their side in the shorter sprints and high jump, can make an honest bid for the title. But never count out Western Branch (seeded 4^th). The team has a knack for having 7^th and 8^th seeded athletes suddenly earn top-four honors at States, and runners such as Tyson Robinson (300, 500) and Jahkwan Blackley (55) could emerge from the seeding shadows this weekend.

6A Girls – Western Branch is the heavy favorite, with the real question being if they will top 100 

points. Claude Toukene’s girl’s team will be too much for the rest of the state again. The Southside

Milan Parks will be one of the keys for Western Branch
this weekend as they enter the 6A girls meet

version of the Bruins, as usual, will be loaded in the hurdles and jumps. Faith Ross and Jewel Smith will contribute crucial points in the 300 and 500, and the Bruin relays are too far ahead of the rest of the field to dare predict an upset in the 800, 1600, and 3200 relays.

But there will be other stories. Lauryn Ghee of Grassfield has been a U.S. leader in the 55 and 300, but she’ll see some heat, particularly in the 55, from Alexys Taylor (Osbourn Park) and Mallory Pitchford (James River). Freshman Titiana Marsh of Thomas Dale sports a 40-foot triple jump, so she will be worth watching, while Maria Muzzio of Robinson will be the favorite in the shot, with a 42-6.5 entry.

Lake Braddock’s Kate Murphy could be a double winner in the 1600 and 3200, where she is almost 22 seconds ahead of second seed, Oakton’s Allie Klimkiewicz.

From "The Boys of Ewald Park" - Meeting Arthur Ashe

Lately, I have been reading copy for a book project that I'll be saying more about in the coming months. However, concurrently, I have also been in the process of gathering information for a book which will be called "The Boys of Ewald Park." Essentially, it's going to be about the lives that my friends and I led in the west end of Alexandria, Virginia during the 1970's. Going back through some of our collective experiences has been a great deal of fun, and it's going to be more fun to put them into writing.

Admittedly, this isn't the best story, per se, but it did happen. I guess you could consider this an excerpt from "The Boys of Ewald Park" at least as it looks today.

Sometimes, I get to thinking about the first 49 and a half years of my life, and have to laugh when I think about how I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be involved in quite a few “Forrest Gump” like moments, particularly with athletes.

My childhood in Alexandria, VA was defined by our communal attitude toward racism and prejudice. It was a true irony that the movie “Remember the Titans” came around in 2001, to describe our hometown in the 1970’s. We didn’t need to see the movie to remind us of how we grew up. We lived through it. With my best friends and neighbors, Jimmy and Fred Hopewell, we were acutely aware of the attitudes among the people who surrounded us. We were raised on Venable Avenue, in a neighborhood that was as diverse as any in America. Looking back, it was amazing that we were so young, but so keenly aware of the fact that not all people got along. And sometimes we acted out in the name of injustice. As kids.  In February of 1974, when Jimmy and I were 8, and Fred was 11, we held a parade in honor of Hank Aaron, a pursuit that I have written about before on this blog. Why? Because he was about to break Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, but was receiving death threats and hate mail on a daily basis.

But I have never mentioned my encounter with Arthur Ashe.

Arthur Ashe, holding up his Wimbledon trophy after winning
the tournament in 1975.

Back in the late 1970’s, Ashe was better known simply as a tennis player. His status as a humanitarian and cultural icon was still 10 years from becoming cemented in the public discussion, and his passing would sadly occur 14 years later. But he was a hell of a tennis player, and also an avid supporter of the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL), a youth organization that happened to host a quartet of teams that played and practiced at Ewald Park, which was the epicenter of our youthful existence.

Anyhow, as part of our tennis program, at the end of the summer, the different NJTL groups got together at Rock Creek Park and were invited to a match at the Washington Star Invitational. As memory recalls, I think we got to see Harold Solomon the first year. But for the next year, 1979, it was rumored that Arthur Ashe would be making an appearance to play an exhibition match.

And surely enough Ashe appeared. Also, at a point during the day, for reasons that were never made known to me, I was asked to volunteer to help with the program. As it turned out, the exhibition match needed a couple of ballboys.

The chance to spend some up close and personal time with such a legend and Wimbledon champ made for a great day. My memories of it are foggy. Ashe won the match easily, and I do remember feeling bad for the overmatched opponent because he was simply being toyed with as Ashe played to the crowd with no look drop shots and such. I’m sure he won the set 6-0. But he was very gracious after the match, staying long afterwards to sign autographs and talk. I did manage to get him to sign a ball from the match, as well as my Gilligan hat.

But it’s a bit sad that I didn’t know what a legend he would become off the court in the last years of his life.

GLORY 19 Kickboxing Rambles Through Hampton Coliseum - "Iron" Mike Tyson in Attendance

The popular GLORY World Series made a live and local appearance last Friday at the Hampton Coliseum as the popular kickboxing showcase made its way into town for a series of ten bouts. This 19^th installment of GLORY was nationally broadcast live on Spike-TV. As an extra bonus, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was on hand for the festivities.

"Iron" Mike Tyson was at Hampton Coliseum last Friday
to help broadcast and promote at GLORY 19, which was
shown live on SPIKE-TV.

Different from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), GLORY kickboxing rules are comprised of a mix of several combat disciplines including Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and traditional boxing. 

There were two headline events. In the first, Rico Verhoeven (44-9-0, 10 KOs), defended his GLORY Heavyweight World Title against rival Errol "The Bonecrusher" Zimmerman (103-11-1, 44 KOs) in the rubber match of a fighting trilogy that dates back to January 2012.

The co-headline bout for GLORY 19 featured a showdown between two GLORY top-10 ranked kickboxers, as #1 ranked middleweight Joe "Stitch 'Em Up" Schilling (18-6-0, 11 KOs) took on 21-year-old Canadian prodigy Robert "White Dragon" Thomas (7-2-0, 5 KOs), who is ranked #9. Schilling played the aggressor and won convincingly.

Perhaps the most interesting draw for Hampton Roads kickboxing fans was the light heavyweight bout in the Superfight Series, featuring Norfolk’s Brian Collette (21-3) against Myron Dennis, a bout won by Collette in a unanimous decision.

Collette, 27, started his martial arts career at the age of 14 in a mixture of disciplines, including Tae Kwon Do and Boxing, but currently specializes in Muay Thai. While maintaining a full-time job as an IT technician, Collette trains at the Eastern Academy of Martial Arts in Virginia Beach, and was most recently seen at GLORY 18 in Oklahoma, where he took part in the Light-Heavyweight Contender Tournament and was eliminated in the semi-final round by Zack Mwekassa. 

He hoped for a better result against Dennis.

“The only thing I know about him is that we have a mutual opponent, who he lost to, but I beat in my first GLORY tournament," said Collete the day before his match. "So I’m very confident, but also respectful.”

Dennis is new to the GLORY circuit, but fights out of Oklahoma City and competes in both MMA and kickboxing. He recently captured the Legacy MMA light-heavyweight title after beating the UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce veteran Paul Buentello. 

Keeping with the spirit of the Hampton Roads region, and in association with Veteran Operation Wellness (VOW), GLORY also hosted its first Armed Forces exhibition, in which a member of the US Navy will compete against a member of the US Air Force under GLORY Rules.

VOW is a Spike-TV campaign created to inspire veterans to make the same commitment to their health and wellness that they made to their country.

GLORY was founded three years ago, and is owned and operated by GLORY Sports International (GSI), a professional martial arts organization and television content provider that maintains offices in New York, as well as countries across Europe and the Far East. Its programming can be seen in over 170 territories.

GLORY 19 Results from Hampton Coliseum (February 6, 2015)


Glory Heavyweight championship: Rico Verhoeven def. Errol Zimmerman via TKO (knee injury) RD 2 (2:17)

Welterweight tournament final: Nieky Holzken def. Raymond Daniels via TKO (4 knockdowns) RD 3 (1:25)

Middleweight bout: Joe Schilling def. Robert Thomas via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)

Light Heavyweight bout: James Hurley vs. Cedric Smith-- Smith def. Hurley via TKO RD 2 (0:56)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Nieky Holzken def. Alexander Stetcurenko via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Raymond Daniels def. Jonathan Oliveira via TKO (3 knockdowns) RD 2 (2:15)

Lightweight bout: Andy Ristie def Steve Moxon via TKO RD 1 (2:43)

Heavyweight bout: Xavier Vigney def Everett Sims via TKO RD 1 (1:44)

Lightweight bout: Josh Jauncey def Max Baumert via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) RD 3 (0:37)

Light Heavyweight bout: Brian Collette def Myron Dennis via unanimous decision


Welterweight bout: Francois Ambang def Stephen Richards via KO RD 1 (2:14)