Virginia HS Track Rocks: Article # 10. Western Branch's Faith Ross Shows Off Versatility at 6A Girls State

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/177286-western-branchs-ross-shows-off-versatility-at-6a-girls-state

For all four of her years at Western Branch, Faith Ross has deservedly earned the reputation of the most versatile female athlete in the state of Virginia.

Even in the first season of her freshman year, Ross was a sub-20 minute cross-country runner.

"Coach (Claude Toukene) makes all of his runners do cross-country," said Ross, who has used the base training to emerge as one of the most successful middle distance runners in recent Virginia prep history. "I'm happy that I managed to PR (in CC) each year."

However, as Ross' developed, she showed aptitude for other events. In addition, Coach Toukene, always in search of good hurdlers and jumpers, began to find new challenges for his prodigy.

"He has found a new event for me each year," said Ross. "I don't know how it started, but I don't say no to anything. I just give it my all."

While starting as a distance runner, Ross, now a senior, has also emerged as one of the state's dominant hurdlers and longer sprinters.

She showed off her versatility last weekend at the 5A/6A track meet -- winning the 55-meter hurdles (7.96), placing second in the 500 (1:13.22), third in the 300 (40.00) and tied for sixth in the high jump (5-2). Her 26.5 points helped to propel the Bruins to yet another state title.

And the best may be yet to come. With outdoor season approaching, the Kentucky bound Ross will be able to get back to running the 800, an event where she has run 2:11, and split 2:08-2:09 on one of the Bruin relays.

If only she gets to focus on it.

"It was tough last year (running the 800) because of the hurdles," said Ross in a moment of reflection. "Maybe this year, I can concentrate on the 400 and 800."

Unless Coach Toukene finds something else for her to do.

One event is missing from her resume -- the shot put.

While this may seem irrelevant to the outsider, an argument can be made that Ross has most of the tools to become a standout in the heptathlon. First, she would need to learn how to throw the shot put and javelin.

Not surprisingly, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the Olympic champion and world record holder for the event, was weakest in the same two events.

Nevertheless, a cursory glance at the others gives reason for pause. For example, in the 800, Joyner-Kersee posted a best time of 2:09, something that Ross is capable of right now.

Granted, there would be work to be done in order to improve in the other events. JJ-K was also a 12.7 hurdler, a 6-4 high jumper, ran a 22.3 in the 200 meters and long jumped 23 feet. By comparison, Ross is a 13.72 hurdler, 5-6 best in the high jump, about 25.17 seconds in the 200 and a shade over 17 feet as a long jumper.

However, that is the comparison to the greatest athlete to perform the event. Surely, the NCAA champion would have standards much closer to Ross' reach. Here's the comparison. The reigning NCAA Division I women's champion is Akela Jones of Kansas State. To earn her victory, Jones posted a 13.10 in the 100 hurdles, 6 feet in the high jump, 23.45 in the 200 and 21-5 in the long jump. However, Jones ran the 800 in 2:29, a full 18 seconds slower than Ross' best.

The unknown events for Ross are the shot put and javelin. Jones threw the shot 48-8 and the javelin 125-1.

Clearly, this is all speculation as Kentucky has their own plans for the Bruin senior.

"They plan on having me do the short and long hurdles."

Anything else?

"No. They think it will be better if I can focus."

It sounds like a good idea for now. Perhaps the Wildcat coaches will have second thoughts after seeing more of Ross.

Virginia HS Track Rocks: Article # 9. Grassfield's Grant Holloway Smashes 6A Indoor State Title Record

From Milestat.com - Grant Holloway outleans Josephus Lyles in 300 meters at 6A State Track meet in late February. Holloway, who will compete in football and track at the University of Florida, broke the state record for most
individual gold medals, earning four this year to make a total of eight in his HS career. (Photo by Mary Ann Magnant)

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/177285-grant-holloway-smashes-6a-indoor-state-title-record

Lost in the excitement of last weekend's 5A/6A meet was the demolition of a fourteen-year-old VHSL record.

With wins in the high jump, long jump, 500, and 55-meter hurdles, Grassfield's Grant Holloway broke the state record of six individual titles, which was previously held by Handley High distance standout Bobby Lockhart (2000-2002).

Holloway entered the meet with four individual titles in hand -- the 55-meter hurdles in 2014 (7.45), and 2015 (meet and facility record of 7.19). He also won the high jump in 2014 (6-10) and last year's long jump (23-6.25).

Holloway's assault on Lockhart's mark began taking form on Friday. Competing in the high jump, the Grizzly senior was taken to the brink of elimination by soon-to-be Florida Gator "brother" Noah Lyles of T.C. Williams who almost matched Holloway jump for jump as the bar climbed to 6'10". While both jumpers missed the final height, Holloway earned the win at 6-8 by virtue of fewer missed jumps.

The high jump was Holloway's only individual event on Friday. However, he earned his way into Saturday's finals for two events, the 55 and 55-meter hurdles, breezing to semifinal wins.

This set the stage for an incredible record breaking Saturday. Holloway started to turn on the steam in his first race, the 55-meter hurdles, breaking his own existing state and Boo Williams facility record while winning with a blazing time of 7.14 seconds. With the victory, Holloway moved into a tie with Lockhart.

He got slightly derailed from his quest in the next event, the 55, as both Noah and Josephus Lyles (6.24) nipped Holloway (6.30) at the tape, with Josephus' time of 6.21 seconds winning the race. However, the trio did find a few seconds after the race to engage in a communal "Gator Chop," perhaps signifying their future as teammates, which will begin next year in Tallahassee.

The deadlock only lasted for three more events. In the 500, with the day's closest finish, Holloway needed every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame to out lean Josephus Lyles at the finish line by .01 second, winning in a US #1 time of 1:03.35. However, there would be little time for Holloway to celebrate his newest state record.

Just thirty minutes later, Holloway earned his eighth career title, winning the long jump in 24-11, a Herculean feat, considering how tired his legs had to be so soon after running a grueling 500.

Fortunately, Holloway's day was finished, except for the numerous interviews.

He credited part of his performance with being able to rest the previous week, as Holloway attended, but did not participate in, the 6A South Regional, in order to save his energy for States.

So, how did he occupy his time during the Region meet?

After receiving his fourth and final gold medal of the meet, Holloway explained. "I was busy helping Miss Mary Ann (Magnant) take pictures." In fact, there is visual proof of Holloway, camera in hand, taking pictures of other events for Milestat.com during the 6A South meet.

As a team, Grassfield finished third behind Western Branch and T.C. Williams scoring 67 points to their 72 & 69. With his four first-place finishes, and third in the 55, Holloway accounted for 46 of them.

Not bad for a weekend's worth of work. Moreover, he might have picked up another hobby along the way. Smile for the camera….and say... GATOR!!!

Virginia HS Track Rocks: Article # 8. Marshall’s Heather Holt Wins Girls 5A 1600 in Record Time

Milestat.com link: http://va.milesplit.com/articles/177013-marshalls-heather-holt-wins-girls-5a-1600-in-record-time

Heather Holt is on track to break the 5-minute mile soon,
and she's just a sophomore! (Photo by Mary Ann Magnant)

Marshall’s Heather Holt continued her assault on the sub-5 minute mile while winning the 5A girls title on Saturday.

Holt, a sophomore, burned up the Boo Williams oval to clock a 5:01.74, good enough to overtake Princess Anne’s Doria Martingayle by almost four seconds. It was also Holt’s best time since her 5:05 at the Cassel’s XBC Track Experience late last April.

Later in the day, Holt also placed third in the 1000 with a 3:03.04 effort.

At this rate, it shouldn’t be long before the Stateswoman breaks the five-minute barrier.

“I’m learning as I go along,” admits Holt, who was a self-proclaimed soccer player before turning her full attention to cross-country and track after her freshman year.

Not that she was a lagging runner before. As a ninth-grader, Holt also won the 5A girls indoor state 1600, with a somewhat slower time of 5:10.82. She also doubled at last year’s indoor state meet with the 3200 and said that “it was not my best race.” In fact, her time of 11:51 was considerably slower than the 11:14 she ran this season in a December quad meet.

So, what’s the difference now that soccer is out?

“It’s easier to get to practice,” says Holt. Last year, I’d go straight from soccer to track practice, and because I had to do two sports, I’d go easier at track practice. Now, I have more days to keep running.”

And her running regimen is solid, with distance days of 7-8 miles, while her track days usually end up with 5-6 miles of running.

Holt also speaks well of her coach, Darrell General, who for years was a staple of the D.C. area road racing circuits, winning the Marine Corps Marathon in 1995 and 1997.

“He’s (General) amazing,” adds Holt. “He gives us a lot of support. He can memorize everybody’s time even before we know what to do. He’s always available – you can always reach him.”

Being a teenager, Holt wasn’t initially aware of her coach’s athletic reputation. “People know him. Everywhere I go, even the grocery store, people see my Marshall track shirt and ask if he’s my coach.”

While her 5:01 is not quite a New Balance National elite time, Holt is happy to have qualified for “some emerging elite meets.” But she adds, “spring track is coming up soon.”

And with the dawn of spring comes new goals. “We trying to run a DMR (distance medley) at Penn (Relays). We went last year, but didn’t do as well as hoped. But I’m glad we got the experience. Now that we’ve been there, we know what to expect.”

Virginia HS Track Rocks: Article # 7. Halifax Co. and J.E.B. Stuart Boys in Top-6 of 5A Boys Scoring After Day 1

It didn't take a great deal of insight for me to write this article - in spite of how it might appear at face value. In fairness, and not mentioned on Milestat.com, is that I worked as the GED teacher at the town correctional center in Halifax County from August 2013-March 2014, and as the boys track coach at Stuart in 2002 and 2003. Yes, it was a Raider teacher and coach who told ME that I had inherited the state's worst track team. I think he still coaches there..laugh.. 

Anyhow, here's the link on Milestat.com:

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/177012-halifax-co-and-jeb-stuart-boys-in-top-6-of-5a-boys-scoring-after-day-1 

Halifax County High School -- Home of the Comets!

A look at the 5A boys’ standings after Day 1 could have produced quite a surprise for the knowledgeable track fan. At the end of Friday’s competition, sitting in fourth place with 11 points was J.E.B. Stuart of Falls Church, while Halifax County was in sixth, a point behind.

J.E.B. Stuart HS in Falls Church has been better known
for its diversity than sports. So it was surprising to see
their boys track team in 4th place after the first day of the
5A State Track Meet in late February.

To understand the significance of the moment, one needs to gain a better understanding of the demographics and history behind both schools.

For years, J.E.B. Stuart has been a member of the National District, and competed against much better-known athletic programs such as Edison, Mount Vernon and Washington-Lee. However, for the past 15 years, many Stuart teams have placed closer to the cellar in the district standings than the top.

This was not always the case; in fact, there are several notables among the Raiders’ athletic alumni. Penny Moore was a USA Today All-American as a basketball player and later a WNBA player. Moore led Stuart to its lone state title in girls’ basketball under Coach Ron Wilson in 1987. Mike Bragg was a punter for the Redskins in the 1970’s, while Charlie Garner rushed for over 8,000 yards as an NFL running back.

However, it got so bad at Stuart that one track coach, upon being hired to coach the boys’ team in the early 2000’s, was told by a fellow coach and Stuart teacher, “you just inherited the worst track team in the state.” Nevertheless, during the 2002-2003 year, the football team went 0-10 for the second year in a row, lacrosse sported a 0-11 record, boys’ basketball was 1-19, and baseball suffered through a 2-18 campaign, showing that the problem was widespread throughout the department.

While some programs have made improvement in this decade, it was still surprising to see Stuart in competitive position after the first day of events. The better news is that all of their scorers have at least one year of eligibility left.

Michael Klusner was the star for the Raiders on Friday. Klusner, a junior, fell short of his best throw of 51 feet in the shot put. However, his 48-5.5 effort was good enough to place second, earning eight points for J.E.B. Junior vaulter Mossadiq Khan added another three points with his sixth place vault of 12-6, a whopping 18 inches over his previous best of 11 feet.

In addition, on the girls’ side, sophomore Maya Verna placed eighth in the high jump with a leap of 5-0.

The story is different for the Comets of Halifax County. While Stuart is located in Fairfax County (population of approximately 1.1 million), Halifax is located on the northern end (near the Huddle House and across from Wal-Mart) of South Boston, Virginia (population 8,142). In spite of having twice the land mass of Fairfax County, there are only 36,000 residents who call Halifax County home.

In spite of its small population, there are enough students at the high school to earn it a 5A classification, making it an anomaly among the schools of south-central Virginia. By comparison, Randolph Henry, the lone high school in neighboring Charlotte County, competes as a 2A.

The biggest irony comes elsewhere. In spite of being only eight miles from the North Carolina border, the Comets are a member of 5A North, and compete in their conference meet with Jefferson, Falls Church, and at least a dozen other Northern Virginia schools.

On paper, the Comets would appear to be overmatched. However, a contingent of seven athletes (one alternate) qualified for states, and one Comet, senior triple jumper Donyea Williams, won the event with a 44-10 jump.

Senior Kayla Forest, who was making her third appearance at States, likes the whole experience of traveling east to States.

“It’s very competitive, and we get to see people that we would never run against otherwise. It’s really fun,” said Forest, adding that the closest indoor track to South Boston is Liberty University’s facility, which is 60 miles away in Lynchburg.