Virginia HS Track Rocks: Article # 11. McGorty Breaks 6A 1600 Record While Completing Triple

It should be noted that the Charger quartet of Titus Jeffries, Michael Scopllite, Justin Loy and Brandon McGorty set a national HS record in the sprint medley two weeks late at the New Balance Nationals. Here's the Milestat.com article on that historic race: 

http://va.milesplit.com/articles/177600-chantilly-boys-smr-national-record-32402- 

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Chantilly's Brandon McGorty has been primarily driven by two goals during this indoor

season. The first was to win the 6A 1600-meter title, and break the meet record. His second goal is to capture the open 800 at next week's New Balance Nationals - an achievement that he almost earned last year, placing second in 1:51.5 despite inexplicably having to run from the slow heat.

While most runners would harness their focus to these two individual goals, let it be stated that most runners are not as intense as the Charger junior. So, last month, without provocation, McGorty approached Coach Matt Gilchrist and announced a new goal.

As Gilchrist recalls, "He came up to me with the idea to triple at States - to run the 1600, 1000 and four by four (4x400)."

Aside from wanting to be a good teammate, McGorty had another reason for wanting to triple.

"I decided that I wanted to test my strength. Coach thought it was a good idea, and we just went for it."

The first test came at the Concorde Conference meet.

The results were satisfactory. "It worked well," said Gilchrist.

The only "X factor" in completing the triple for States may have come from McGorty's competition in the 1600. "His best was 4:19, but he ran that at Christmas," added Gilchrist, keeping in mind that other milers, such as Cox's Jonathan Lomogda, would be stiff competition. If there were problems in the first race, it could have affected McGorty's performance later in the 1000 and 4x400.

The coach and runner mapped out a strategy. Go out hard for the early laps of the 1600 and aim to put the race away early. And McGorty stuck to script, sailing through the first 400 meters in 61.5 and the half at 2:05.

However, there was one problem. He was not completely alone yet.

"He was forced out hard early," said Gilchrist. "Lomogda ran a great race and made him work for it. We didn't expect him to hang for quite as long."

So instead of staying in gear and easing to victory, McGorty was forced to push through the next three laps. But, the end result was a first place finish, as well as a new personal best and state meet record of 4:13.46. Lomogda hung on for second in 4:17.91.

The effort exerted in the 1600 may have affected McGorty in his next race, the 1000. Although he came in with a seedtime of 2:25, McGorty maintained an even pace, hitting most of his laps in roughly 30 seconds en route to a 2:29.62 win, .71 seconds off his own meet record from the previous year.

In the process, he managed to retain enough energy to play a huge part in the Chargers' final act. McGorty ran the third leg on the 1600-meter relay, keeping the Chargers in contention before handing off to Titus Jeffries Jr., who blasted the remaining competitors, as Chantilly won with a time of 3:24.38, a full two seconds ahead of runner-up T.C. Williams.

Jeffries will join McGorty in another event this weekend, as the pair team up with a couple of 200-meter runners ("we don't know who yet") for the sprint medley. Last spring, the Chargers placed third at the Outdoor nationals, and they hope to claim the gold this year.

A national title would help Brandon to cement his own legacy among the McGorty brothers, but it is not something that he worries about.

"I try not to focus on it. It's a friendly rivalry. I just happen to have two brothers who are really good."

There's an understatement! In fact, the whole McGorty clan, all Chantilly men, excelled on the final weekend of February and first weekend of March. Oldest brother Sean had a breakout performance, as the Stanford senior clocked an all-time Cardinal best (and #4 all-time for college - indoor or outdoor track) time of 3:53.95 in the 1600 meters, while placing second behind Washington's Izaic Yorks at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The #4 standard will not be official because of the awkward 307-meter track. Meanwhile, the following week, Alex, a freshman at W&M, ran the leadoff 1200-meter leg for the Tribe's 5th place distance medley team at the prestigious IC4A championships.

Brandon might follow Sean to Stanford, but says he is keeping his options open for right now. Other suitors include Georgetown and Penn State. In all, there are seven schools, but that number will certainly grow exponentially in the coming months.

But they will have to wait. There are a couple of national championships to gun for at the Armory this weekend.

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!!!