From MileStat -- Ten Tales of Virginia State Track!! -- #8. Western Branch Girls Almost Win All Relays for Three Straight Years; 5A/6A Baton Exchange Wrap-Up

As if winning six consecutive state titles was not a large enough accomplishment, the Lady Bruins of Western Branch almost accomplished an unthinkable feat at this year’s 6A State Meet.

If not for a disqualification in the 4x100, the Branch girls would have won the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 in three consecutive state outdoor finals. Coupled with sweeps of the 4x200 and 4x400 at the 2015 and 2016 indoor state meets, the tally of relay wins for Western Branch, dating from the 2014 indoor 4x800 (won by West Springfield in 9:15.13) to the disqualification in this year’s 4x100, would look like this:

2014 indoor – 4x200, 4x400

2014 outdoor – 4x100, 4x400, 4x800

2015 indoor – 4x200, 4x400, 4x800

2015 outdoor – 4x100, 4x400, 4x800

2016 indoor – 4x200, 4x400, (Patriot won 4x800)

2016 outdoor – 4x800

That makes for a staggering 14 of 15 state relay finals won by the Bruins. To note, the girls’ 4x100 team was disqualified, but had run the fastest time of the event, with Joyner Hinton, Shadajah Ballard, Inayah Boone and Jazmine Tilmon blazing to the finish in 47.14.

However, the Western Branch relay was disqualified for a handoff violation in exchange zone #3. With the DQ, the Westfield quartet of Sarah Little, Inaya Jones, Indira Miles and Natalie Lott prevailed in the relay with a time of 47.72.

The Bruins rebounded quickly, finishing the meet with a win in the 4x400, as the foursome of Jashella Jenkins, Amanda Thomas, Martina Smalls and Adriana Shockley brought the baton home in 3:48.55. Without the DQ, the count would be at 17... and counting!

In addition, not to be forgotten was the Bruins’ 4x800 team of Shockley, Faith Ross, Smalls and Thomas, who broke the Virginia state record on Friday with a new standard of 8:51.61.

5A Girls’ Relays

Nansemond River won the two shorter relays, while Hickory’s four runners put on a clinic in the 4x800.

The Hawks got down to business on Friday, with Madisyn Van Gorder, Kailyn Gyurisko, Kate Miller and Jodi Tolarchyk rolled through the eight-lap race in 9:21.19, a full 8.25 seconds ahead of runner-up Marshall.

On Saturday, the relays were all about Team WAR. The 4x100 group of Leticia Toombs, Julia Burkley, Asia Crocker and Brene’ Donaldson cruised to a 46.34, a full second ahead of second place Brooke Point (47.39). The Warriors ended their winning day with a gold medal in the 4x400, as Kori Carter, Amirah Jones, Tre’breh Scott-McKoy and Syaira Richardson put the final touches on the WAR team triumph with a 3:49.96 win, six seconds faster than silver medalist North Stafford (3:55.20).

6A Boys’ Relays

Unlike the other classifications, there were three separate winners in the 6A boys’ relays.

On Friday, the state’s top-ranked 4x800, Lake Braddock, added to its extensive gold medal collection in the distance events. Andrew Delvecchio, Cavanaugh McGaw, Colin Schaefer and anchor Ben Fogg won the 4x800 in 7:51.35, easily defeating Manchester (7:57.19), who took the silver in a season-best time.

Oscar Smith edged Woodbridge in the meet’s final event, the 4x400, with Kameron Corprew, Alfred Shirley III, Aaron Shirley, and Peter Smith bringing the baton home in 3:19.39, .80 ahead of the Vikings.

5A Boys’ Relays

Bethel added 20 points to its state championship point tally with wins in the 5A boys 4x100 and 4x400.

However, the first ten points were harder to earn than expected.

Isaiah Norris was scratched from the 110-meter high hurdle trials on Friday, suffering from food poisoning, However, Norris came back on Saturday to lead off the Bruins winning 4x100, joining Carlos Young II, Ilkeem Ellis and Josh Hagins for a 41.76 victory in one of the closest races of the day. Prince George County took second in 41.77.

Norris won the 300-intermediate hurdles later on Saturday, and sat out of Bethel’s winning 4x400. But, Ellis, Matthew Freeman, Young, and Edward Richardson held their ground, and won in 3:20.61, to put the finishing touches on the Bruins 14^th state title under Coach Eddie Williams. Potomac took the second spot in 3:21.58.

On Friday, Glen Allen outpaced its competition to secure the 4x800 win, with Michael Carrico, Eddie Williams, Austin Story and Zack Watt pacing the Jaguars to a convincing 7:52.03 win, over four seconds faster than silver medalist Mountain View (7:56.30).

From MileStat -- Ten Tales of Virginia State Track!! -- #7. South County’s Stewart Wins First State Title in 6A Boys 400

After spending the past two seasons on the cusp of greatness, South County senior Trevor Stewart is putting the finishing touches on a senior season that is more indicative of his talent.

The North Carolina A&T bound Stewart earned his first state title at the 6A boys championships, taking the open 400 meters with a time of 47.39. Remarkably, the time was almost a second slower than the 46.44 he ran to win the 6A North region crown just a week earlier.

But based on his past two seasons, even the 47 would have seemed unlikely based on his performances of sophomore and junior years.

In short, Stewart had emerged as one of the better runners in Northern Virginia, but not one whose name came up in state champion discussions. In fairness, for any distance under 500 meters, the discussion begins and ends with three names – Holloway, Noah Lyles and Josephus Lyles.

So, for the past two years, Stewart has hovered in the wings. As a sophomore, he clocked a 48.62 at regionals, and then repeated with a 49.01 at the state meet to finish fourth in a race won by Josephus (47.27). Last year, he chipped a sliver more than a quarter second off his 400 best with a 48.35 at the Lake Braddock Hall of Fame Invitational. Stewart place third in the 6A North regionals, but ended up concentrating on the 100 and 200 at States.

His 21.58 in the 200 was good for fourth last year as both Lyles brothers and Western Branch’s Micaiah Harris claimed the first three spots.

The 100 finals were nothing short of a disaster, as Stewart took the eighth and final place, running an 11.12.

This year, Stewart has found a renewed purpose. At the 6A indoor meet, he placed third in both the 500 (1:05.15) and 300 (34.71). Still, both state times were off his bests of 1:03.80 and 33.90, both from the Ram Invitational. And at States, he watched Noah Lyles take the 300 title, while Josephus Lyles and winner Holloway placed ahead of him in the 500.

Coming into Saturday’s final, Stewart knew that he was due. Plus, he was better prepared this time.

“I’ve been doing extra stuff,” said Stewart, just a minute after winning the 400. “I’ve been getting in some extra running and weight training.”

There would also be no Josephus Lyles in the race, as the Titan senior has been sidelined with a torn hamstring.

But this race was simply won by Stewart who took control from the 200 mark and pushed through for the win over Igo Grimes of Freedom and South Lakes’ Skander Ballard.

Stewart also took runner-up in the 100 (10.81) behind Harris, who won in 10.66, to account for 18 of the Stallions 31 points in a sixth place team effort.

With bests of 10.64, 21.33 and the 46.44 under his belt, Stewart is ready to attack the next level of competition and will do so at North Carolina A&T beginning next year. Why become an Aggie?

“I had a good one-on-one with their coach, and I believe that he can get me to where I want to be,” said Stewart.

Given his improvement over the past twelve months, there is reason to believe that Stewart will leave an indelible mark on MEAC track, while providing fits for the competition at Hampton, Norfolk State and Howard.

Stewart will complete his prep career this weekend, running the Championship 400 at the New Balance Nationals, on his soon-to-be home track at N.C. A&T in Greensboro.

From MileStat -- Ten Tales of Virginia State Track!! -- #6. Albemarle's Kathryn Mayo Crushes Field in 5A Girls 800

Almost lost in the parade of dominant performances from last weekend's 5A/6A state track meet was Kathryn Mayo's fine run on Saturday afternoon. The Albemarle junior took the lead in the 5A girls' 800 meters right from the starting gun and ran away with a 2:11.78 win, three seconds ahead of runner-up Ashley Brown from Henrico High.

Mayo, who shaved 1.7 seconds from her previous best of 2:13.49, run at May's Dogwood Track Classic in Charlottesville, credited a new racing approach for her winning effort.

"In previous races, I have been sitting on the leader," said Mayo. "But, today, I made a plan to take out the lead from the gun."

She credits Albemarle distance coach Adrian Lorenzoni for helping her sharpen up in preparation for the championship season.

"We got some speedwork in," said Mayo.

Changing her pace is a common theme in Mayo's athletic history. While many distance runners annually make the transition from cross-country to indoor track to outdoor track, Mayo prefers to diversify her interests.

When asked about her plans for next fall and cross-country season, Mayo was quick to interject with her plans for the fall.

"Oh, I play field hockey."

Actually, Mayo does more than merely play field hockey. Last October, the Lady Patriots field hockey team won the 5A Conference 16 championship, defeating Atlee 3-2 in an overtime thriller. With the win, Albemarle earned a first-round home game in the 5A North tournament. Although they lost to Stafford, the team finished the season with an 11-8 mark, and Mayo made the All-Conference 16 team as a first team selection. She may be the best track/field hockey athlete in the southern half of Virginia since Carley Shannon and Taylor Omweg dominated both sports for Bruton and Tabb, respectively, two years ago.

"I know that a lot of people like running year-round," said Mayo. "But, I like having "that" in the middle. And the cross-training helps me."

And while Mayo "is looking forward to indoor and outdoor track" next year, there will first be a return to field hockey and Mayo lights up when talking about the possibilities for next year's squad. "We have had different coaches, but our new coach is a former U. VA player who now coaches us. We hope she stays."

Mayo also ran the anchor leg for Albemarle's third place girls' 4×800 squad, teaming up with Hailey Dillenbeck, Ryann Helmers and Lauren Hughlett to take third place in the state with a clocking of 9:30.28.

The Albemarle girls finished the 5A meet in seventh place, scoring 27 points.

For Mayo, her track season is now officially over. Although she has qualified for the New Balance Nationals, she has elected not to compete.