CARTER MOVES INTO RAREFIED AIR WITH TEAM WAR; Three 5A state titles by sophomore draw comparisons to Brandee’ Johnson

As Kori Carter completes her sophomore year at Nansemond River, it’s hard not to mention her name without also invoking the name of the greatest female prep hurdlers in Team WAR, and Virginia history.

The comparisons of Carter to Brandee’ Johnson, who is now plying her trade with the nationally ranked Florida Gators are hard to ignore.

So are the results.

Last weekend, Carter broke yet another barrier in her quest to match the feats of Johnson, winning both 5A girls state hurdle titles. On Friday and early Saturday, the petite speedster blazed to a 13.80 win, easing past Maury’s Maya Seay for the win. Late on Saturday, it was Carter again, overcoming yet another Commodore standout, Brooke Stith, to win the 300-meter hurdles in 42.34, just a second faster than Stith.

Somewhere in between, Carter also found time to anchor the Warriors’ 4x100 relay to a 47.26 win, defeating ... would you believe Maury? Not so ironically, Nansemond River’s winning score of 107 in the team standings was followed by Maury’s 65, as the Norfolk school claimed second.

Getting back to comparisons, one can see that Carter is faring well against the feats of Johnson through two years. The state titles were not Carter’s first; in fact, she won the 500 meters during indoor season with an impressive time of 1:15.51. She also recently clocked a 55.99 in the 400 meters, run at the 5A South Regionals.

Johnson is making her mark with the Lady Gators as a hurdler and leg on the national top-ten 4x400. Setting aside Johnson’s HS jumping marks (18-9.75 LJ, 39-3 TJ), one can take a look at the comparison in the other three events and see why Nansemond River coach Justin Byron is looking forward to the next two years with Carter.

100 hurdles – During her sophomore year, Johnson peaked at 13.85, setting the stage for her to lower the time to 13.08 by the time she graduated. Carter ran a best of 13.80 at States.

300 hurdles – Carter has a greater edge here through two years. Johnson’s best as a sophomore was 43.39, a time that eventually dropped to 40.69 by her senior year, Carter is over a second and a half better ahead right now, with a best of 41.93 from her Dogwood Classic win in early May.

400 – Very close.  Johnson ran a 55.36 as a sophomore, at the Taco Bell Classic. Carter’s 55.99 is just off the mark. Both runners competed in this race once as 10^th graders.

Preparation, highlighted by visualization is a key element of Carter’s game plan.

“(This weekend), I just executed my races as the day went on. But I always visualize my races the night before. It’s a big part of how I run. I want to be prepared for anything that can happen.”

One example of this strategy working for Carter, happened in the 100-meter hurdles.

“I didn’t hit any hurdles today. I usually hit one or two in every race.”

She also credits Coach Byron for setting the tone in practice.

“His training prepares us to drop times at the end of the season.”

Oscar Smith Boys Show Eyes of the Tiger in 6A Boys Title Quest

At first glimpse, it seemed too odd to be true. Not the fact that Chantilly’s Brandon McGorty was leading the 800 with just a straightaway to go. McGorty had already won the 1600 meters in 4:13, and has run 1:48 for the two-lapper twice, including once last year, when he upset now professional distance runner and sub-4 miler Drew Hunter at the Dogwood Track Classic in Charlottesville.

McGorty’s lead made sense. What seemed to defy logic was the 5’11” runner in the royal blue jersey with yellow letters suddenly making a move toward the 6’6” runner’s shoulder. Fans of McGorty figured he could shake off the challenge with one last surge.

But it never happened. And with one Herculean effort, Oscar Smith junior Pete Smith gave McGorty an 800 scare that he probably has not experienced in quite a while.

“I knew he’d be coming,” said McGorty, just a minute after narrowly defeating Smith by .08 seconds (1:55.01-1:55.09) for the 6A 800 title. “I was trying to keep it tactical.” Asked if he expected as much of a surge as Smith provided, McGorty could only answer, “No.”

Adding more surprise to Smith’s effort came from the fact that he had taken the mentally draining SAT’s earlier that morning.

“It was a slower pace out front, and I wanted to save enough for the end,” said Smith, whose time was half a second off his PR, but follows a pattern shared with McGorty of being competent at a variety of racing distances. Smith’s best times include 23.4 for the 200, 50 seconds for the 400, 4:17 in the 1600, 9:42 for the 3200, and 15:15 for the 5K in cross-country. Speaking of McGorty, he added, “He’s a great runner. In general, Virginia has some really great 800 runners.”

Smith will be running at the New Balance Nationals in two weeks and aiming for a 1:52 in the 800.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 6A meet came from the Chesapeake team, who gave its better known crosstown rival, Western Branch, a vicious run for the 6A boys’ championship.

After Micaiah Harris’ win in the 400, the Bruins had tallied 58 points, ahead of T.C. Williams (40), and Lake Braddock (32), with Oscar Smith (31) in fourth.

However, the Tigers were not ready to roll over. In the next event, the 300-meter hurdles, Alfred Shirley III took the gold in 37.42, with teammates Kurt Powdar (39.38 – 4^th) and brother Aaron Shirley (6^th – 39.41) giving Smith 18 points to six for the Branch, and closing the margin to 64-49. When Alfred Shirley’s eight points for placing second in the long jump (24-1) were added to the team totals, the lead cut to seven at 64-57.

Pete Smith’s eight points in the 800 pushed Oscar Smith to a tenuous one point lead (65-64) over the defending champions with just the 200 and 4x400 remaining.

Harris won the 200 (21.11), while  Jahkwan Blakely picked up a key pair of points for finishing seventh (22.22), stretching the Branch lead to 76-65. However, Smith’s win in the day’s final event, the 4x400 relay, pushed the final margin back to a single point, with Coach Toukene’s team escaping with a 76-75 team championship.

And just as before, it was the quartet of Tigers who made it happen on the 4-by-4, with Powdar leading off, Alfred and Aaron Shirley running the second and third legs, and Smith anchoring Oscar Smith to a winning time of 3:17.04.

Next year looks promising for the Tigers with Smith returning for his senior year, while Powdar and Aaron Shirley will be juniors next year.

Britton Wilson Overcomes Nasty Spill in 400; Wins 200 - Second State Title for Godwin Sophomore

As seen on Milestat.com

There were several nasty red marks on Miles Godwin’s Britton Wilson as she sat down at a picnic table on the far end of the track after watching her Eagles compete in the 4x400.

The first was three by two inches, somewhat peanut-shaped and painful looking as the sun gave it focus on the top of her shoulder. There were others. Wilson’s right knee looked like it had collaborated with a cheese grater, and the scrapes on her right wrist and temple were smaller, but noticeable.

As the sun prepared to set over Todd Stadium, it was obvious that these were battle scars that would probably be worn with enviable pride.

The Eagle may have endured one of the more painful paths toward an individual state title, which she earned with a victory in the 200, just hours after a nasty spill curtailed her 400 effort.

In the field, she had to deal with a 17^th place finish in the long jump, with a best leap of 16-10, almost ten inches off her best of 17-8.5 from the Conference 11 championship.

Perhaps there would be a chance for redemption in the 400. With Grassfield’s Lauryn Ghee sitting out the meet, one main competitor would be out. Granted, Nansemond River’s star Syaira Richardson was also in the fast heat, but Wilson could be confident with her best time of 53.6, and knew she had a chance.

Her plan held to form. The sophomore battled with Richardson tooth and nail through two turns and a straightaway. Heading into the stretch, she was one step off Richardson’s pace and refusing to give up any ground. The crowd at Todd hushed, waiting to see if Wilson could pull off one last burst in the final twenty meters.

What happened next was painful to watch. Four steps from the line, Wilson’s balance started to get away from her, causing the youngster to lean too far forward, and on the next to last step, land head first on top of the finish line.

With a great presence of mind, Wilson picked herself up and crossed the finish line in second at 54.60, still 1.85 seconds ahead of third. But the sheer force with which she hit the track, and her inability to completely get hands in front of her to break the fall sent the spectators into a collective gasp, wondering if she would even be ready to compete again. There were also questions about a possible concussion.

“I felt like I was getting closer,” said Wilson hours later, expressing a thought that was shared by many viewers. I just leaned and kind of fell forward. But Syaira deserved to win. She gave her all, and so did I.”

Richardson’s winning effort of 53.36 was just faster than Wilson’s best time, but on Saturday, it was good enough to beat her existing state meet record of 54.27 from last year’s win.

However, Wilson was still slotted to run the 200 finals, which she had qualified for on Friday. Her body hurt, but her mind and spirit needed to be worked on first.

“It hurt. In fact, it still stings,” said Wilson, as if anyone who witnessed the fall would think otherwise. “But I had to get my head back in the game first. I knew that I was going to run the 200, even if I didn’t fall.”

The pain in her body didn’t subside, but adrenalin took over. Still, there was an edge to Wilson as the calls for the 200 finals started coming over the P.A. system. “I always get a little nervous before a race. But this time, I knew that I was going to have to push through, and I told myself that I gotta do it!”

It didn’t take long for the Eagle to know that a title was in her sights. “I felt really confident. Also, I got a good start from the blocks. Since I have been working on running the curves, that went well, and I made up the stagger.”

Overcoming excruciating pain, Wilson left little doubt of the outcome as her personal-best time of 24.28 was .54 seconds ahead of Nansemond River’s Anaya Monroe, who ran 24.82. She couldn’t quite eclipse the state meet record of another WAR runner Brandee’ Johnson (23.94), but hopes to get it next year.

Wilson will be competing in two events at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in mid-June – the open 400 and a 4x200 Emerging Elite race with her teammates.

It’s too bad that points can’t be awarded for guts before the race. Wilson might create a lead that’s too wide to catch up with.