Layla Anderson Sparks Churchland Track

(As seen on MileStat.com)

By winning the 55 and 300 at last weekend’s Class 4 State Indoor Track Championships, Churchland sophomore Layla Anderson seemingly emerged out of nowhere to become the up and coming star from the Class of 2021 – ranked #2 among Virginia sophomores in the 55 meters just behind Na’Taja Ballard of Western Branch whose 7.06 time is only .03 ahead of Anderson’s.

While Ballard has been on the cusp of the spotlight as the younger sister of Class 6 sprint and hurdle champion Shadajah, Anderson’s rise to the top has mostly occurred under the radar. In fact, up until the Region 4A meet two weekends ago, Anderson had never won a championship race.

What a difference a year makes.

Anderson enjoyed a moderately successful middle school and AAU career in Virginia Beach, even qualifying for the Junior Olympic regional 200-meter hurdles for her age group between her seventh and eighth grade years. In eighth grade, she stuck to middle school competition, and while Anderson was “winning all the time,” track had not developed as an important part of her life. It may have helped that she couldn’t do the hurdles in Virginia Beach because safety concerns eliminated the event at the middle school level.

“I don’t like hurdles,” confessed Anderson. “But I have been good at them and the coaches keep putting me in.”

Anderson’s high school career started at Bishop Sullivan, a Virginia Beach school in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools. While Sullivan has gained athletic traction because of the success of its football team in recent years, the indoor track team ran a truncated schedule that culminated with the Virginia Independent Schools championships. Participating in just four meets, Anderson stuck to the 55 meters, as endurance was a problem for the freshman, and sported a best time of 7.40 while also placing third in the VISAA championship meet.

A mid-year transfer to Churchland High marked the beginning of her ascent. Unfortunately, Anderson didn’t know how hard the work was going to be.

“I was completely new (at Churchland),” said Anderson. “All I knew were the two new coaches, Coach (Amani) Harper, and Coach Q (Quinton Harper).”

She quickly learned how poor her conditioning had been. 

“Honestly, I was completely out of shape. I’d be walking during practice. Yes, it was a nightmare.”

How bad was it? “Coach would have us running 800’s at practice, and I had a hard time breaking five minutes!”

But a new mental attitude toward track was starting to permeate in the youngster’s mind.

“In the past, if something started hurting or it started burning, I wanted to stop. But I started to realize that the top athletes have to do this all of the time, and if I want to be just like them, then this is what I’d have to do.”

Progress was slow, but steady, and Anderson’s 100-meter time hovered in the mid-to-high 12 second range for most of the season. However, she finished third in Region 4A, and then captured runner-up at the Class 4 States with a then-best time of 12.50. Two weeks later, she dropped her PR to 12.39 at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

Anderson entered this year’s Region 4A meet with best times of 7.36 in the 55 and 42.23, good, but not good enough to be considered championship caliber, as she won neither race. While the 7.36 earned her a second place at the Gloucester Pre-Holiday Invitational, the 42.23 only placed her 39th at the Virginia Showcase.

So it was a surprise when the Trucker blasted through her 55 prelim in 7.20, good enough for the top seed, and then took the gold medal with a 7.17 in the final. More surprising was the 40.91 winning time in the 300 which instantly put her into state champion contention. As a team, the Truckers shocked their competition with second place finishes in the boys and girls standings.

Anderson’s momentum carried into States. At Friday’s preliminaries at Roanoke College, she set another PR, with a 7.09 time that put her over a quarter of a second ahead of the next challenger. “I didn’t expect to run 7.0,” said Anderson, whose look of amazement was evident as she looked up at the result scoreboard.

With that much of a gap, her finals win and time of 7.10 turned out to be no surprise, but the 300 loomed ahead.

“I was pretty confident going into the 300, but still nervous,” said Anderson. “After all, someone could go out and run a 39.”

Midlothian sophomore Dasia Hardy won the second heat in 41.64, and then Anderson held off Heritage’s JahNiyah Thomas (41.44) and Hanover’s Makenzie Joiner (41.63) to claim her second crown with a time of 41.34.
No longer in a position to surprise her opponents, Anderson looks ahead. She will compete in the 55 at the New Balance Indoor Championships (“I didn’t qualify in the 300 – that’s my goal for next year”) before settling for the 100 and 200 for outdoors. Her goal in the 200 is especially lofty as she enters the season with a personal best of 26.81. “I want to get in the 23’s and make Nationals.”

And if that happens, maybe she’ll get out of doing the hurdles every now and then.

Football National Signing Day Hits Northern Virginia

The high school gyms and auditoriums of America turned into Signing Central today, as tens of
thousands of athletes put their John Hancocks on to letters of intent and committed to colleges, as the Signing season commenced.

There was plenty of action in Northern Virginia on Wednesday. While news is still coming in, and will be for days and weeks, here are some of the commits that recruitNoVA is aware of as of Wednesday evening.

Westfield – Eugene Asante - UNC, Taylor Morin – Wake Forest

Freedom – Josh Fuga – VA Tech, Jordan Leach – Fairmont State (WV), Joshua Hayes – Shepherd, Joel Cassady - Wingate

Flint Hill – Jordan Houston – N.C. State, Miles Thompson – Penn, Justin Duenkel – UVA, Trey Rucker – Wake Forest

Stone Bridge – Nick Mell – Army, Payton Hunter – West Virginia State

Woodbridge – Tavon Matthews – East Tennessee St., Tre-Shaun Parham – Frostburg State

Colonial Forge – Josh Sarratt – VMI, Ethan Garwood (’18) – Alderson-Broaddus

Woodgrove – Graham Walker – Frostburg State

Lake Braddock – Josh Ahern – UVA, Ronnie Altman – Air Force, Ben Dizon – Christopher Newport Univ., Quentin James - Davidson

Centreville – Presley Egbers – Randolph-Macon College, Nicky Kuzemka - Furman

Stafford – Sean Beltz – UVA-Wise

Robinson – Jacob Haynie – Shepherd

Tuscarora – Will Moore – Frostburg State

South Lakes – Sage Beuchert-Irvine – Norfolk State

Herndon – Jaden Snead – Christopher Newport Univ.

King George – Tate Newman – Apprentice School

Madison – John Finney – JMU, Max Wysocki – Oregon (PWO)

Hylton – Bramon Lane – UVA-Wise

Broad Run - Alex Solano – Fairmont State

Episcopal – Litchfield Ajavon – Notre Dame

Ireton – Jack Esquivel – Merrimack

Stonewall Jackson – Chayce Chalmers – UVA

Justice – Elijah Jeffries – Ashland, Chris Quiroga - Davidson

Lee – Jonathan Mulatu – Penn, Devon Lynch – Shepherd

Mt. Vernon – Skyler Davis – Morgan State

Falls Church – Dakwandre Marshall – Morgan State

Potomac Falls – Dean Ferguson – VA Tech

James Monroe – Zakk Davis - Muhlenberg

Colgan – Justin Kapp – Fairmont State, Darrian Brokenburr – Howard

Fredericksburg Christian – Antwan Johnson – Christopher Newport Univ.

Forest Park – Joshua Burdsall – Old Dominion

Massaponax – Teagan McDonald – Old Dominion, Evan Schickel – The Citadel

North Stafford – Devyn Ford – Penn State, Chase McGowan – Delaware

Brentsville - Conner Sides - Ferrum

Eastern View - Evan Lowry - Fairmont St.

There are certainly plenty more to come, so please keep us posted or send us a message @recruitNoVA or @jfmcgrath. Email address is jim@recruitnova.com. We know, for example, that Spotsylvania had 3-4 players who should commit by the end of this week. And I have heard very little from the private schools not named Flint Hill or Ireton, so we want to include their commitments.

Travis Buzzo Named Football Coach at Liberty (Bealeton) High

The Liberty (Bealeton) football squad rang in the year with its announcement of a new head coach, as Travis Buzzo will take over the reins of the Eagles program.

Last year, under Sean Finnerty, Liberty finished 5-5 as a Region 4C team. Although the record was its second non-winning season of the past three, the Eagles went 9-3 in 2017, and have enjoyed a 162-65 (.672) record over the past 20 seasons, which included a 34-17 loss to Salem in the 2014 Class 4 state semifinal.

Buzzo, 25, may be the youngest head coach in the Northern region, but his familiarity with the Liberty program is unquestioned. Buzzo played his prep ball for the Eagles from 2018-11, before earning a football scholarship to Central Connecticut State University of the Northeast Conference (NEC), where he played all four years with the Blue Devils.

Upon graduation, Buzzo, whose father Tommy was the coach at Brooke Point, before accepting a coaching position with Curt Newsome at Emory & Henry College, returned to Fauquier County, and Liberty High, this time as the running backs/outside linebacker coach for the 2016 season. The next year, he was elevated to defensive coordinator and led a corps that allowed just 13.5 points per game the following year.

Buzzo is busy making final adjustments, but has a good idea as to how his team will play on both sides of the ball.

“On offense, we will be a spread run-heavy team that has to establish a running game,” said Buzzo, The Eagles averaged 33.6 points per game in 2017, but dipped to 25.3 last season. “On defense, we are going to load the box to stop the run, and force an offense to beat us over the top in the air.”

Buzzo’s cupboard will not be empty. “We have some key returners, such as Justin Lawson (first team all-region athlete), Fred Harris (second team all-region LB), sophomore Jordan Woodson (second team all-region DL), and a healthy Tre’Von White who would have similar accolades if it wasn’t for an injury, and too many others to name.”

For now, the new head whistle is ripe with enthusiasm. “Our off-season training is underway and about to be at full tilt here in the next couple of weeks.”

Virginia Peninsula Community Sports Notebook - The Best of 2018

Lady Gators Change League Affiliation; Win Championship

The Hampton Roads Lady Gators started the year by finding a new home, as the women’s football team realigned itself by joining the United States Women’s Football League.

At the time, team owner Katisha Simpkins said, "The USWFL is a smaller league with great competition geared towards smaller teams. The owners are great people and I appreciate that they are allowing us to show our talents in their league."

The move immediately proved to be successful. After an inaugural campaign which ended with a 2-6 record in the Women’s Football Association, the Gators caught fire in mid-season and reversed its first season record with a 6-2 mark and a playoff berth.

In their playoff opener, the Gators defeated the Fayetteville Fierce. And in the Division 3 (Ironwoman) Championship. The Gators overcame an early deficit and beat the Tri-Cities Thunder 20-14. The Thunder had scored early in the second half to take a 14-8 lead, but Keonna Rheubottom knotted the score with her second rushing touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.

However, Kenya Wilkerson (four of eight, 90 yards, six carries, 70 yards. TD) was injured on the Gators’ next possession, forcing offensive coordinator Michael Smith to insert Meghan Bradford into the offense at quarterback. To complete the adjustment, the Gators changed to a spread offense and the move paid off as Bradford connected with Ja’Quaria Barnes for the 80-yard game-winning score.

Chantry, Samaha Help Set Track Relay WR

In March, Williamsburg’s Steve Chantry, who had recovered from a calcified Achilles tendon and perforated colon, won four gold medals and ran a leg of a world record relay at the Masters Indoor Championships.

After a four-year period of nagging injuries, Chantry, 62, said, “I had pretty much decided to forego any more track training and racing, and just concentrate on easy distance and have fun in local road races.”

However, his health returned to form sooner than expected, and within six months, he had built his distance base to the point of running 60 miles per week, which made the possibility of high-level track competition a reality again.

At Indoor Nationals, Chantry won the 3000 meters on Friday, lapping all of the runners on the 200-meter oval, except for the runner-up, who finished 12 seconds behind. He also won the 1500 in 4:52.

Later in the day, Chantry, along with three other runners including Williamsburg’s Rick Samaha, combined to run a world record time for the men’s 60-plus 4-by-800 meter relay. Chantry’s anchor leg of 2:25.1 helped the quartet to a 9:50.90 time, which broke the existing world record (9:55.96), set by the Shore Athletic Club of New York, by just over five seconds. Samaha’s split of 2:25.3 was second-fastest among the winning foursome.

Road Racing Returns to Jamestown Island

With the first-ever Democracy Dash 10K taking place in April, a tradition that started in 1691 was renewed – road racing on Jamestown Island.

The Democracy Dash will serve as the final leg of the newly installed Historic Triangle Triple Crown, joining the Yorktown 10K and Williamsburg’s Duke of Gloucester (DOG) Street Challenge 5K run, which are both held two weeks apart in April.

In the late 17^th century, then-Virginia Governor Francis Nicholson held foot races, along with other sporting competitions, on Jamestown Island. Nicholson’s competitions marked the first recorded organized and official sporting events in the English New World. With a 327-year legacy to protect, it is noteworthy that there will now be races in all three cities of the Historic Triangle.

Coast Guard Blue Dolphins Score at States

At Virginia Swimming Inc.'s (VSI) Senior Championships, CGBD took first place overall in the Medium Team Category, with the Women's team capturing first and the Men's team third overall. Standout swimmers were Danika Katzer with two Virginia Swimming titles in 100 and 200-meter breaststrokes, Kade Younger in the 100 backstroke, and Chris Verastek earning a title in the 100 breaststroke. Katzer, Morgan Miller, Jacqueline Tinneny, Alex Slayton, and Chelsea Marstellar comprised five relays that broke eight CGBD team records.

At the VSI's 2018 Age Group Championships, CGBD again captured first place overall in the Medium Team Category. Clayton Whetstine came away with three Virginia Swimming titles in 200 and 400 individual medley (IM) and 200-meter backstroke. Laura Gaffney won the 200 backstroke. Brooke-Lynn Clark placed first, winning the 400 IM, while Ian Rodgers won the 11-12-year-old 200 butterfly, breaking another CGBD team record with the win.

CGBD had fantastic representation at the Virginia Swimming Awards Event. Carter Whetstine (11-year-olds), Kyleigh Tankard (13-year-olds) and Katzer (17-18-year-olds) were all recognized as VSI Swimmers of the Year. This accomplishment is the highest honor for individual swimmers presented by VSI. 

PSC Winners

Dr. William R. Harvey and Paul S. Trible, Jr., the presidents of Hampton and Christopher Newport Universities, shared the Herbert Morewitz Sports Person of the Year award at the 69^th Annual Peninsula Sports Club Awards, held in July.

Long-time Daily Press sports writer Marty O’Brien received the Bob Moskowitz Media Award, while Gene Thompson was honored with the Sports Person Emeritus Award. Belinda Langston, athletic specialist with over 40 years of experience in Newport News Public Schools, won the Charles Karmosky Award.

Menchville and Jamestown high schools captured the Julian Rice and Red Simpson awards, given annually to the most successful athletic programs in the Peninsula and Bay Rivers conferences.

Jamestown’s All-American volleyball player, Emma Schriner, won the Betsy Thomas Outstanding High School Female Athlete, and Patrick McCormick, four-time state champion wrestler from Poquoson, won the Julie Conn Outstanding Male Athlete award.

The Thad Madden award was presented to seven recipients – Quanisha Bruce, Lisa Dillard-Hanks, Allen Iverson, Yvette Lewis, Francena McCorory, Bev Vaughan, Jr., and Keith Witherspoon.

Kermit Buggs, Troy Fullwood and Bill Nettles earned special achievement awards. In 2017, Nettles announced his 1,000^th football game, at Todd Stadium.

The PSC also awarded ten $1,000 scholarships to Peninsula student-athletes.

Loudoun Valley CC Changes Culture and National Titles Follow (as seen on MileStat.com)

As Loudoun Valley ran away with both state Class 4 titles at the VHSL cross-country championships four weeks ago, it becomes harder to the average distance running follower to remember just how far the program has come in such a short time.

Last summer, at the Virginia Track Coaches Association meeting, held inside the Freeman Center at Christopher Newport University, co-coaches Marc and Joan Hunter presented to about 40 coaches from around the state, explaining how they turned around a stagnant program, and in four short years, turned it into a prep distance juggernaut, replete with two national championships, earned by the boys at last year's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, OR. Not only did the Viking boys win last fall, they scored a mere 89 points in the process, and topped national powerhouse Manlius (NY) by 70 points. Two weeks ago, they repeated the feat.

Entitled "From Ultimate Frisbee to National Champs: How A Small Rural School Overcame a Broken Culture," the presentation provided a unique look into the Loudoun Valley program, but not a rare one. Like many successful coaches, the Hunters are accessible, but not like all coaches, they are happy to share how their program works. In fact, one can find Loudoun Valley distance workouts online as the Hunters are one of 15 coaching entities who contribute to the highschoolrunningcoach.com website.

While the Hunters were well known in Northern Virginia coaching circles five years ago, it had nothing to do with their work at Loudoun Valley. In fact, they re-entered the arena in 2012 after a decade-plus absence (to raise their nine children), but had established themselves with stops at Madison and South Lakes where they helped to jumpstart the prep career of a young ninth-grader named Alan Webb.

And while having the likes of a Webb, or later, their own son Drew, on their coaching resume, helped to draw young runners to the Viking program, the challenge was more about changing the culture surrounding the Valley team, which had enjoyed little success prior to 2012. In fact, the girls' fourth-place state finish in 2001 was the only notable event in a 35-year period, beginning in 1970.

As the Hunters describe it, Drew had success in 2012-13, at which point, the couple joined forces as assistant coaches. Joan wrote the workouts, while Marc helped to "pick up the pieces." A medical problem forced the head coach to step away early in the 2013 cross-country season, and suddenly, the couple found themselves in charge of the program.

Thrust to the head position, the Hunters drew on their experiences and decided that an evaluation of the team culture was needed. What they discovered was a congenial environment among the team members, but one that was lacking in setting standards, or "raising the bar." The competitive focus was lacking. Practices were missed without explanation or worry, and summer training was not an expectation. Injuries were many, and as the Hunters state, that "is" a culture problem. From Day 1 at the helm, the Hunters focused on changing the scenery and building an accountable team.

It didn't take long to drive their point home. In 2013, the boys won the conference championship, while the girls' team qualified for state.

The Vikings improved exponentially in 2014, with the emergence of Drew as a nationally recognized runner. He and teammate Ciara Donohue qualified for Foot Locker Nationals, and a year later, Drew won the individual National championship. Two years later, individual success had transformed into a team national title.

At Great Meadow, Loudoun Valley not only swept the Class 4 races, but tacked on a few milestones along the way. For the girls, winning their first state championship also broke the seven-year run enjoyed by Blacksburg, and the 44-48 margin of victory showed that Blacksburg was not in a hurry to see their streak end.

Ricky Fetterolf paced the girls with a winning time of 18:23, followed closely by Blacksburg's Kaitlynn Wolfe (18:36) and then Loudoun Valley teammate Elise Abbe (18:40). Although Ailene Edwards and Audrey Link of Blacksburg took sixth and seventh, the Vikings ruled the day as Ally Talley (11th), Caroline Bolen (16th), Abby Keane (25th) and Leah Snyder (26th) paced the team to victory. With the individual runners etched out, the Vikings scored a 1-3-9-13-18 team finish.

The boys, as expected, rolled. Sam Affolder (15:30) won by 27 seconds over teammate Jacob Hunter, while Kellen Hasle, Connor Wells and Carlos Shultz placed in the top-seven as the Vikings led with a team-low 16 points.

For the Hunters, it may have been just another day at the office. But thanks to a change of culture in Purcellville, it only took a few years to make the right turn.

Or, as Joan Hunter put it metaphorically at CNU in July, "We knew the tide was changing when one of the kids came up after a run and said. You know? Today, I took the right turn when we got to the W&OD (Washington & Old Dominion) trail. For years, I always took the left (shortcut)."