In a two-day stretch that’s the culmination of a lot of practice and results in one shot to compete among the state’s best, a number of local track and field standouts put together solid performances in the Group 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A state meets Friday and Saturday. Here’s a rundown by meet.
Group 5A Meet
The Albemarle boys 4×800 team and freshman girls runner Kathryn Mayo had a big time performance this weekend as both brought home state titles. The Albemarle boys squad won with a time of 7:53.11, edging Manchester by a little more than a second for the championship. Noah Smith, Ben Gersbach, Zach Gentry and Ryan Thomas came together for the Patriots, giving Albemarle both the region 5A North and state crowns this season.
Mayo won the 800-meter race with a sterling time of 2:15.65.
Thomas also posted a runner-up finish in the 1600-meter race while Gentry took fourth in the 3200. Those two performances and the 4×800 title were enough to boost Albemarle to a 10th place finish as a team.
Group 4A Meet
In Harrisonburg, Fluvanna County’s Hannah Meador has become as much a fixture on the top of the podium as anyone over the last four years. She won her fourth-straight state pole vault title Saturday, capping a career of dominance in the event.
Louisa County also produced a state champion over the weekend with Raeshawn Bishop winning the triple jump. He also placed seventh in the high jump and fifth in the long jump in a busy day. He also run a leg of the 4×400 team that finished eighth for Louisa. His effort helped put Louisa’s boys program to a 15th overall finish.
Meador wasn’t the only Fluco getting in on the scoring action as Fluvanna took ninth place as a team in the girls competition, boosted by Fluvanna’s Mia Perch’s runner-up finish in the high jump. The Flucos also scored two other vaulters, with Erin Blackburn taking fifth and Avery Haislip snagging sixth.
Charlottesville’s Taylor Watkins earned two medals in the girls sprints, taking fourth in the 100 and seventh in the 200.
Louisa’s Brandy Brown took fifth in the girls long jump for the Lions. The Lions also placed one competitor in pole vault, with Madison Smith taking eighth.
Fluvanna’s Deiondre Key put together a big performance in the boys throws, with second in the discus and third in the shotput. That outing put Fluvanna in 18th place as a team.
Warren Riley Covert took fifth in the 3200 for Charlottesville.
Group 3A Meet
Annie Taylor is now a state champion. The long-time running fixture for Western Albemarle picked up a title in the 1600-meters Saturday in Harrisonburg after finishing just outside first place in the past, including a second place in the 1000-meter indoor this winter and third in the 3200-meter last season.
Taylor also took fifth place in the 3200-meter as part of the Western girls squad’s third-place finish as a team. Averi Witt also played a big role in that performance with a fourth place in the 800-meters and as part of a runner-up finish for the Warriors’ 4×800 team that also included Taylor, Annie Lorenzoni and Chance Masloff.
Two other runner-up finishes boosted the Warriors Lydia Garner taking second in the high jump while Katrina Barredo snagged the runner-up spot in the pole vault. Three other Warriors also placed in the vault with Emily Rayle in third, Madison Masloff in sixth and Jessica Meeks snagging seventh.
On the boys side, Western’s Blake Tolman snagged a runner-up finish in the pole vault to give the Warriors a big boost. Teammate Nick Adams took fourth in the event.
Western distance runner Gannon Willcutts had a solid day with a third place finish in the 3200-meter and a seventh in the 1600. Teammate Andrew de Jong took fifth in the 1600 while. Western’s 4×800 team took fourth for the Warriors.
Western finished seventh as a team.
Monticello’s Chris Buck took sixth in the pole vault.
Group 2A Meet
In the Group 2A meet, three local schools produced some solid performances, with Nelson County’s 12th-place finish as a team leading the way.
Football standout Homer Barnett set the pace for the Governors with a third place in the shotput and fourth in the discus. Teammate Alec Shifflett took seventh in the discus.
In the distance events, James Ballowe took fourth in 3200 and seventh in the 1600 for the Governors.
On the girls side, Ramona Bryant finished third in the 3200.
Buckingham also had a solid day at the championship meet, with Kenneth Johnson’s third place in the 100-meter and fourth in the 200-meters leading the way for the Knights. Tevin Harris also took eighth in the shot while Justin Ayres went seventh in the 110-hurdles.
On the girls side, Kristen Gough took fifth in shot for the Knights while freshman Micaila Coleman took fifth in 400.
Goochland’s Jaylen Allen, joined fellow speedy running back Johnson in the 100 and 200, with Allen taking second in the 100 just in front of Johnson. Johnson’s fourth place finish got him in the 200 though with Allen taking sixth place.
Goochland’s 4×400 girls squad took eighth place at the event.
