She won one title as a freshman, then two as a sophomore. Now she’s got three as a junior and Javanique Burruss has officially become one of the main attractions at the Group AA state track and field championships in Harrisonburg each June.
Burruss won the triple jump, long jump and 100-meter hurdles titles, overcoming a condensed, packed schedule due to Friday cancellations to pick up the trio of victories.
At this rate, Burruss has the potential to become one of the most decorated track and field athletes in state history. The current record for individual career outdoor titles for a single athlete is nine, held by a pair of Gar-Field High products.
Burruss’ performance and a third place finish by the Lions’ 4×100 relay team of freshman Shadelle Gregory, junior Monica Mallory, senior Natese Ragland and Burruss led to a fourth-place finish for the Lions with 36 total points.
“We’re happy overall,” Burruss said. “We’ve got a freshman (Gregory) and we’re still trying to get her down on the handoffs and she’s coming along.”
Burruss won the hurdles in 14.59, just .15 seconds off the state record. She also got a long-sought after triple jump title with a leap of 38-1.75. The jump held off a second place performance by Mikalah Jones of Liberty-Bedford who put the pressure on Burruss with a strong final leap.
In long jump, Burruss, the state record holder in the event, couldn’t break her own record mark, partially because of a strong headwind that forced her hands back and led to less impressive marks. She even fouled on a 19 foot, 4-inch jump. Still, she outpaced the field by nearly a foot and a half.
Plus, she’s not done yet.
“It was a pretty strong headwind too so I was just trying to push through that and then a few times my hand went back in the sand so that took off a few inches,” Burruss said. “It was a little frustration but I still got first…and I’ve still got next year.”
Meador wins pole vault on single attempt
Hannah Meador was the only other local individual state champion on the girls side, as the Fluvanna sophomore won the pole vault title.
She only had to wait around nearly three hours to get that one vault done after a less-than-ideal warm-up.
“My warm-up was really, really bad,” Meador said. “I kind of landed on the ground. I ran through once and planted on the mat instead of in the box. But I got a couple of good ones in.”
Then she waited more than 2.5 hours, warming up once because she thought she was getting close before having to shut it down and warm-up for a third time as the afternoon dragged on.
Each competitor in the vault including third place Western Albemarle junior Chandler Legard, fell away before Meador entered at 11-feet. The sophomore casually cleared at 11 to win the title and moved on toward a possible state record clearance.
“I really wanted it (all held by Western Albemarle graduate Ashley Early),” Meador said. “I’ve been trying to get the district record, the region record and the state record and I haven’t gotten any of them.”
After clearing 11-6 and 12, Meador set the bar at 12-7, three quarters of an inch higher than Early’s 2005 record. Meador couldn’t clear on any of her three attempts. Meador has topped one of Early’s records, at the Dogwood meet.
Despite the frustration at not picking up the record, it was Meador’s second straight outdoor state title as she continues her march to become one of the most decorated pole vaulters in state history.
Wrapping up the girls side
Also in the girls Group AA competition, Fluvanna’s Greer Brown put together a sterling overall performance. Brown took third in 100 hurdles, tied for fifth in high jump, and checked in at fourth in long jump.
Western Albemarle’s Maggie Kooken took sixth in shot put in a tough field that included defending champion and state record holder Rochelle Evans.
