Everything came together almost perfectly for Louisa County.
Even a single slipup with the long jump couldn’t derail the Lions though as Louisa rolled to its second Group AA indoor track championship in three years.
A quicker than expected shift from the 4×200 relay left Tony Green and Corrin Harris, who ran legs of the relay, without the legs to compete at top form in the long jump. The tandem was seeded first and fourth and Harris was the Region II champion and record holder in the event.
“We got a little mixed up on the flights in the long jump and had a little time but they were actually doing the third flight,” said Louisa coach Jerry Cutright. “I was real disappointed for him and Corrin.”
In the end, it didn’t matter, partially because Green and Harris did a lot of damage in other events, but mostly because the rest of Louisa’s lineup came up with critical points throughout the meet that turned the event into a runaway. Louisa outpaced second place Jamestown by 22 points.
“It wasn’t just the Tony Green show—we got some big performances out of our other kids,” Cutright said. “The kids helped each other reach another level.”
Green did manage to win the 55-meter hurdles as well as the triple jump, plus take third in the high jump just ahead of fourth place Monticello leaper Isaac Robinson, and place fourth in the 55-meter dash. In all, Green accounted for 31 points individually plus the 10 relay points.
“It was a huge day for Tony, winning the triple jump on his last jump, just really impressive,” Cutright said.
Harris took third in the triple jump and a surprising fifth in the 300-meter dash that set a new school record. Lorenzo Henson picked up a seventh place finish in the 55-meter dash. Cory Osborne also checked in with a seventh in the 300. Greg Dixon, who came into the 500-meter dash seeded third to last out of 23 competitors but blazed his way to an eighth place finish. He also anchored the 4×400 team for the Lions that was seeded 13th and somehow finished fifth in the event out of the first heat.
“They just ran inspired,” Cutright said.
Western girls take third
The Western Albemarle girls finished third on the girls side in a tight race, falling just seven points short of champion Blacksburg’s efforts.
A title in the 4×800 relay accounted for a large chunk of Western’s tally. Olivia Hajek, Killian O’Connell, Katie Farina and Claire Johnson combined for that victory, outpacing the field by more than 13 seconds in a Group AA record-setting performance. The time broke a record that has stood since 2003, also held by a Western Albemarle quartet.
Mattie Webb’s fourth place in the 1600-meter run and runner-up in the 3200-meter race led the way in the individual events for the Warriors. But Kelsey Grupp in pole vault earned the lone individual championship for Western. Grupp cleared 10-09, holding off Hannah Meador from Fluvanna who finished second.
A fifth place in the 4×400 helped too, with Ely Crisler, Farina, Johnson and O’Connell getting the job done.
Crisler finished seventh in the long jump. Western’s Farina took fourth in the 1000-meter run while Johnson grabbed seventh.
Parmly wins title in pole vault
Chance Parmly is just a sophomore, but he’s already a state champion.
Parmly, Fluvanna County’s standout pole vault specialist, exploded on the scene last year with a pair of third place finishes in the Group AA indoor and outdoor track and field championships. After setting the Jefferson District record at the championships just a few weeks ago, it was clear Parmly had a big year in store, and he’s moved up the state and national charts all season.
Saturday, he put an exclamation point on that year with a title-winning performance and a 14-foot clearance at the Group AA indoor championships. He outpaced the field, including second and third place Jefferson Forest vaulters Nathan Booth and Ken Richey by at least a full foot.
Other notables
Western Albemarle’s Derek Armstrong ripped off a 9:27.71 in the 3200-meter finals to win the individual title. Western’s David Taylor and Henry Giles took fifth and sixth in the race while Western’s 4×800 squad finished third. …Monticello’s Nate Hermsmeier took third in the 1600-meter race and dourth in the 3200-meters. …Western’s 4×800 team that included Armstrong finished third. … Fluvanna’s Greer Brown took fifth in the 55-meter hurdles and sixth in the long jump. …Louisa’s Dara Johnston finished sixth in the girls high jump while teammate Imani Callen took fourth in the pole vault. …Charlottesville’s Christen Edwards finished fifth in the triple while teammate David Johnson grabbed second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump.
