Taylor Watkins medaled in two events at the VHSL Group AA indoor state championships back in February, but Wednesday served notice that the sophomore may be even more of a factor at the outdoor championships.
Watkins exploded for wins in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races at the Region II girls track and field Championships at Fluvanna County yesterday, putting together a thrilling performance that included a dominating win in the 400 by more than three seconds. Her 58.14 in that race and 25.14 in the 200 plus a 12.17 in the 100 allowed her to pile up 30 total points, accounting for all but one point of sixth-place Charlottesville’s tally.
Watkins’ fireworks were far from the only standout performances by local girls athletes. It wasn’t even the only one by a sophomore. Annie Taylor put together a brilliant day with wins in the 800 and 1600-meter races despite also running a leg of the title-winning 4×800 relay for the Warriors too. Taylor’s performance helped power the Warriors to a second place overall finish, with other key Warriors like pole vaulters Emily Rayle and Chandler Legard coming up with key points. Rayle finished second while Legard took third. Maggie Kooken also chipped in points for the Warriors with a third place finish in the shotput.
Louisa County had a big day too, finishing third in the girls standings, highlighted by a 4×100 runnerup performance and Javanique Burruss’ title in the triple jump. Burruss and Monica Mallory came up with several high finishes. Mallory took second in the 100-meter hurdles, third in the long jump and third in the triple. Burruss was the runnerup in the long jump and third in the 100-meter hurdles.
Fluvanna County’s Hannah Meador won the pole vault title for the Flucos while the Flucos’ Courtney Searcy was the runner-up in discus.
Boys Region II championships
Raeshawn Bishop had a busy, busy day at the Region II championships.
The Louisa County standout won the 300-hurdles title, won the long jump and won the triple jump. He also threw in a third place in the high jump.
That’s a total of 36 points, a huge reason Louisa put together a 46-point performance that was good for second place in the Region II team championship behind title winner Loudoun County.
Zack Jackson, a Virginia State football commitment, provided the other 10 points with a sterling victory in the 110-meter hurdles.
Western Albemarle snagged a fourth place finish, largely on the strength of senior David Taylor’s win in the 3200-meter race and runner-up finish in the 1600-meter. The Warriors also got a fourth place finish out of the 4×800 team while Caleb Rider tied for second place in the pole vault.
Fluvanna County had a strong day in the field events, with Blake Hills winning the high jump while Deiondre Key won the shot put. Nate Szarmach took third in the discus to round out the performance. On the track, Fluvanna’s Chris Markham took fifth in the 3200-meter.
Charlottesville’s Rashard Davis didn’t pick up a title, but managed to pile up some significant points. Davis took second in the 100-meter, fifth in the 200-meter and was the runnerup in long jump.
He also ran a leg for the Black Knights’ Region II champion 4×100 squad, running with LaQuarius Warfield, Isaiah Green and Jalen Hill en route to the win.
Charlottesville’s Kenyatta Folley took second in boys discus to add to the Black Knights’ sixth place finish as a team.
Monticello junior T.J. Tillery put together a solid day in the sand pit, taking second in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump. Bishop edged Tillery in the triple with a 46-1 leap.
Monticello’s Corey Tyler finished fourth in the 100-meter dash for the Mustangs, while the squad’s 4×100 team finished fourth.
