Nobody expected what was about to happen.
Nobody expected what was about to happen.
While winning one championship is a grand accomplishment for any coach, 12 is worthy of instant Hall of Fame status at any level.
With her trio of gold medals in hand, Johnson could have called it a day, and watched as the WAR team cruised to an easy team win.
"Unbelievable. This is so exciting," exclaimed the senior, who maintained a level of reserve, realizing that she still had to compete in the 55-meter hurdles and high jump later in the day.
Benedict Draghi of Washington-Lee was the first winner at this weekend's 5A/6A state track meet. However, his victory didn't come as easily as expected.
Grassfield’s Grant Holloway turned into Superman at this weekend’s state meet, scoring 46 points, while helping the Grizzlies to the 6A boys title.
If Day One of the 5A/6A track meet at Todd Stadium gave us any indication of the near future, it’s that Saturday should prove to be a barnburner on the oval and in the field: full of state bests and potential records. After Day 1 the Henrico girls and Hickory boys lead in the 5A competition, while the Western Branch girls and Grassfield boys are atop the team leaderboard in 6A.
As expected, the Virginia 5A/6A state track championship was a barnburner, loaded with a new collection of U.S. top five best performances, one runaway team victor, and a host of tight contests for the state champion trophy. Four champions were crowned on Tuesday, and two were determined by the final race: the 4x400: 6A Boys: T.C. Williams, 6A Girls: Western Branch, 5A Boys: Manchester, and 5A Girls: Atlee.
Signs of rust from two weeks of missed practice because of snow and ice, coupled with the New Balance Indoor National Championships in New York City looming four days away, led to several unlikely field heroes on the opening day of the Virginia 5A/6A indoor track championships at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
Photo by John Herzog
As the Virginia track teams head into championship season, it is worth noting that one of the most successful stories from our state so far has been the remarkable showings from the Bethel boys 4x400 relay, most notably, their 3:14.71 clocking at the Penn Relays. The time, which was actually run in the preliminaries, launched the Bruins foursome of Austin Cuffee, Earl House, Sherrard Marrow, and indoor 400 national champion Ja-Vell Bullard into the finals where they placed second overall, but first among American teams. The sign in front of the school on Big Bethel Road states it all – Congratulations Cuffee, House, Marrow, Bullard - #2 in World.
Despite the cold conditions on Saturday at the Conn-Madden Relays, there were other noteworthy performances. The most surprising may have been the 6’4” high jump (part of Woodside’s winning 12-0 relay) from Woodside’s Chris Burton. Burton was lured to track soon after basketball season, and in his first high jump competition ever, at last Tuesday’s dual meet against Gloucester, the sophomore cleared 6’5”. In a true understatement, assistant coach Butch Gordon calls Burton “an unbelievable find.” Chris Copeland of Lakeland is currently ruling the high jump roost in Virginia with his passing of the seven-foot barrier, but the future of Virginia high jumping may be currently competing in Air Jordan’s. Read full meet summary of Saturday's events...
Over 80 teams gathered at Todd Stadium in Newport News today to open the southeastern region’s invitational season at the Conn-Madden Relays. The meet kicked off today with three relay events and the open 400 meter hurdles.
The meet, named after legendary Newport News coaches Julie Conn and Thad Madden, has been a fixture on many teams’ schedules for decades. Although the number of participating teams has dwindled some in recent years, the meet still has enough firepower to draw teams from Northern Virginia and even upstate New York.
Today’s highlights included a Peninsula District sweep in the 400 hurdles. Hampton’s Lavell Handy (pictured left by John Herzog) edged Booker T. Washington’s Cordarel Madison (56.54 to 56.91) to win the boys event, while Menchville’s Maia Wise easily won the girls race with a 64.98 clocking. Read more...