varsity.roanoke.com

KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Salem's Scott Campbell (middle), and Joseph Villanueva (right) clear the final hurdle in the boys Group AA 300 hurdles final. Villanueva eked out the victory.

KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Blacksburg's Joanna Stevens (left) passes her twin sister, Kathleen (right) down the stretch in the finals of the girls Group AA 1,600 meters.

Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Christiansburg's Travis Hudson clears 6 feet, 7 inches on his way to winning the Group AA boys high jump title. Hudson also finished fourth in the long jump.

Blacksburg's Brian Hencke crosses the finish line to complete a convincing win for the Bruins in the Group AA 1,600 relay finals. Blacksburg finished fifth overall in the boys division.

Pulaski County's Amber Church (middle) extends her lead on the way to winning the Group AA girls 100-meter hurdles final on Saturday in Harrisonburg. Church also ended up second in the 300 hurdles. Church ended up scoring all 23 points earned by the Cougars in the meet. She also finished fourth in the high jump on Friday night.

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HARRISONBURG -- Who said there will be no triple crown in racing this spring?

Blacksburg's girls track and field team had all the horses this weekend as the Bruins captured the VHSL Group AA meet Saturday at Harrisonburg High School.

Blacksburg's title -- which came by a 52-41 score over runner-up Brookville -- completed a trifecta in 2008-09 for the Bruins, who added championship to titles in cross country and indoor track for a rare triple last accomplished by Jefferson Forest in 2001.

Sweeping the three state meets was a long and grueling adventure, particularly since many of the Blacksburg girls were mainstays on all three teams.

"To win the triple crown and be that healthy and that strong ... In cross country, we battled a great Hidden Valley team. Indoor, that was our highlight," Blacksburg coach James DeMarco said.

DeMarco had plenty of help in producing Blacksburg's first outdoor Group AA girls title since 1993. It takes more than two hands to count all the Bruins' assistant coaches.

"I think we have 11 or 12 out there," he said. "Basically I'm the poorest-paid coach around because I split my check up."

Blacksburg's stable of distance runners paid big dividends, accounting for 49 of the Bruins' 52 points. Joanna Stevens added the 1,600-meter crown to the 3,200 title she won on Friday when she edged her twin sister, Kathleen, in 5 minutes, 37.2 seconds.

Stevens' double highlighted a strong weekend for Timesland athletes.

Pulaski County junior Amber Church won the 100 hurdles (14.95) and placed second in the 300 hurdles.

Salem's Joe Villanueva edged teammate Scott Campbell to win the boys 300 hurdles (39.52).

Christiansburg sophomore Travis Hudson won the high jump (6-8).

Blacksburg's boys closed the meet by winning the 1,600 relay (3:22.84), as anchor Brian Hencke nearly took home three gold medals.

The 1-2 finish by the Stevens twins was double trouble for the rest of the girls teams. Kathleen forced the pace after two slow laps and held the lead heading down the final stretch before Joanna nipped her by 16-hundredths of a second.

Blood was not thicker than victory.

"That just makes me want to try all the harder," Joanna Stevens said of the sisterly rivalry. "I don't see her any different than if it was somebody else I was racing.

"I honestly didn't think I could beat her. She always outkicks me. She took it out and took the lead. That always takes it out of you. When I saw her getting close, I was like, 'Oh yeah, I've got her.'"

Kathleen Stevens knew it was vital that the Blacksburg runners not get boxed in

"I knew we needed the team points, so I just sacrificed and took it out," she said. "I locked up at 50 meters. I was thinking, 'Hold on. Hold on.' But then I heard her coming and it was like, whatever happens, happens."

Church had an eventful day for Pulaski County. The junior easily won the 100 hurdles and appeared to have added the 300, but her time of 45.64 was bettered in the previous heat by Kiya Day of Dominion, a rare occurrence at a state meet.

Church got sick to her stomach after the 300 and was taken from the infield temporarily on a golf cart. She was unaware her time had not beaten Day's 45.47.

"I think they told me that when I was being hauled off," Church said. "I should have been racing the clock. My coach said there's a 99.9 percent chance that that never happens, but it did happen today."

Church, whose 23 points were enough for Pulaski to finish ninth in the team standings, said she was ill all day Saturday.

"I actually woke up really sick this morning," she said. "I was really dehydrated."

Hudson's high jump title might have shocked some observers since he was seeded 11th in the event, but the Christiansburg athlete won the Group AA indoor title at 6-7 and clearly was the best jumper Saturday.

He also placed fourth in the long jump. Not bad for a part-time track man who also played baseball this season for the Blue Demons.

"I've been going from baseball right over to the track," Hudson said of his practice regimen. "I want to train more for track, which I didn't get to do in the summer. I used to be a baseball, football, basketball guy. I didn't even think about track until my freshman year. I ran track just to have fun."

Hudson credited Christiansburg assistant coach Von Lewis, who cleared 7-2 as a collegiate jumper.

"He's always in my ear, telling me what to do," Hudson said. "It's all the technique. Coach Lewis has helped me with it."

Salem's hopes of a 1-2-3 sweep in the boys 300 hurdles were dashed when third-seeded Antonio Medley aggravated a leg injury, but the Spartans got the first two spots when Villanueva edged teammate Scott Campbell by four-hundredths of a second.

Villanueva thought Campbell had won.

"Yeah, yeah, I really did," he said.

Campbell, who fell at the finish line, wasn't sure.

"I thought I might have had it," Campbell said. "I didn't know. Nobody else I'd rather win it than my teammate."

Blacksburg's boys won the 1,600 relay after Terrance Travis, Jackson Sims and Quinn Hull gave Hencke a solid working margin and the Bruins won by more than two seconds.

"It was great to finish with these guys, just for personality and speed-wise," said Hencke, who plans to run next year at Georgetown.

Hencke, who ran the anchor leg on Blacksburg's winning 3,200 relay team on Friday, could not have come closer to winning the 800 as his sizzling time of 1:53.94 was beaten by the 1:53.93 of Western Albemarle's Tyler Stutzman.

"When we finished the race it kind of seemed like he got it," Hencke said. "Someone in the parking lot showed me a picture and it was still impossible to tell."

Stutzman led Western Albemarle to the boys team title as Blacksburg was fifth and Christiansburg sixth.

Hidden Valley's Annie LeHardy nearly won the girls 800 after taking the 1,600 in 2008. Her second-place time of 2:17.27 was just behind the 2:16.70 of Potomac Falls' Christina Lee.

Northside's Phillip Scott placed third in the 100, while fourth-place finishes went to Cave Spring's Rachel Crum (100 hurdles), Hidden Valley's Bryan Lewis (1,600), Christiansburg's Jonathan Taylor (discus) and William Byrd's Drew Hall (800).

At Harrisonburg H.S.

Boys team scores

1. Western Albemarle 48, 2. Brookville 46, 3. Louisa County 45, 4. Harrisonburg 41, 5. Blacksburg 34, 6. Christiansburg and Jamestown 26, 8. Chancellor 25, 9. tie, Potomac Falls and Robert E. Lee 23, 11. Lafayette 21 1/2, 12. Smithfield 21, 13. Salem 20, 14. tie, Brunswick and Jefferson Forest 18, 16. tie, Fluvanna County and Grafton 17, 18. Turner Ashby 16, 19. Heritage-Leesburg 14, 20. Heritage-Lynchburg 14, 21. tie, Northside and New Kent 11, 23. tie, Bluestone, James Monroe, Briar Woods and Powhatan 10, 27. tie, Hidden Valley and Amherst County 9, 29. Spotswood 8 1/2, 30, tie, William Byrd and Freedom 8, 32. Monticello 7, 33. Prince Edward County 6, 34. Charlottesville 5, 35. tie, Millbrook and Courtland 4, 37. tie, Fort Defiance and Warhill 3, 39. tie, Abingdon, Caroline, King George and Martinsville 2, 44. tie, Broadway, Warren County and Tabb 1.

Saturday's boys results

High jump -- 1. Hudson, Christiansburg, 6-8, 2. Minor, Powhatan, 6-7, 3. Puryear, Bluestone, 6-6, 4. Thomas, Brookville, 6-5, 5. Scott, Robert E. Lee, 6-5, 6. Otey, New Kent, 6-2, 7. King, Brookville, 6-2, 8. Rose, Amherst County, 6-2.

Discus -- 1. Omokodian, Briar Woods, 167-0, 2. Thomas, Brookville, 157-4, 3. Knight, Brunswick, 152-2, 4. Taylor, Christiansburg, 150-0, 5. Roach, Fluvanna County, 147-10, 6. Wilson, Potomac Falls, 146-0, 7. Smith, Caroline, 145-9, 8. Rueben, Warren County, 145-8.

Long jump -- 1. Owah, Harrisonburg, 22-9, 2. Jones, Smithfield, 22-8, 3. Nash, Prince Edward County, 22-2 1/2, 4. Hudson, Christiansburg, 21-11 3/4, 5. Puryear, Bluestone, 21-10, 6. Henry, Louisa County, 21- 9 1/4, 7. Coleman, Abingdon, 21-8, 8. Golden, Fluvanna County, 21-5 1/4.

110 hurdles -- 1. Davis, Louisa, 14.59, 2. Scales, Lafayette, 14.64, 3. Thomas, Brookville, 14.95, 4. Seward, Brunswick, 15.08, 5. McPhaul, Heritage-Leesburg, 15.14, 6. Moody, Smithfield, 15.34, 7. Minor, Powhatan, 15.92

100 -- 1. Owah, Harrisonburg, 11.04, 2. Spruel, Chancellor, 11.13, 3. Scott, Northside, 11.14, 4. Jackson, Louisa County, 11.20, 5. Carter, Jefferson Forest, 11.25, 6. Williams, Robert E. Lee, 11.31, 7. Tarpley, Martinsville, 11.34, 8. Taylor, Harrisonburg, 11.35.

1,600 -- 1. Ott, Turner Ashby, 4:13.76, 2. Satterwhite, Western Albemarle, 4:15.80, 3. Stutzman, Western Albemarle, 4:15.94, 4. Lewis, Hidden Valley, 4:18.54, 5. Mearns, Jamestown, 4:21.12, 6. Gunnerson, Grafton, 4:22.88, 7. Carter, Blacksburg 4:23.03, 8. Hardin, Western Albemarle, 4:23.59.

400 relay -- 1. Heritage-Leesburg (Smith, Dove, McPhaul, Madison) 42.64, 2. Harrisonburg (Villeda, Owah, Shifflett, Taylor) 42.85, 3. Louisa County (Hunter, Henry, Payne, Jackson) 43.02, 4. Heritage-Lynchburg (Harris, Hamlet, Smith, Reeves) 43.13, 5. Chancellor (Randall, Spruel, Walker, Wallace) 43.27, 6. Warhill (Walker, Tyler, Judkins, Canady) 43.31, 7. Brunswick (Morgan, Seward, Stith, Hunter) 43.52, 8. Northside (Borders, Penn-Timity, Martin, Scott) 43.74.

400 -- 1. Williams, Robert E. Lee, 48.95, 2. White, Freedom, 49.24, 3. Mills, Monticello, 50.08, 4. Askew, Grafton, 50.17, 5. Hinton, Chancellor, 50.61, 6. Green, Jamestown, 50.69, 7. Morse, Amherst County, 50.77, 8. Harrison, Tabb, 50.77.

300 hurdles -- 1. Villanueva, Salem, 39.52, 2. Campbell, Salem, 39.56, 3. McKenzie, Brookville, 39.95, 4. Davis, Louisa County, 40.05, 5. Akodor, Courtland, 40.13, 6. Scales, Lafayette, 40.41, 7. Santos, King George, 40.68, 8. Thomas, Brookville, 41.03.

800 -- 1. Stutzman, Western Albemarle, 1:53.93, 2. Hencke, Blacksburg, 1:53.94, 3. Hagen, Potomac Falls, 1:54.75, 4. Hall, William Byrd, 1:56.16, 5. Gunnerson, Grafton, 1:56.17, 6. Resendes, Jefferson Forest, 1:56.85, 7. Ott, Turner Ashby, 1:57.66, 8. Hull, Blacksburg, 1:58.50.

200 -- 1. Owah, Harrisonburg, 21.78, 2. Chavis, New Kent, 22.20, 3. Williams, Robert E. Lee, 22.21, 4. Jackson, Louisa County, 22.22, 5. Scott, Northside, 22.41, 6. Farrell, Jamestown, 22.47, 7. Hunter, Louisa County, 22.67, 8. Taylor, Harrisonburg, 22.68.

1,600 relay -- 1. Blacksburg (Travis, Sims, Hull, Hencke) 3:22.84, 2. Heritage-Lynchburg (Butler, Evans, Gray, Sandidge) 3:25.07, 3. Jamestown (Farrell, Green, Mearns, Schlickenmeyer) 3:25.27, 4. Chancellor 3:25.43, 5. Millbrook (Beauregard, Stanley, Cecil, Bishop) 3:25.90, 6. William Byrd (Mooney, Kingery, Jonathan Williams, Joshua Williams) 3:26.02, 7. James Wood (Stonier, Bridgeforth, Jenkins, Wingfield) 3:25.44, 8. Louisa County (Payne, Parker, Dixon, Yancey) 3:26.84.

Girls team scores

1. Blacksburg 52, 2. Brookville 41, 3. Potomac Falls 37, 4. York 34, 5. tie, James Monroe and Robert E. Lee 28, 7. Skyline 27, 8. Heritage-Leesburg 24, 9. tie, Pulaski County and Tabb 23, 11. Millbrook 22, 12. Western Albemarle 19, 13. Hidden Valley 18, 14. tie, Orange, Park View-South Hill, Brentsville and Spotswood 16, 18. tie, Lafayette and Chancellor 15, 20. tie, Courtland and Southampton 14, 22. Brunswick 13, 23. Harrisonburg 12, 24. Amherst County 11, 25. tie, Loudoun County and Dominion 10, 27. tie, New Kent and Cave Spring 9, 29. tie, Louisa County and Christiansburg 8, 31. tie, Heritage-Lynchburg and Marion 7, 33. tie, Park View-Sterling, Liberty, William Monroe and Stuarts Draft 6, 37. tie, Broad Run and Freedom 5, 39. tie, Jamestown, Monticello, Warhill, Turner Ashby and Sherando 4, 44. tie, Rustburg and Jefferson Forest 2, 46. tie, King George and Northside 1.

Saturday's girls results

Shot put -- 1. Glover, Amherst County, 39-4 3/4, 2. Scott, Robert E. Lee, 39-2 3/4, 3. White, William Monroe, 38-10 3/4, 4. Rasmussen, Skyline, 38-10, 5. Richards, Potomac Falls, 37-8 3/4, 6. Robinson, Louisa County, 37-5 1/4, 7. Jackson, Skyline, 36-11 1/2, 8. Polk, King George, 36-4.

Pole vault -- 1. Parker, Brookville, 11-3, 2. Harding, Western Albemarle, 10-6, 3. LeHew, Lafayette, 10-3, 4. Garner, Western Albemarle, 10-0, 5. Hartt, Turner Ashby, 10-0, 6. Bushrow, Western Albemarle, 9-0, 7. Grupp, Western Albemarle, 9-0, 8. Moore (Amherst County) 9-0.

Long jump -- 1. Parrish, Park View-South Hill, 18-2, 2. Armstead, James Monroe, 17-11, 3. Jackson, Brookville, 17-9, 4. Kelly, Skyline, 17-3 1/4, 5. Bostwick, Christiansburg, 17-3 1/4, 6. Christian, New Kent, 17-2 3/4, 7. Hargrove, Brunswick, 17- 3/4, 8. Mitchell, Spotswood, 16-9 3/4.

100 hurdles -- 1. Church, Pulaski County, 14.95, 2. Kauffman, Harrisonburg, 15.31, 3. Springer, Millbrook, 15.49, 4. Crum, Cave Spring, 15.63, 5. Fauteux, Potomac Falls, 15.66, 6. King, Warhill, 16.05, 7. Armstead, 16.59, 8. Kent-Robinson, 17.66.

100 -- 1. White, York, 12.20, 2. Hargrove, Brunswick, 12.57, 3. Powell, Southampton, 12.62, 4. Mitchell, Spotswood, 12.70, 5. Hurt, Liberty, 12.71, 6. Brown, Blacksburg, 12.75, 7. Christian, New Kent, 12.83, 8. Mickens, Robert E. Lee, 12.86.

1,600 -- 1. J.Stevens, Blacksburg, 5:05.37, 2. K.Stevens, 5:05.53, 3. Lee, Potomac Falls, 5:06.94, 4. Reeves, Brookville, 5:08.23, 5. Strange, Loudoun County, 5:12.82, 6. Peterson, Lafayette, 5:16.80, 7. LeHardy, Hidden Valley, 5:17.71, 8. Fitchett, Blacksburg, 5:18.23.

400 relay -- 1. York (Lewis, Shernelle White, Sherelle White, Stancil) 48.84, 2. Spotswood (Mitchell, Matthews, Moubray, Young) 49.15, 3. Heritage-Leesburg (Nunley, Leach, E.McLaughlin, Donnelly) 49.79, 4. Tabb (Greene, Aymonin, Kassie, Porter) 50.10, 5. Heritage-Lynchburg (Giles, Laprade, Long, Sheffield) 50.45, 6. Freedom (Louis-Charles, Phun, Sohal, Porter) 50.46, 7. New Kent (Johnson, McNamara, Savage, Christian) 50.49, 8. Brunswick (Blunt, Langford, Seward, Hargrove) 50.53.

400 -- 1. Jackson, Orange, 56.68, 2. Porter, Tabb, 57.87, 3. Simmons, Lee, 58.42, 4. H.McLaughlin, Heritage-Leesburg, 58.64, 5. Carnett, Marion, 58.70, 6. Staton, Chancellor, 58.76, 7. Hurt, Liberty, 59.67, 8. E.McLaughlin, Heritage-Leesburg, 59.73.

300 hurdles -- 1. Day, Dominion, 45.47, 2. Church, Pulaski County, 45.64, 3. Armstead, James Monroe, 45.70, 4. Thompson, Broad Run, 46.14, 5. Kauffman, Harrisonburg, 46.38, 6. Springer, Millbrook, 46.47, 7. Louis-Charles, Freedom, 46.95, 8. King, Warhill, 47.02.

800 -- 1. Lee, Potomac Falls, 2:16.70, 2. LeHardy, Hidden Valley, 2:17.27, 3. Dorrell, Blacksburg, 2:19.03, 4. Jones, Potomac Falls, 2:19.33, 5. Reeves, Brookville, 2:20.05, 6. Carnett, Marion, 2:20.76, 7. Brown, Blacksburg, 2:20.91, 8. Tyler, Cave Spring, 2:21.13.

200 -- 1. White, York, 25.04, 2. Powell, Southampton, 25.65, 3. Jackson, Orange, 25.72, 4. Blackwell, Courtland, 25.83, 5. Staton, Chancellor, 25.84, 6. Jaime Lott, Courtland, 25.93, 7. Hargrove, Brunswick, 25.97.

1,600 relay -- 1. Heritage-Leesburg (E.McLaughlin, Taylor, Leach, H.McLaughlin), 4:00.10, 2. Potomac Falls (Jones, Fauteux, Hunter, Akinduro) 4:01.72, 3. Courtland (Johnson, Caceres, Jaquonna Lott, Jaime Lott) 4:05.03, 4. Tabb (Porter, Wilson, Kassie, Aymonin) 4:05.96, 5. Louisa County (Best, Johnson, Dugger, Veras) 4:06.68, 6. Cave Spring (Azar, Western, Smith, Tyler) 4:08.76, 7. Rustburg (DeRose, Jefferson, Bradley, Coles) 4:08.79, 8. James Monroe (Armstead, Carruthers, Bates, Morris) 4:09.65.