James River girls, Radford boys win State Group A track titles with flourish 

RADFORD - The two teams that won Group A track titles finished up their championships with rare flair.

It was a cinematic wrap for both James River's girls and Radford's boys when each team capped a momentous afternoon and morning at Cupp Stadium by winning the 1,600-meter relay, the final event .

James River needed every bit of grit Alena Conrad, Anne Grumbine, Maggie Grumbine, and Reanna Hamm delivered with their winning 4 minute, 5.95 second time in the relay.

That pushed the Knights to 62 team points . Runner-up Wilson Memorial was just three points back and the Green Hornets 1600 relay team was in second place.

Had the places of the relay teams been reversed, Wilson Memorial would have won the meet by a point.

O n the boys side, the Bobcats already had the team crown in the bag when the relay came up. With the sixth-best qualifying time and without distance ace Walker Mogen - he was out with a bad foot after gutting out a win in the 1,600 and sixth place in the 800 - Radford couldn't have been counting on a win in the last race.

But, the new squad of Ryan Johnson, Ryan Aubrey, Cole Schafer and Josh Little pulled off the shocker and booked it to the finish line in a time of 3:29.84, outdistancing the favored Northumberland team by more than a second.

That gave the Bobcats 67 points, 25 more than second place Thomas Walker. Dan River was third with 40 points.

Mogen didn't figure to run the 800 or join the relay team after hobbling from the track after winning the 1,600.

He was limping when he arrived for the 800, too, but he ran just the same.

"I'm happy with what I ran under the circumstances," he said . "The first 200, I was dragging my foot but as the race got on, it got a little looser. I didn't really notice it at all in the 1,600 until I crossed the finish line."

The other big winner for Radford was junior James Williams in the discus. He flung a winning 176-10 then saluted his individual coach Nick Pappas.

"I didn't throw discus until March last year and without Coach Pappas, I wouldn't be where I am now," Williams said. "Last year at the state meet, Nikolas Huffman from Virginia High won. My goal from that point on was to throw 180 feet and beat Huffman for the state championship. All the offseason, Coach Pappas and I worked to get me ready for this meet."

Huffman was the runner-up this time. In the shot, Huffman threw 58-5 to win it. Williams was in second at 52-3.

Another producer for Radford was Little, who not only outkicked the competition on the anchor leg of the relay but was also second in the 400. Schafer was second in the 800 and teammate Ryan Johnson fifth. Aubrey was sixth in the high jump. Matt Turk finished seventh in the 3,200.

Shot put queen Alexis Brown was James River's only individual champion . Her throw of 40-5 ½ was a personal best for the senior who is going to Radford University as a walk on.

Brown had added incentive to do well in the shot after being disappointed with a fourth in the discus.

"It's my senior year and I wanted to do my best," she said of the shot. "My footwork was good on the throw and that helped a lot. I was disappointed with my discus. I just had an off day."

Without other individual winners, the Knights' depth paid off. Reanna Hamm not only anchored the 1,600 relay, she also placed third in the 100 and 200. She's had foot issues and that clearly had an impact. In the triple jump, one of her specialties, she did not place.

The Knights also earned points in the 800, as Anne Grumbine was second and Maggie Grumbine was sixth. Alyssa Ford was eighth in the 100 hurdles and Hannah Peery was fifth in the 3,200 for James River.

Daniel Hamm of Fort Chiswell won the triple jump with a 48-2 ¼. That was short of his best but a winner just the same.

He qualified with a 48-6.

"I guess I didn't have that kind of jump in me this week," said Hamm, who was also sixth in the long jump.

Hamm, who plans to walk on the Virginia football team next year, also won the triple jump as a sophomore.

Leteisha Clarke of Covington had the second best high jump coming in, a 5-4. She topped that by an inch and won the event by the same margin over Kristy Verbeek of Buffalo Gap. Clarke also nailed a fifth place triple jump.

Her teammate Troy Helton couldn't duplicate his winning 6-8 heroics in Region C high jump last week. Helton settled for a 6-5 as Cody Cain of Thomas Walker won with a 6-6.

When it came to exceeding expectations, senior Chandra Goodson of Floyd County made a case for surprise of the meet. Her time in the 800 seeded her sixth. She tore into a personal best 2:22.87 and won the race by more than 4 seconds.

"I prayed before and I felt good coming around to the second lap," she said. "I didn't want to lose, so I just kicked it and finished it out."

Timesland place winners on the boys side included Owen Deacon of James River in the discus (7th); Josh Neely of James River in the 110 hurdles (5th) and 300 hurdles (4th); Andrew Storms of George Wythe in the 100 (4th) and 200 (5th); Daniel Pinard of Glenvar in the 1,600 (6th); Charles Cook of George Wythe in the 400 (7th); Preston Neukirch of Floyd County in the 800 (8th); Matthew Farmer of Rural Retreat in the 3,200 (8th); Dominique Crockett of George Wythe in the triple jump (6th); Ryheem Dawson of Parry McCluer in the shot (3rd); and Michael Hinkley of Auburn in the shot (4th).

Girls placing included Meredith Willis of George Wythe in the 100 (5th), 200 (2nd), and high jump (8th); Emma Wyatt of Grayson County in the 1600 (7th) and 800 (4th); Ckareeka Branch of Chilhowie in the 400 (2nd); Alex Pennington of Giles in the 300 hurdles (6th); Brittany Harless of Giles in 300 hurdles (8th); Sarah Phillips of Floyd County in the 3,200 (7th); Diamond Meadows of Giles in the shot (5th); and Keisha Tyson of Covington in the shot (6th).

GROUP A TRACK AND FIELD

at Radford University
Boys Team Results

1. Radford 67, 2. Thomas Walker 42, 3. Dan River, 40 4. Northumberland 37, 5. John Battle High School 34, 6. Central High School 25, 7. Buffalo Gap 19, 7. Clarke County High School 19, 7. Virginia High School 19, 10. East Rockingham 18, 10. Amelia 18, 12. Nelson County High 17, 13. William Campbell 16, 14. George Mason 15, 15. George Wythe 14, 15. Strasburg High School 14, 17. Fort Chiswell 13, 18. Franklin 12, 19. James River 11, 19. King William 11, 21. Essex 10, 22. Haysi 9, 22. Altavista 9, 24. Buckingham 8, 24. Covington 8, 26. Central Lunenburg 7, 26. Sussex Central 7 28. Parry McCluer 6, 28) Matthews 6, 28) Goochland 6, 31. J.I.Burton 5, 31. Windsor 5, 31, Manassas Park 5, 31. Auburn 5, 31. Riverheads High School 5, 36. Gate City 4, 36. Appomattox 4, 38. Lancaster 3, 38. Rural Retreat 3, 38. Glenvar 3, 41. Stonewall Jackson 2, 41. Giles 2, 43. Wise Central High School 1, 43. Floyd County 1.

Boys Results

Long Jump - 1. Jones (Essex) 22-00.25, 2. Adams (William Campbell) 21-11.00, 3. Lewis (Northumberland) 21-09.25, 4. Thornhill (Altavista) 21-05.00, 5. Carpenter (Central Lunenbur) 21-04.50, 6. Hamm (Fort Chiswell) 21-04.00, 7. Brown (Altavista) 21-03.50, 8. Morrman (Manassas Park) 20-11.50.

Triple Jump - 1. Hamm (Fort Chiswell) 48.02.75, 2. Adams (William Campbell) 48.01.50, 3. Vest (Nelson) 45-07.75, 4. Blair (J.I. Burton) 43-10.00, 5. Cain (Thomas Walker) 43-09.25, 6. Crockett (George Wythe) 43-06.25, 7. Moorman (Manassas Park) 43-01.00, 8. Thornhill (Altavista) 42-11.00.

High Jump - 1. Cain (Thomas Walker) 6-06.00, 2. Helton (Covington) 6-05.00, 3. Scott (Thomas Walker) 6-04.00, 4. Edwards (Windsor) 6-03.00, 5. Vest (Nelson) 6-03.00, 6. Aubrey (Radford) 6-03.00, 7. Shepard (East Rock) 6-03.00, 8. Wright (East Rock) 6-03.00.

Shot Put - 1. Huffman (Virginia High) 58-05.00, 2. Williams (Radford) 52-03.00, 3. Dawson (Parry McCluer) 51.06-00, 4. Hinkley (Auburn) 50-00.50, 5. Gum (Central) 47-10.50, 6. Blackwell (Central Lunenbur) 47-08.00, 7. Smith (Buckingham) 47-01.50, 8. Reed (Wise Central) 47-00.50.

Discus - 1. Williams (Radford) 176-10, 2. Huffman (Virginia High) 168-00, 3. Smith (Buckingham) 157-01, 4. Herndon (Gladiators) 152-11, 5. Waltman (Dan River) 147-09, 6. Cooper Travis (Central) 142-02. 7. Deacon (James River) 141-06, 8. Spurlock (King William) 135-03.

110 Hurdles - 1. Cousins (King William) 15.34, 2. Coleman (Amelia) 15.40, 3. Ritter (Central) 15.50, 4. Jarrett (Sussex) 15.51, 5. Neely (James River) 15.78, 6. Veney (Northumberland) 15.8 7. Bauserman (Central) 15.85, 8. O’Quinn (Haysi) 15.89.

100 Meter - 1. Ferrell (Dan River) 10.80, 2. Cain (Thomas Walker) 10.92, 3. Harlow (John Battle) 11.12, 4. Storms (George Wythe) 11.13, 5. Stephens (Franklin) 11.16, 6. Pearson (East Rock) 11.16, 7. Evans (Amelia) 11.19, 8. Gordon (Strasburg) 11.22.

1600 Meter - 1. Mogen (Radford) 4:28.63, 2. Campbell (Clarke) 4:28.77, 3. Wallis (Strasburg) 4:34.07, 4. Cromer (Buffalo Gap) 4:37.51, 5. Custer (George Mason) 4:38.99, 6. Pinard (Glenvar) 4:39.27, 7. Turk (Radford) 4:41.00, 8. Ballowe (Nelson) 4:44.62.

400 Meter Relay - 1. Northumberland 42.50, 2. Franklin 42.63, 3. Dan River 43.41, 4. Amelia 44.09, 5. Appomattox 44.25, 6. John Battle 44.36, 7. Sussex 44.48, 8. Radford 44.78.

400 Meter Run - 1. Edmunds (Dan River) 49.56, 2. Little (Radford) 50.48, 3. Cain (Thomas Walker) 51.22, 4. Nunley (George Mason) 51.27, 5. Lewis (Northumberland) 51.39, 6. Smith (Matthews) 51.59, 7. Cook (George Wythe) 51.92, 8. Fudge (Virginia High) 51.92.

300 Meter Hurdles - 1. Bauserman (Central) 39.82, 2. O’Quinn (Haysi) 40.38, 3. Wright (East Rock) 40.55, 4. Neely (James River) 40.86, 5. Hicks (Gate City) 40.87, 6. Henderson (Lancaster) 40.96, 7. Kolb (Manassas Park) 41.51, 8. Harden (Goochland) 41.56.

800 Meter Run - 1. Campbell (Clarke) 2:00.48, 2. Schafer (Radford) 2:01.62, 3. Custer (George Mason) 2:02.02, 4. Martin (John Battle) 2:03.04, 5. Johnson (Radford) 2:03.07, 6. Mogen (Radford) 2:03.87, 7. Roy (Stonewall) 2:04.04, 8. Neukirch (Floyd) 2:03.57.

200 Meter Run - 1. Ferrell (Dan River) 21.78, 2. Cain (Thomas Walker) 22.26, 3. Brown (Northumberland) 22.45, 4. Harlow (John Battle) 22.65, 5. Storms (George Wythe) 22.75, 6. Evans (Amelia) 22.82, 7. Pearson (East Rock) 22.971, 8. Gordon 22.972.

3200 Meter Run - 1. Swiney (John Battle) 9:38.80, 2. Cromer (Buffalo Gap) 9:59.29, 3. Ballowe (Nelson) 10:02.90, 4. Haderer (John Battle) 10:11.20, 5. Wallis (Strasburg) 10:11.58, 6. Farmer (Rural Retreat) 10:12.79, 7. Colson (Strasburg) 10:15.16, 8. Farney (Altavista) 10:19.16.

1600 Meter Relay - 1. Radford 3:29.84, 2. Northumberland (3:30.30) 3. Buffalo Gap 3:30.88, 4. Goochland 3:32.27, 5. East Rock 3:32.27, 6. Matthews 3:34.70, 7. Giles 3:35.58, 8. Clarke 3:37.94.

Girls Team Rankings

1. James River 62, 2. Wilson Memorial 59, 3. Amelia 34, 4. Chatham 33, 5. Manassas Park 30, 6. George Mason 26, 7. Buffalo Gap 22, 8. Northumberland 20, 9. Clarke County High School 18, 10. Wise Central High School 17, 10. Covington 17, 10. West Point 17, 13. George Wythe 16, 14) Floyd County 16, 13. Rappahannock County 16, 16. Strasburg High School 15, 16. Lancaster 15, 18. Sussex Central 14, 18. Virginia High School 14, 20. Chilhowie 13, 20. Grundy High School 13, 22. Stuarts Draft High School 12, 23. Giles 8, 23. Gate City 8, 23. Stonewall Jackson 8, 23. Cumberland 8, 27. Grayson County 7, 27. William Campbell 7, 27. King William 7, 30. Haysi 6, 31. Lebanon High School 4, 31. Riverheads High School 4, 33. Central High School 3, 33. Arcadia 3, 33. Altavista, 3, 36. Windsor 2, 36. Radford 2, 36. Bluestone 2, 36. East Rockingham 2, 36. Essex 2

Girls Results

Long Jump - 1. Reynolds (Wise Central) 18-07.75, 2. McKenzie (Chatham) 17-06.50, 3. Taylor (Lancaster) 17-02.50, 4. Mitchell (Amelia) 17-02.50, 5. Verbeek (Buffalo Gap) 17-01.75, 6. Harris (Cumberland) 17-01.75, 7. Woodson (Manassas Park) 16-07.50, 8. Lee (West Point) 16-07.25.

Triple Jump - 1. Woodson (Manassas Park) 36-00.00, 2. Jones (Northumberland) 35-08.75, 3. Mitchell (Amelia) 35-06.75, 4. Staten (William Campbell) 35-03.00, 5. Clarke (Covington) 35-02.00, 6. Willis (George Wythe) 35-01.25, 7. Crosby (Clarke) 35-00.50, 8. Reynolds (Wise Central) 34-03.25.

High Jump - 1. Clarke (Covington) 5-05.00, 2. Verbeek (Buffalo Gap) 5-04.00, 3. Taylor (Lancaster) 5-03, 4. Mitchell (Amelia) 5-03.00, 5. Condon (Clarke) 5-01.00, 6. Synder (Arcadia) 5-00.00, 7. Marshall (East Rock) 5-00.00, 8. Willis (George Wythe) 5-00.00.

Shot Put - 1. Brown (James River) 40-05.50, 2. Houseright (Gate City) 39-01.50, 3. Yates (Clarke) 36-05.00, 4. Hall (Grundy) 35-08.50, 5. Meadows (Giles) 35-06.00, 6. Tyson (Covington) 34-04.00, 7. Holden (Essex) 34-02.50, 8. Davis (Bluestone) 33-06.00.

Discus - 1. Speaker (Strasburg), 113-02, 2. Hall (Grundy) 111-11, 3. Levi (Clarke) 111-08, 4. Brown (James River) 106-00, 5. Shumate (Wilson Memorial) 104-10, 6. Showalter (Strasburg) 104-07, 7. Jackson (Strasburg) 102-06, 8. Carpenter (Bluestone) 100-08.

100 Meter Hurdles - 1. Verbeek (Buffalo Gap) 15.82, 2. Whitesell (Wilson Memorial) 15.98, 3. Meadows (Wilson Memorial) 16.11, 4. Harris (Cumberland) 16.79, 5. Clark (Gladiators) 16.93, 6. Corbin (SDHS) 17.00, 7. Williams (Manassas Park) 17.14, 8. Ford (James River) 17.37.

100 Meter Run - 1. McKenzie (Chatham) 12.28, 2. Mitchell (Amelia) 12.41, 3. Hamm (James River) 12.53, 4. Austin (Virginia High) 12.55, 5. Willis (George Wythe) 12.56, 6. Byrd (Sussex) 12.60, 7. Staten (William Campbell) 12.66, 8. Gordon (Northumberland) 12.86.

1600 Meter Run - 1. Wood (Rappahannock) 5:11.07, 2. Rose (Wilson Memorial) 5:12.00, 3. Sevier (George Mason) 5:26.81, 4. Grumbine (James River) 5:30.61, 5. Peery (James River) 5:36.52, 6. Ritenour (Central) 5:39.15, 7. Wyatt (Grayson County) 5:40.64, 8. Collins (SDHS) 5:41.42.

400 Meter Relay - 1. Northumberland 49.54, 2. Sussex 49.86, 3. King William 50.03, 4. Virginia High 50.61, 5. George Mason 50.93, 6. Lancaster 51.31, 7. Manassas Park 51.31, 8. Radford 51.38.

400 Meter Run - 1. Mitchell (Amelia) 58.10, 2. Branch (Chilhowie) 1:00.45, 3, T. Lee (West Point) 1:00.69, 4. I. Lee (Chatham) 1:01.67, 5. Austin (Virginia High) 1:02.03, 6. Davis (Stonewall) 1:02.24, 7. Goodson (Floyd) 1:02.31, 8. Carter (Northumberland) 1:02.52.

300 Meter Hurdles - 1. Whitesell (Wilson Memorial) 47.86, 2. Corbin (SDHS) 48.96, 3. Williams (Manassas Park) 49.73, 4. Richards (Chilhowie) 49.95, 5. Jackson (Wise Central) 50.27, 6. Pennington (Giles) 50.59, 7. Clark (Windsor) 50.76, 8. Harless (Giles) 50.98.

800 Meter Run - 1. Goodson (Floyd) 2:22.87, 2. A. Grumbine (James River) 2:26.84, 3. Edwards (Haysi) 2:29, 4. Wyatt (Grayson) 2:29.96, 5. Easton (Lebanon) 2:29.92, 6. M. Grumbine (James River) 2:30.58, 7. Roanne (West Point) 2:32.35, 8. Wence (Manassas Park) 2:32.47.

200 Meter Run - 1. McKenzie (Chatham) 25.31, 2. Willis (George Wythe) 25.82, 3. Hamm (James River) 25.85, 4. Meadows (Wilson Memorial) 26.21, 5. Lee (West Point) 26.24, 6. Byrd (Sussex) 26.46, 7. Reynolds (Wise Central) 26.68, 8. Whichard (Manassas Park) 26.92.

3200 Meter Run - 1. Rose (Wilson Memorial) 11:46.28, 2. Sevier (George Mason) 12.03.59, 3. Wood (Rappahannock) 12:16.82, 4. Kutchma (George Mason) 12.41.47, 5. Peery (James River) 12:44.76, 6. Moon (Altavista) 12:46.73, 7. Phillips (Floyd) 12:52.32, 8. Whitley (King William) 12:58.61.

1600 Meter Relay - 1. James River 4:05.95, 2. Wilson Memorial 4:10.67, 3. Manassas Park 4:14.47, 4. Stonewall 4:14.83, 5. West Point 4:15.58, 6. George Mason 4:21.88, 7. Floyd 4:26.06, 8. Radford 4:26.86.

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