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BHS boys take first, girls second at county track meet
The outdoor track season is still young but already all three teams from western Prince William County are showing promise that they will be powerful forces in the post-season.Last Wednesday, the Battlefield boys topped second-place Forest Park 143 to 119 for a first-place team title. Meanwhile, the girls just missed a gold of their own, coming into second place to host-team Osbourn Park 109-107 at the Running Store City-County Championships.
Despite being the only Group AA team at the meet dominated by Group AAA schools, the Brentsville District girls grabbed third place (97 points) while the boys finished in sixth (53 points).
Damien Thigpen and Kevin Parks also managed to grab individual glory for Stonewall Jackson with first-place showings in the 300-meter hurdles and the triple jump. Thigpen managed not just to crush the competition with a blistering speed of 39.15; he later sped up over the weekend to win at the Mobile Challenge of Championships in Alabama.
Battlefield
The Bobcats as a whole tied OP for most combined golds at six a piece. But Battlefield's real strength came from its depth chart, such as in the boys 3,200-meter run.
Garrick Clemente, Kyle Moller and Darren Driscoll finished second through fourth, combining for 19 points. So even though Brentsville runners Andrew Hull and Matt Earman took first and fifth place, combining for 14 points, Battlefield came out of the event with the most total points.
Things were even better for Battlefield in the 800-meter run where Matt Shaughnessy, Nathan Moyer and Sebastian Paniagua grabbed the top three spots, earning 24 points for the team.
The trio's success did not end there either: they combined with freshman Rory Bryan to pull out a win in the 4x800-meter relay. Moyer and Shaughnessy also earned first place alongside Ross Forry and Drew Everett in the 4x400.
According to Shaughnessy, that level of depth is a pivotal part of Battlefield's future success.
"Well, instead of shooting to win for districts, we want to aim higher and shoot for regions and states, trying to get as many people to go through there," he said.
Added senior Tyler Smith, who earned second in the shotput, "We want to use all our depth ... We want to raise our underclassmen to be better."
Other gold winners for Battlefield included Genevieve Johnson, who ran a state-qualifying time of 12.62 in the 100-meter dash, Shannon Anderson in the high jump and long jumper Byron Sintim.
Brentsville
The Tiger girls put up quite a showing, particularly thanks to fielder Mariama Bello. She brought home wins in the shotput and discus with room to spare in each event, while teammate Paige Knowlton finished third in the shotput, helping Brentsville bring 16 points out of the event.
Morgan Price and Allison Bartels combined for a similar feat in the 3,200-meter run, totaling 16 points with first and third place titles. Price's run of 11:46.81 qualified her for a post-season appearance at the Northwest Regions.
Tiger teammate Danyelle Kent-Robinson, a state powerhouse, already clinched a spot in regions too with a run of 47.70 in the 300-meter hurdles. Only a state-qualifying run of 46.02 by Yvonne Amegashie of Potomac kept her out of first place.
Hull and Erik Kelly, meanwhile, took first-place honors for the boys in individual events. Kelly's time of 42.67 in the 300-meter hurdles put him second behind Thigpen, but he was still more than a second faster than third-place finisher Grayson Matthews of Battlefield.
Brentsville 1,600-meter runners Alexa Vadala and Emily McGowan explained that compared to this time last year, practices are quicker and harder with more team members taking up optional weight lifting practices in their spare time.
"He's focusing more on working really hard," said Vadala of head coach Darrell Earman.
All of that is geared with one focus in mind.
"We're not really worried about Wednesday's meet," said McGowan, explaining that the team is concentrating more on performing when it counts the most: the post-season.
Stonewall
It's not that Thigpen, a previous winner at states, simply won the 300-meter hurdles last week at OP. He blew away the competition.
And not just any competition. Brentsville's Kelly, for example, is an all-area athlete in his own right and likely will make a case for a win at the Group AA state championship.
Rather, Thigpen is just that good. The rain had clearly slowed him down too as he ended up shaving off 2.4 seconds from his time the following weekend in Alabama.
But Stonewall is not just a one-man army. While Thigpen often grabs the headlines, his teammates, like Parks and sophomore Hope Flomo, do their parts to bring in top showings for the Raiders too.
"What I learned from indoor is work hard," said Flomo, who made an appearance at states during the indoor season, along with Parks and Thigpen. "Those girls are not a joke. You've got to bring your A-game. You've got to train all out."
Flomo continued where she left off at the end of the indoor campaign, pulling in third place between Battlefield's Johnson and OP's Amanda Nocera in the 100-meter dash before raking in a second-place finish in the 400 meter dash.
"What you do in practice, it's like times two at the meets," she said. "My 400, I know that I need to learn how to separate my speed, get out ... and give it all when the race first starts and give it everything you've got."
According to 800-meter runner Sarah Carroll, the county competition is "very tough because they are serious [and] they know what they are doing. They are ready to go."
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