LYNCHBURG — In the 400 meters, in theory, there’s an advantage to being the the top seed and running in lane 4 — you can see what most of the rest of the field is doing in front of you, including the No. 2 seed in lane 5, and adjust accordingly.
Top-seeded King George senior Calista Rash entered the Virginia High School League Class 4 state track & field meet with the experience of being the state runner-up last year and having run a time of 55.24 this year, which would have been good enough to win the state meet in 2024 and 2025.
Running in lane 5, Handley junior and No. 2 seed EJ Mullins made sure that Rash only saw the back of her jersey during Saturday’s 400 race — and it didn’t long for Mullins to make that the permament view for runners in lanes 6-8 as well.
After breaking a 14-year-old school record at the previous week’s Region 4D meet, Mullins shattered her personal record by 59 hundredths of a second with a time of 55.52 seconds on Saturday. That resulted in a dominant 1.08-second win for the first state title of her career at Liberty University’s Osborne Stadium.
“Each race I’ve done so far [this season], I’ve progressed, I’ve PRed, and I don’t think I’ve hit my max yet,” said Mulliins on a day in which temperatures reached the mid 80s.
The state championship for Mullins — who also broke her PR in the 200 twice this weekend and finished fourth in Saturday’s finals — was the only one recorded by local girls in Class 4.
James Wood senior Kate Konyar came as close as humanly possible to defending her 3,200 state title, but finished a hundredth of a second behind Atlee junior Carissa Ambrose in a thrilling finish.
Millbrook junior Janai Washington won last year’s high jump total with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches, but no jumper cleared that mark on Saturday. Washington tied for third with a 5-0, two inches behind sophomore champion Cheyanne Mayo of Phoebus.
Those were the only three Winchester/Frederick County athletes to score points by placing in the top eight of the meet. Blacksburg won its third straight state title with 88.33 points, with Phoebus tthe runner-up with 51. Handley was 16th with 15 points, James Wood tied for 22nd with 8 and Millbrook was 32nd with 4.
Mullins has established a pattern of starting her races exceptionally fast and relying on her strength to keep her in top shape until the race is done, and that paid off again in Saturday’s 400 win. Mullins made up the entire stagger at the 200-meter mark, and then daylight was all she saw on the track in front of her until she crossed the finish line.
Rash was second in 56.60. Manor sophomore Adriana Mapp — the 2025 state champion — elected to focus on the 200 and not compete in the race, but even her top time of 55.62 this season falls short of what Mullins did on Saturday.
“[Today] was just her coming into who we knew she could be,” Handley coach Lloyd Phillips said. “I’m just excited, because she got out hard, she held it, and she never gave anybody a chance to catch her.
“When she’s out and she’s running, she reminds me of greyhound. She’s so easy free with her runs. If she gets out, and she’s comfortable, and she’s running, she’s as good as anybody. I’m just so happy for her to be able to have this moment. The growth that she’s had just from indoor to outdoor has been immense. I’m really happy for her. This is well deserved.”
At the Region 4D meet, Mullins said running as fast as she did in the 400 after running a 2:17.86 split in the 4×800 earlier in the day showed her she could take her performance up a notch. Mullins broke 2012 400 state champion Britani Myers’ school record of 56.18 with a 56.11 at the Region 4D meet.
“I knew I had the distance [endurance] under me,” Mullins said. “I just had to give it all I got [today].”
Mullins said it took more than just work on the track and in the weight room to become a state champion.
“I’ve cut out sugars in my diet,” she said. “I have a sweet treat here and there. But it’s been really hard dedication, transitioning my relationship with food, especially my relationship with water. It’s hrd when my friends are having pizza parties and stuff, being mindful of my body on those weekends. But I think today it really paid off.”
Phillips was also impressed with what Mullins did in the 200 this weekend. She broke her PR of 24.90 with a 24.74 to take fourth in Friday’s prelims, then dropped her time to 24.52 in Saturday’s finals. Varina freshman Imani Moore won in 23.77.
“Everyone just had a really good day,” Mullins said. “I’m running against some of the fastest people in the nation right now, so I was happy with where I was.”
Mullins also ended her day with a bang.
While waiting for her turn to run in the 4×400, Mullins could be overheard remarking how hot it was. After she got the baton, it wasn’t evident how much she was feeling the heat until she collapsed to the ground after it was over. Split times aren’t kept for the first two legs of the 4×400, but Edsell’s time of 55.46 on the anchor was the fastest of any of the third or fourth legs. Mullins helped the team of Reagan Edsell, Keila De La O Granado and Janiya Ferris take 10th in 4:10.23.
Other state participants for Handiey were Maliyah Hines (16th in long jump, 15-11.75), the 4×800 team of Charlotte Thomsen, Audrey Rinker, Ella Warren and Ellie Miller (17th in 10:49.43) and Amaya Smith, who did not clear the opening height of 4-10 in the high jump.
On Saturday, Konyar ran more than 13 seconds faster than she did when she won last year’s 3,200 state title. Despite practically throwing herself across the finish line, it wasn’t enough.
At the 1,300-meter mark, Ambrose decided to pull away from a four-girl pack. She led by 1.69 seconds over the second-place Konyar after four laps, extended her lead to 2.48 seconds after five laps, then 3.49 seconds after six laps.
“My strategy was to let her go, and then I was seeing how she would feel,” Konyar said. “Maybe she’d die or fall back a little bit.”
On the seventh lap, Konyar — who had trailed by about 12 meters at one point in the sixth lap — began to pick up her pace while Ambrose slowed down. Konyar recorded a 1:23.25 to Ambrose’s 1:25.02 to cut her deficit to 5 meters entering the final lap.
“I felt pretty good,” Konyar said. “I started moving faster [to cut the deficit more], because I know I’m not a last 100 sprinter where I can catch someone.”
Konyar continued to surge, and it looked for a moment like she might pass Ambrose on the backstretch. But Ambrose found another gear with 225 meters left. Konyar kept coming though, and she was able to pull up to Ambrose as they entered the final 100 meters.
The duo put on a tremendous battle, and with 30 meters left Ambrose was in the lead by a couple of steps. But Konyar found another burst, and she didn’t slow down until she found herself lying on the track after her sprint and lean made her leave her feet after going through the finish line.
For both Ambrose and Konyar, their last laps were their fastest. Ambrose ran hers in 1:15.94 (0.27 faster than her opening lap) while Konyar finishing a whopping 2.11 seconds faster than any of her previous laps with a time of 1:14.22. Her previous fastest was the 1:16.33 opening lap.
“I did everything I could for that one,” Konyar said. “I thought [I caught her]. I leaned so hard I fell. I’m proud of [Ambrose]. She had a good race. And I’m proud of myself. I had to put everything I could out there, and I think I did that.”
James Wood coach Danielle Koelker summed up anyone who watched Konyar’s effort.
“I think Kate fought like a beast to try and close that gap and make [the win] happen,” Koelker said. “It was a photo finish, and she didn’t quite get it. But she’s still a champ in my book. She fought really hard to make it that close at the finish. She just showed her strength, I think.”
Feeling the effects of the 3,200 and the heat, Konyar would go on to place 11th in the 1,600 (5:20.19) after leading the race after the first lap.
“My whole strategy for the 1,600 was go out as fast as you can and die,” Konyar said. “That’s all you can after doing the 32.”
Konyar also ran on the 4×800 team that featured Lauren Thompson, All Oliver and Vivian Porter (10th in 9:58.36). Konyar said the team tried as hard as it could. Competing with them added to a special career at James Wood.
“I would not trade this experience for any other,” said Konyar, who will run for the University of Maryland next year. “I’m really sad that it’s ending now. It was a great four years.”
Other James Wood state meet participants were Erin Link (10th in the shot put, 34-3.5); the 4×100 team of Alexis Brown, Sierra-Nicole Wimer, Melanie Padilla and Isabelle French (11th, 50.08); the 4×400 team of Grace Thompson, Wimer, Padilla and Reese Lessard (11th, 4:11.48), French in the 100 hurdles (15th, 17.26) and Alina Kieffer, who was ill and took 22nd in the 3,200 in 13:11.15.
In addtion to high jump, Millbrook’s Washington was 13th in the 100 (12.61) and 19th in the 200 (26.24).
For Sherando, Mercedes Silver tied for ninth in the high jump (5-0) and placed 13th in the 300 hurdles (48.66), Emma Messick was 15th in the discus (103-7) and Kalysta Falls was 18th in the 100 hurdles (18.84).
For more meet coverage, see Tuesday’s edition of The Winchester Star.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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