Handley lost three all-state athletes from last year’s team, including Trey Causey, The Winchester Star Boys’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year and high jump state champion who took fifth in that event in the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor meet this year for the University of Virginia.
Those personnel losses haven’t prevented Handley from maintaining its status as a regional power, though. Last year’s outdoor Class 4 Northwestern District and Region 4C meet champions won the Region 4C meet during the indoor season this year and appear set to have another strong outdoor campaign.
This year’s Judges features senior Jack Armel, who placed fifth in the state and had a top mark of 12-6 in the pole vault last year. At this year’s indoor state meet, Armel earned another fifth-place finish but vaulted 13-6 to do so.
Junior Quinton Newman also earned all-state honors last spring (seventh in the state in the discus, top mark of 149-6) and this winter (sixth in the shot put, 49-3). Newman ranked third in the area with a 49-7 in the shot put last spring and placed 10th in the state.
Another returning all-state athlete for Handley is senior Tyson Long, who placed seventh in Class 4 in the high jump last year and tied for the area’s second-best mark (6-0).
Handley also brings back senior Cooper Dawson (second in the area in the long jump last year with a mark of 21-3). He was the Region 4C champion in that event in the indoor season.
Several of Newman’s football teammates will also provide plenty of punch for the Judges. Sophomore Jayden Vardaro and junior Miles Ashe each placed in the top 10 in the 55 meters at the state indoor meet. Joining the team this year will be Malachi Imoh, a junior sprinter and jumper who rushed for 885 yards and eight touchdowns and will likely do the 100 and 4×100 and possibly the 200 and long jump; and freshman Stephen Daley, a thrower and sprinter who led the area with 15 sacks and ranked second on the team to Newman in tackles with 72 to Newman’s 82.
“We did lose some very good athletes last year, some guys who could pick up a lot of points in big meets,” Handley coach Mike McKiernan said. “But I do think we’ve got a well-rounded group this year. In most events, we’re going to be pretty competitive. I’m excited about [the season]. We’ve got some young boys who are doing pretty well and some new kids. I think we’re going to be all right.”
Handley will have no shortage of competition. Fauquier won the Northwestern District indoor meet by 28 points. While Loudoun Valley did not win the Region 4C indoor meet, its powerful distance crew carried it to the state title. Its 97 points were 61 more than runner-up Blacksburg. The Vikings are also two-time defending Class 4 outdoor state champions.
James Wood (third in last year’s district outdoor meet) brings back two all-state athletes from last spring and another who earned his first track all-state honor during the indoor season this year.
Senior Chance Grove broke a 52-year-old school record in the discus last year en route to placing third in the state. He posted the area’s top mark in the discus at 162-8 last year and is the top returning thrower in all of Class 4.
Junior sprinter William Crowder earned all-state honors last year by taking eighth in the state in the 100 meters. Crowder, who also took 10th in the state in the 200, posted the area’s second-best marks in the 100 (11.02) and 200 (22.58) last year.
James Wood also features senior Drake Tews. Headed to NCAA Division I Mount St. Mary’s next year, Tews tied for second among area high jumpers last year. Tews, who has jumped as high as 6-4, tied for fourth in the state in the indoor high jump.
Sherando’s roster features the only area boy who has won a state title. Senior Isaiah Allen captured the Class 4 indoor state title this year in the shot put and is coming off a 2018 outdoor season in which he took second in the state in the shot put to a graduating senior and fourth in the discus. Allen, who is heading to NCAA Division II Tiffin University, was tops in the area last year in the shot put (59-1.5).
The Warriors (fourth in the district last year) also bring back Ty Waits, the area’s top 400 runner last year (50.69). Waits is coming off an indoor season in which he placed third in the 500 in 1:07.56 to earn all-state honors.
Sophomore Keli Lawson (tied for second in the area in the high jump, 6-0; second in the triple jump, 42-6) and junior Jabril Hayes (tied for second in the high jump, 6-0; third in the long jump 20-3.75) should make the Warriors particularly strong in the jumps.
Winchester Star Cross Country Runner of the Year James Harris will focus on baseball this spring, but he’ll be given the opportunity to compete in meets when he can after not participating in outdoor track as a freshman.
The Warriors will feature a new head coach in T.J. Rohrbaugh, the defensive coordinator for the Sherando football team. Rohrbaugh replaces Jamie McCarty, whose contract was not renewed after two seasons at the helm.
“I just love working with student-athletes at Sherando,” said Rohrbaugh when talking about his reason for wanting the track coaching job. “When I had the opportunity to broaden the number of athletes I could work with, I felt very excited about it. I’m excited about all of our kids. They’re out there working hard. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do this Saturday [in the first meet].”
Millbrook (fifth in the district last year) will be led by senior John Pullen, who ranked among the area’s top three in three events last year — the 800 (first in 2:01.04), the 1,600 (third in 4:37.06) and the 3,200 (third in 10:03.82).
Clarke County (second in the Bull Run District last year) features a strong middle distance/distance crew. Senior Dawson Parrott ranked third in the area in the 400 last year (53.50), senior Nick Dawson ranked second in the 800 (2:02.70) and senior Connor Hanson ranked third in the 800 (2:05.20). Dawson was all-state in the 1,600, placing seventh.
Another individual all-state performer who is back for Clarke County is sophomore Sam Brumback (eighth in Class 2 in the high jump, tied for second in the area, 6-0).
Central is the defending Bull Run District champion. The Falcons defeated the Eagles by 17 points for last year’s district title.
The following is a glance at each area team:
Handley
Head coach: Mike McKiernan, eighth year.
Last season: Class 4 Northwestern District and Region 4C meet champions; 8th in Class 4 state meet.
Key losses: Trey Causey, Kobe Vance, Max Doerwaldt, John Delaney, Ian Ganey.
Top returning athletes: Miles Ashe, Jr., sprints/jumps; Jack Armel, Sr., hurdles, vault; Cooper Dawson, Sr., jumps; Ethan Bishop, Sr., sprints; Quinton Newman, Jr., throws; Bennett Cupps, Jr., distance; Grayson Westfall, Jr., distance; Jayden Vardaro, So., jumps/sprints; Tyson Long, Sr., jumps.
Top newcomers: Malachi Imoh, Jr., sprints/ jumps; Stephen Daley, Fr., throws/sprints.
McKiernan’s outlook: “I was very pleased with [Armel’s progress in the pole vault in indoor]. And it might not be as noticeable to the outside, but he has developed so much as a hurdler. He really has gotten a lot faster over the past couple of years. That’s really due to his dedication. He’s really a student of his events, and he really takes practice and learning very seriously. We’ll have a good 4×100 team. What’s got me excited about the 4×100 right now is that we probably have six good options to slide in there. We’re just going to race each other and find out who’s got what it takes. Quentin is an excellent thrower and I think he has a lot of potential. We’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do in the disc.”
First meet: March 30 at Wildcat Invitational at Mountain View High School, 9 a.m.
James Wood
Head coach: Mike Onda, second year.
Last season: 3rd in Class 4 Northwestern District meet; 6th in Region 4C meet; tied for 20th in Class 4 state meet.
Key losses: Jeremiah Addison, Jacksen Costa, Garrett Clark, Kevin Konyar, Tyler Ostinato, Bryce Ratlief, Ford Reed, Dominic Revetta, Daniel Woodrum.
Top returning athletes: Jackson Clyburn, Sr., sprints; William Crowder, Jr., sprints; Owen Emerson, So., sprints; Chance Grove, Sr., throws; Trenton Jordan, So., sprints; Jared King, Sr., throws; Logan Owens, Jr., jumps/hurdles/sprints; Ethan Pierce, Sr., distance; Nathan Shade, Jr., distance; Drake Tews, Sr., jumps/sprints; Chris White, So., distance.
Top newcomers: Josh Arce, Sr., distance; Lavaughan Freeman, Jr., sprints/jumps; Gavin McDonald, Fr., sprints; Liam McDonald, Fr., distance; Walker See, Sr., throws; Nathaniel Woshner, Fr., distance.
Onda’s outlook: “The boys I think are looking pretty strong. We’ve got a lot of balance there between Will Crowder, Logan Owens, and we’ve got a lot of talent on the distance side. Josh Arce is one of our four-year cross country guys who’s out for the first time this year, and he’s looking good. We have a lot of the talent that helped us do so well in cross country on the team. The new ones are showing some potential. We’re trying to get some depth in the hurdles and a little more in the jumps. Lavaughan Freeman, who played basketball, is showing quite a bit of aptitude in both the jumps and on the track. We just have to see how that goes. I think Chance is looking real good [and can win a state title]. He’s been working real hard. He trained a lot on the discus in the winter on his spare time even though that’s not an indoor track event.”
First meet: Saturday at Battlefield Relays, 9 a.m.
Sherando
Head coach: T.J. Rohrbaugh, first year.
Last season: 4th in Class 4 Northwestern District meet; 7th in Region 4C meet; 13th in Class 4 state meet.
Key losses: Kyle Holliday.
Top returning athletes: Isaiah Allen, Sr., throws; Daniel Boespflug, Sr., throws; Nick Corbit, Sr., throws; Lucas Williams, Sr., middle distance; Jabril Hayes, Jr., sprints/jumps; Darius Lane, Jr., hurdles/sprints; David Rivas, Jr., jumps; Ty Waits, Jr., middle distance; Jonathan Gates, So., middle distance; Damien Gustaitis, So., sprints/jumps; Keli Lawson, So., jumps/middle distance.
Top newcomers: Eldon Agard, Jr., hurdles/jumps; Luke Waits, Jr., middle distance; James Harris, So., distance; Darien Bridgeman, Fr., sprints; Connor Madagan, Fr., throws; Graham Schultz, Fr., middle distance; Brett Shockey, Fr., throws; Cameron Myers, Fr., hurdles/middle distance.
Rohrbaugh’s outlook: “We have a lot of kids who are good students and good, hard-working kids. They’re making it a lot of fun to coach and they’re a lot of fun to be around. Darius Lane and Ty Waits are doing a really good job of working hard and being leaders for us. I really feel like they’re the tempo-setters out there. Darius is going to be doing both hurdles events. And he’s going to be doing the 4×400 with Ty Waits, Keli Lawson, and Luke Waits. We think that’s going to be a pretty strong team for us. In some meets, we might put Darius in the 4×100.”
First meet: Saturday at Sprint into Spring Invitational at Eastern View High School, 9 a.m.
Millbrook
Head coach: Kevin Shirk, eighth year.
Last season: 5th in Class 4 Northwestern District; 11th in Region 4C meet.
Key losses: David Blackstone.
Top returning athletes: Daniel Torres, Sr., sprints; John Pullen, Sr., distance. Brad Hambrick, Sr., distance; Chris Simonelli, Jr., middle distance; Jeremy McLarn, Jr., jumps; Jacob Young, Sr., throws; Dylan Wallace, Sr. distance; Justin Sharp, Sr., distance.
Top newcomers: Carter Johnson, Fr., distance; Jonathan Wiseman, Fr., distance.
Shirk’s outlook: “John Pullen was our team leader during indoor track and I expect the same during the outdoor season. John qualified for the state meet in the 3,200 and 4×800 during indoor, and I believe he has the ability to also make it in the 800 and 1,600 during outdoor track. Fauquier looks to be the heavy favorite for a team [district] title, but I believe our boys can fight for second. We finished fourth during the indoor season, but with the addition of a couple sprinters and throwers, we stand to score points in areas that we didn’t even field athletes in during indoor.”
First meet: April 3 at Woodgrove
Clarke County
Head coach: Andre Kidrick, 13th year.
Last season: 2nd in Bull Run District meet; 3rd in Region 2B meet; 12th in Class 2 state meet.
Key losses: Ed Buzalsky, Tanner Dinkins, Chase Ervin, Kevin Whalen, Ricco Nappi.
Top returning athletes: Luke Brumback, So., jumps/throws; Sam Brumback, So., jumps/throws; Peter Terzian, Sr., sprints; Peyton Rutherford, Jr., sprints; Ellis Nei, So., jumps/hurdles; Kyle Erickson, Sr., distance; Nick Dawson, Sr., distance; Connor Hanson, Sr., distance; Zach Dawson, Sr., hurdles; Dawson Parrott, Sr., sprints; Eric Evans, Sr., hurdles; Reid Cox, Jr., distance; Josh Hinton, So., distance.
Top newcomers: None mentioned.
Kidrick’s outlook: “Distance will be a strength. Nick Dawson, Reid Cox, Kyle Erickson, those guys in the mile, 800, 4×800, they’ll be tough. We have a lot of kids who had success in cross country. Our boys’ team is going to be really tough as a whole. Jumps we’re going to be OK with Ellis Nei and both Brumback boys and Peyton Rutherford. Last year Peyton was dealing with knee and hip injuries, so we want to see what he can do in the long jump and potentially, the triple jump. Heck, he came down and threw the other day. If I can get him throwing, he might be a decent shot putter. Peyton’s doing really well in the weight room. We try to get across to the kids that even though it’s track, the weight room helps. At Clarke County, we believe in the weight room. The Brumback boys have taken really well to the weight room, too, and I think that will be a big help for them.”
First meet: Thursday at Ram Country Track & field Invitational at Strasburg, 4 p.m.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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