The area lost a lot of high school boys’ track & field talent to graduation, but it will still feature one of its all-time greats in 2026.
Handley senior Rylan Stribling — who has signed with NCAA Division I University of Virginia — will look to defend his Class 4 state titles in the 100 and 200 meters. The Winchester Star Boys’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Stribling set school records in both events in 2025 and had area-best times of 10.43 seconds in the 100 and 21.21 in the 200. Stribling figures to be extra hungry for success this spring after taking second in Class 4 in the 55 at the indoor state meet, this after winning that event as a junior.
Three other Judges who scored points at last year’s state meet have graduated, including Jaishaun Offutt (three combined outdoor and indoor state shot put titles, third in outdoor last year) and Hassan Akanbi (five state silver medais in indoor and outdoor track, including four in the high jump). They helped Handley place third in Class 4 and fourth in Region 4D last year.
The Judges — who were second at the indoor Region 4D meet this year — do bring back junior Timmy Campbell, who tied for eighth in Class 4 in the high jump and tied for the area’s No. 3 mark (6-2). Campbell tied for sixth at the indoor state track meet this year with a mark of 6-0.
Handley brings back two other athletes who scored individual points at this year’s indoor state meet in senior Will Thomas (fourth in the 1,000 in 2:33.73 and eighth in the 3,200 in 9:52.37) and senior Carson Green (seventh in the shot put, 48-3.5). Senior Isaiah Baxter placed 14th in outdoor Class 4 last year in the triple jump and posted the area’s No. 2 mark in that event (43-4.5).
Sherando (second in outdoor Region 4D) lost two of its all-time greats to graduation. Noah Harris won two state titles in the high jump (outdoor as a junior, indoor as a senior) and Micah Carlson was a four-time state medalist in the discus (second last year). Carlson is now competing for NCAA Division II Frostburg State.
This year’s Warriors feature senior Sunil Dutt. He took second in the indoor state 55 hurdles this year. Last year, Dutt was fifth in Class 4 in the 110 hurdles. He posted the area’s best mark in the 110 hurdles and the No. 2 mark in the 300 hurdles (41.60). Sherando also brings back outdoor Region 4D high jump champion Jackson Ogle (6-0).
James Wood (eighth in Region 4D) will also be led by a state medalist hurdler in Jorel Baltimore. The senior placed seventh in the 110 hurdles and 11th in the 300 hurdles last year in Class 4. He posted the area’s best mark in the 300 hurdles (41.34) and the No. 2 mark in the 110 hurdles (14.94). Senior Duncan Stanton ranked third in the area in the 300 hurdles last year (42.05).
Millbrook was 14th in Region 4D last year. At this year’s indoor region meet, the Pioneers were led by sophomore Samuel Lapp (fifth in the 3,200, 10:33.19).
In Class 2, Clarke County is coming off a stellar year in which it won the Buil Run District and Region 2B titles and placed fifth at the state meet.
The Eagles suffered a big loss with the graduation of Jackson Ellis, the state champion in the 800.
Clarke County still features an elite all-around athlete in junior Isaac Nei. In Class 2, Nei placed second in the long jump, fourth in the 100 and 21st in the 200. He posted the area’s No. 2 marks in the 100 (10.99), 200 (22.34), 400 (50.84) and long jump (22-6.75).
The Eagles will also by led by junior Landon Horton (sixth in Class 2 in the 1,600 in 4:36.18 last year, No. 3 3,200 time in the area, 10:08.97) and junior Elijah Abdulbarr (sixth in Class 2 in the 110 hurdles, third in area in the event in 15.27).
The four Winchester-Frederick County schools open their seasons on Wednesday at James Wood. Clarke County begins its season on Friday at the Doc Jopson Invitational at Bridgewater College.
The following is a glance at each area team:
Handley
Coach: Lloyd Phillips, second season.
Last year: Third in Class 4 state; fourth in Region 4D.
Key losses: Hassan Akanbi, Savion Thomas, Jashaun Offutt, Brendan Campbell.
Key returnees: Brock Ashe, So., hurdles; Gavin Williams, Sr., pole vault (No. 1 in area, 12-0); Isaiah Baxter, Sr., jumps; Reese McAllister, So., pole vault (tied for second in area, 9-0); Will Thomas, Sr., distance; Noah Meleason, Jr., distance (No. 2 in area in 3,200, 9:53.47); Carson Green, Sr., throws; Triston Darling, So., throws; Tyler Davis, So., throws; ZeQuon Williams, Sr., throws; Rylan Stribling, Sr., sprints; Timmy Campbell, Jr., jumps.
Key newcomers: Amari Brown, Sr., sprints/jumps; Everett Otto, Jr., distance.
Phillips’ outlook: “The team’s overall expectations are to compete at a high level this year. I believe we have a really talented team with a lot of depth in all areas, so I’m really excited to see what this team can do. I believe we stack up well against all competitors. It’s still really early, but I know a lot of our athletes have significantly improved from last year, which will make a significant impact for our team.”
Sherando
Coach: Brad Symons, fourth season.
Last year: Second in Region 4D; 15th in Class 4 state; Northwestern District champions.
Key losses: Jed Bell, Sebastian Berrios, Micah Carlson, Emerson Fletcher, Tristan Hantute-Abebe, Noah Harris, Ryan Maki, Ethan Rice, Harrison Satterly, Niko Walker, Quincy Walker.
Key returnees: Gus Barbe, Sr., distance; Donovan Blackwell, Sr., sprints/jumps; James Bryant, Jr. middle distance; Sunil Dutt, Sr., hurdles; Gavin Flynn, Jr., middle distance; Wyatt Grimm, Jr., sprints/jumps; Chester Konisiewicz, Jr., distance; Owen Leatch, Jr., distance; Nate Lloyd, Jr., jumps/middle distance; Thomas Miles, Sr., middle distance; Jack Ogle, Sr., jumps/middle distance; Quintin Priest, So., distance; Jesse Robinson, So., throws; Hatcher Smith, Sr., distance; Austyn Zeis, Jr., distance.
Key newcomers: Jack Burns, So., throws; Noah Farringer, Fr., distance; Braydon Gilson, Jr., throws; James Mitchell, So., throws; AJ Moore, So., throws; William Norris, Fr., distance; Eli Piper, So., sprints; Xavier Saunders, Fr., hurdles; Crew Taylor, Fr., throws.
Symons’ outlook: “The expectation for the boys is for them to compete every day. We will be competitive within our district. We have some good athletes returning that will take a step up this year and add some promising newcomers. Sunil Dutt is coming off a good football and indoor track season, and we look for him to continue that in the outdoor track season as well. I have been happy with the way Wyatt Grimm, Nate Lloyd and Eli Piper have been working hard in practice.”
James Wood
Coach: Danielle Koelker, second season.
Last year: Eighth in Region 4D; 34th in Class 4 state.
Key losses: Eli Clark, Jude Miller, Trenton Manili, Zach Harrington, Nathan Reynolds (injury).
Key returnees: Carrick Amerine, Sr., distance; Cade Freeman, Jr., distance; Jorel Baltimore, Sr., hurdles/jumps; Duncan Stanton, Sr., hurdles/jumps; Connor Kenney-Fitzner, Sr., sprints; Ivan Andrews, Sr., sprints; Sawyer Speet, Sr., throws; Heston LaRue, Jr., throws.
Key newcomers: Alecsander Kluge, Fr., distance; Gavin Garnes, Fr., distance; Quincy Gaskins, So., hurdles/jumps/sprints; Emilio Permana, So., hurdles/jumps/sprints; Jackson O’Connor, Fr., hurdles/jumps/sprints.
Koelker’s outlook: “I’m looking for new athletes to step up and fill in the gaps that we have on the guys’ side. We have nine really talented boys who are graduating, so I’m looking forward to hopefully developing some of the new guys to fill those spots for next year. I’m hoping to start building depth on the guys’ side this season in all of our event areas. We have a lot of talented athletes who are very competitive in our district/region. But as a team, we definitely have room for growth and improvement. Across the board, many guys are giving good effort so far, but it’s a little too early to tell who might step up, outside of our top guys.”
Millbrook
Coach: Jamie McCarty, third season.
Last year: 14th in Region 4D.
Key losses: None mentioned.
Key returnees: Sam Lapp, So., distance; Chase Jones, Sr., sprints; Alex Burns, So., sprints; Lucas Meeks, Jr., sprints.
Key newcomers: Anthony Ayala Sr., throws; Nigel Foster, Sr., distance; Steve Luna, Sr., distance; Jackson Reid, Fr., middle distance; Tyler Kinsey, Sr., throws.
McCarty’s outlook: “We are hoping to keep building a foundation. Our numbers are up this year, but still a long way from where they need to be. We have several new seniors who are out for the first time, and they should help us be more competitive this season. The goal for us is simple — try to score more points at regionals than last year and show improvement across the board.”
Clarke County
Coach: Gary Wymer, first season.
Last year: Region 2B and Bull Run District champions; fifth in Class 2 state.
Key losses: Jackson Ellis, James Casey, Aidan Kreeb, Lincoln Booker, Wyatt Palmer, Carson Chinn.
Key returnees: Landon Horton, Jr., distance; Adam Hillerson, Jr., distance; Brody Ellis, Jr., distance; Chris Reid, Jr., sprints; Isaac Nei, Jr., sprints/jumps; Max Aiello, Jr./throws; Joseph Stem, Sr., throws/hurdles; Elijah Abdulbarr, Jr., hurdles/sprints.
Key newcomers: Dylan Scroggins, So., throws; David Kennedy, Sr., distance.
Wymer’s outlook: “We try to attend some of the bigger invitationals to give our athletes experience competing at a high level. We expect to be competitive at the invitationals that we attend. Our district and region have a lot of talent, but we feel like we have a lot of talent as well. It should make for some exciting competition. We are excited to see how well Landon Horton does this year. He had an amazing cross country season followed by a very successful Shenandoah Valley Runners Association Winter Series performance.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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