4A State Track Preview

Posted: June 5, 2015
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — An hour after setting a school record and winning the 4A North Region title in the 300-meter hurdles — an event he had only ran in once before in his life from start to finish in a meet — Mauck, as usual, downplayed his versatility and ability to adapt to just about any given situation in track and field.

“I’m just having fun,” Mauck said. “It just happens that I can do [things] a little bit better than some people.”

Mauck certainly performs better than “some.” And starting today, he has a legitimate chance to show that he can perform better than everyone in Group 4A in six of track and field’s 14 individual events.

Mauck is seeded first in two events, second in three events and fourth in another as the two-day Group 4A state track and field meet kicks off today at 4 p.m. at Harrisonburg High School. Action concludes Saturday, with field events leading off the day at 9:30 a.m.

Competing in the 100 (No. 1, 10.59 seconds), 200 (No. 4, 21.75), 300 hurdles (No. 2, 38.20), high jump (co-No. 2, 6 feet, 4 inches), long jump (No. 1, 23-9) and triple jump (No. 2, 45-101/2), Mauck will have more chances than any other area athlete to win a state title, but he’s hardly the only one with an excellent chance.

Three other boys are particularly strong candidates to win titles. Millbrook junior Tyler-Cox Philyaw is the defending state champion in the 1,600 (seed time 4:13.06) and No. 1 seed in the 800 (1:54.57). Sherando junior Trevor Whiteside has a top time of 1:54.60 in the 800, and unlike Cox-Philyaw, the 800 will be his first race of the day on Saturday, so he’ll have fresh legs. And Sherando senior Trent McCarty is the top seed in the discus (155-7).

Though six events seems like a lot to ask anyone to do, Mauck and Handley coach Mike McKiernan don’t think it should be a problem because Mauck will get one event out of the way Friday, and Saturday’s temperature isn’t expected to get above the high 70s. (The forecast says there could be rain in he afternoon Saturday.)

“A big reason why he wants to do [six events] is so he can score as many points as he can for the team,” McKiernan said. “I think we’ve got a good chance at placing in the top three if our athletes perform well.”

McKiernan said I.C. Norcom is the favorite, and he added it would be difficult to get the 70-plus points it would likely take to overcome the Greyhounds for the team title.

Mauck will compete in the triple jump today in addition to the 100 and 200 trials. Assuming Mauck makes it through the trials, he will compete in five events Saturday.

Mauck and McKiernan both believe Mauck’s best opportunities for success are the two events where he’s the top seed, the 100 and long jump.

“I think those events are where I’ve done the best recently, and been the most consistent,” Mauck said.

After starting the postseason with a top time of 10.98, Mauck (third in Group 4A last year) has dropped his 100 time in each of the last two weeks to get to 10.59, and his top time is 0.15 ahead of the next closest competitor. Mauck’s top long jump was achieved four weeks ago at the prestigious Southern Track Classic, and is three inches better than I.C. Nocom’s Hakeem Horton. Mauck took sixth in Group 4A last year.

The triple jump is the only event in which Mauck hasn’t set a personal best in this year. But he did jump 47-01/2 last year when he took second in the state, which is better than the top mark of Liberty’s Anthony Spagnoletti (46-8), the No. 1 seed in the triple jump.

McKiernan wouldn’t be surprised if the state meet produces Mauck’s best work in the triple jump. In winning the state indoor long and triple jumps, Mauck’s best jumps were his last ones. He didn’t take the lead in the long jump until his final attempt, and he didn’t take the lead in the triple until his second-to-last attempt.

“He thrives off the competition,” McKiernan said.

Mauck is one inch behind the top seed in the high jump, 0.54 behind top seed Horton in the 300 hurdles, and 0.27 behind the top seed in the 200. Mauck appears to be peaking in the 200 — his 21.75 at the Conference 23 meet was a personal best. (Mauck did not run the 200 at the region meet.)

Other state participants for the Handley boys are Aaron Arslan in the 1,600 (No. 10, 4:24.37) and 3,200 (No. 6, 9:48.87), Jarett Cestaro in the high jump (tied for No. 5, 6-2), Marquaye Jackson in the shot put (No. 9, 47-1) and the 4x100 team.

The Handley girls feature Angelica Robinson in the high jump (No. 3, 5-3), the 4x400 team (No. 9, 4:08.58), Alysandra Worrell in the 100 and Mya Mintschenko in the high jump.

Millbrook’s Cox-Philyaw won the 1,600 last year by going out in a fast pace (61 seconds in the first lap), because he figured E.C. Glass standout Peter Seufer and others who had run the 3,200 earlier in the day would be worn down a bit. The strategy worked out well, as Cox-Philyaw ran a time of 4:17.24 and won by 0.57 seconds for his first state title.

Seufer is seeded higher than Cox-Philyaw for this year’s 1,600 (4:10.07), but again, he will have to be able to recover from running the 3,200 in the morning.

Cox-Philyaw said he’s not necessarily planning on going out as fast as last year though, because he would like to try and conserve energy for the 800. Cox-Philyaw took sixth in that event at states last year, and would love to pull off the double.

“I want someone else to [set the pace] for me [in the 1,600], and then I can make a move with about 500, 300 [meters] to go, because Trevor [Whiteside, of Sherando] is going to be fresh for the 800,” Cox-Philyaw said.

After what Cox-Philyaw did at the Falcon Classic on May 1 at Fauquier, he has the confidence to put together a strong 1,600 and 800 on the same day. Cox-Philyaw ran his personal-best 800 (1:54.57) to edge Whiteside (1:54.60) and Fauquier’s Raul Chavez (1:54.64) after winning the 1,600 earlier in the day with a strong 4:18.46. The three 800 times ran that day are the best times in Group 4A this year.

“I know I can race those guys after I’ve run a hard mile,” Cox-Philyaw said. “I think I’m ready for it, but it will be a challenge.”

James Wood’s Andrew Shade will also be in the hunt in the 800 (No. 5, 1:57.48).

Also for the Millbrook boys, Alec Schrank is seeded second in the 3,200 (9:26.42) and seventh in the 1,600 (4:21.91). Cameron Faint in the 300 hurdles and the 4x100 team will also participate.

Millbrook girls qualifiers are McKenzie Schrank in the 300 hurdles (No. 6, 45.54) and the 100 hurdles, Lindsay Lockhart in the discus (No. 9, 111-10), Kelley Wyatt in the discus, Nadia Dahimene in the 3,200, and the 4x800 team.

For the James Wood boys, Shade will also run in the 3,200, and Landon Rutherford will compete in the shot put (tied for No. 11, 45-0).

James Wood’s girls qualifiers are Reno Rosso (the triple jump, No. 6, 36-4; the high jump, tied for No. 11, 5-0; the 100 hurdles; and the 300 hurdles), Grace Greene in the shot put (No. 6, 36-2) and discus (No. 7, 117-9), Sarah Johnson in the discus (No. 6, 119-1), and the 4x100 team.

In addition to the discus, McCarty will compete in the shot put (No. 3, 50-9) for the Sherando boys. The 4x800 team is seeded fifth (8:09.45). Other participants are Thomas Shea in the 1,600 and 3,200, Jonah Pearson in the 3,200, Jacquari Hayes in the triple jump, and the 4x400 team.

The Sherando girls are led by sophomore Davina Lane, who will compete in three events — the 300 hurdles (No. 4, 44.59), the 100 hurdles (No. 11, 15.14), and the 200 (No. 11, 25.64). Other participants are Ania Summers in the 100, Paige Conner in the 3,200 and the 4x800 team.

Also this weekend, Clarke County will compete in the Group 2A state meet at Radford University today (beginning at 2:30 p.m.) and Saturday (8:30 a.m.).

The Clarke County boys’ participants are Justin Dulaney in the long jump, triple jump, 100 and 400; Ian Dors in the 800 (No. 12, 2:05.04), the 4x800 team (No. 12, 9:00.29), the 4x100 team, and the 4x400 team.

Competing for the Eagle girls are the 4x400 team (No. 3, 4:18.62), Madison McLean (tied for No. 7 in high jump, 4-11; 400, No. 11, 1:03.48), the 4x100 team (No. 10, 52.61) the 4x800 team (No. 9, 10:51), Sophia Snead in the 3,200 (No. 10, 12:26.06), Eve Lettau in the long jump, Catherine Lewis in the 800, and Kolby Parrott in the 200.

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