Colonels’ Greene Captures 4A Discus Crown

Posted: June 4, 2016
By ROB NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

It took five rounds for someone to finally pass Grace Greene.

Not surprisingly, that was the moment that brought out her best.

The James Wood senior won the Group 4A state discus competion on Friday at Harrisonburg High School with a mark of 123 feet, 4 inches.

Greene — the No. 2 seed — took the lead on her first throw with a mark of 119-3. Top-seeded Jesslyn Manni of Loudoun County finally passed her with a 119-9 in the fifth round of the competition to put the pressure on Greene, the last person to throw in the fifth round.

“Me and her have competed against each other a lot over the last four years,” said Greene in a phone interview. “After my first throw, my next three throws weren’t that great.

“But that [119-9] pushed me. I needed that to come up with a big throw. I knew I could do it, and I knew what I had to do.”

The 123-4 that Greene unleashed after Manni’s throw tied her season best that she had achieved twice previously, including last week to beat Manni at the 4A West Region meet.

No one else in the sixth and final round was able to push Greene, whose competitive nature has frequently been cited as one of her strengths by her coaches over the years. Manni finished second with her 119-9.

Greene’s state championship is the first for a girl at any on the five local schools in three years. Greene is also the first Colonel girl to win a state title since Matt Stegmaier became James Wood’s head coach in 2006.

Greene said she had “a meltdown” from joy after winning the event, and it meant a lot to her have numerous family, friends, coaches and teammates there to support her.

Among those in attendance were her parents Shannon and Patrick, her two younger brothers, James Wood throwing coach Jamie Carr and her future college throwing coach, George Mason University’s Rebecca Hartley.

“My mom [Shannon] is always there to support me, and my dad [Patrick] helped get me started in throwing and coached me during middle school,” said Greene, who added her father was a high school thrower in Maryland and also threw in college. “It was a just a really special moment.

“After placing fifth at states last year I knew that I had a chance to win this year, and I’m so happy I was able to put it all together. I’m still kind of speechless. I feel like I definitely put in the hard work that I needed to over the years, and I’m very proud of myself.”

Greene will try to win a second state title today in the shot put. She’s seeded fifth, but she beat the top seed to win the region meet last week. Action begins at 9:30 a.m. today at Harrisonburg High School.

Several other area athletes earned all-state honors on Friday as well.

In the girls’ high jump, Handley freshman Taylor Beard placed second (5-2), Millbrook freshman Ali Devart placed fourth (5-2, Beard had fewer jumps) and Sherando sophomore Donzailya Berg tied for fifth (5-0).

Also in the girls’ discus, Sherando senior Allison Combs placed fifth (110-5).

Several girls also guaranteed themselves all-state status by placing in the top eight in Friday’s preliminary events. Sherando junior Davina Lane will be the top seed in the 100 hurdles (15.06) and the fourth seed in the 200 (25.55) and James Wood sophomore Rene Rosso will be the No. 4 seed in the 100 hurdles (15.31). Sherando earned all of Friday’s all-state performances on the boys’ side. The 4x800 team of Thomas Shea, Thomas Powars, James Kelly and Trevor Whiteside (all seniors) placed third in 7:58.60 and freshman Isaiah Allen placed fourth in the shot put (51-0).

In the boys’ team standings, Liberty Christian Academy is first with 25 points, Fauquier is second with 16 and Sherando is fifth with 11. In the girls’ meet, Midlothian and Loudoun County are tied for first with 17 points, James Wood is tied for third with 10, Handley is ninth with 8, Sherando is 10th with 7 and Millbrook is tied for 13th with 5.

The Group 2A state meet also kicked off Friday, and both Clarke County 4x800 teams earned all-state status. The girls’ team of Madison Webster, Kendall Benoit, Skylar Bragg and Stephanie Miller placed third in 10:29.50, and the boys’ team of Chase Ervin, Nicholas Dawson, Michael Dietz and Cameron Shipman placed fifth in 8:36.44.

In the boys’ team standings, Brunswick is first with 16 points, Amelia County is second with 14.5 and Clarke County is tied for 17th with 4. In the girls’ meet, Maggie Walker is first with 23, Wilson Memorial is second with 22 and Clarke County is tied for 10th with 6.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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