2017 Boys' Track & Field Preview

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI | The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — After winning its first outdoor postseason meet in eight years in 2016, Millbrook appears primed for another strong run in 2017.

While the Pioneers’ no longer have two-time Winchester Star Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year Tyler Cox-Philyaw (now running at William & Mary), Millbrook still features three other all-state individuals from 2016, each of whom are also coming off all-state seasons in indoor track and field in 2017.

The Pioneers won the Conference 21 West meet last year. And while the feeling is that a number of teams can contend, Millbrook was the first team mentioned by the coaches of the other Winchester/Frederick County schools when assessing this year’s conference race.

“Our goal as a team is to take a shot at the conference title again,” Pioneers coach Kevin Shirk said. “I feel confident in the team because of the group of returners that we have. We have a nice distribution of talents, which will help us a lot.”

Last spring, senior Alec Schrank placed fifth in the 3,200 meters at the state meet and had the area’s best time (9:22.25), and he’s coming off an indoor season in which he took second in the 3,200 in Group 4A and won the two-mile race at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Senior Cameron Faint posted the area’s fastest times in the 300 hurdles (39.26) and the 110 hurdles (15.14) last year, placing fourth and 14th in those events, respectively, at the outdoor state meet. At the indoor state meet this year, Faint placed fourth in the 55 hurdles and fifth in the open 500.

Senior Antwon Rodgers placed fifth in Group 4A in the long jump and posted the area’s No. 3 mark in the long jump (21-71/2) and second-best mark in the triple jump (43-41/2). At the indoor state meet, Rodgers placed eighth in the triple jump.

“[Schrank, Faint and Rodgers are] some of the best we’ve ever had go through Millbrook, and I expect them to re-write our record books in five or six events,” Shirk said. “These guys put in solid winters of training and are more prepared for outdoors than they’ve ever been — and that goes for many kids, not just the top guys. We put in a great winter of training.

“I think Alec certainly has a shot at winning a state championship. He’s proven he can run with the best and beat them. His performance at New Balance was phenomenal, but he’s still looking ahead and we have our focus on performing best in the postseason races. His determination and work ethic right now are the best I’ve seen from him, and it’s been paying off.”

In addition to winning Conference 21 West last year, Millbrook also placed fifth at the 4A West Region meet and eighth at the state meet.

Sherando wasn’t too far behind Millbrook last year, finishing 18.67 points and one place behind the Pioneers in the conference, 18.5 points and four places behind them in the region, and four points and one place behind them in the state.

The Warriors took a huge hit on the distance side, losing every member of the 4x800 team that took third at the state meet and set a school record, including Trevor Whiteside (now at Air Force).

But the Warriors do feature one of the area’s top all-around athletes in senior Jacquari Hayes and one of the state’s top shot putters in sophomore Isaiah Allen.

Hayes was a state qualifier in the triple jump (best mark for season, 44-31/2, which was best in the area) and long jump (21-10) and was conference champ in the 100 (best mark for season, 11.47), 200 (23.20, area-best) and triple jump. Allen placed fourth in the state in the shot and was conference champ in the event, and had a personal-best of 51-11/2).

“Jacquari’s had a great career for us, and he knows that this [year] is it,” said Sherando first-year head coach Jamie McCarty, a former assistant. “He’s worked really hard in practice, and he wants to PR in everything. He wants to be a guy who can win those events, especially at the conference level.

“Isaiah had a really good freshman year last year and solid indoor season this year. He didn’t quite finish the way he wanted to in the postseason, but he should be a good threat in the shot and the discus. He was a glider last year and he switched over to the spin method [in the shot put], so that’s been a process for him, but as he gets more comfortable he should be fine.”

Sherando adds some strong newcomers to the mix, as football speedsters T.J. Washington and Aaron Banks will be on this year’s team. Freshman Darius Lane — the younger brother of three-time Star Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year Davina Lane — and Hayes’ freshman brother Jabril are other newcomers who can contribute.

James Wood 12th-year head coach Matt Stegmaier is excited about his senior class, but he’ll be without one of the group’s most accomplished athletes in Chris Vitagliano for a little while. Vitagliano missed all-state status by one spot in the long jump last year by taking ninth, and the conference champ had the area’s best mark in the long jump (21-103/4).

“He has a foot injury, so he hasn’t been able to practice too much,” Stegmaier said. “He won’t compete in our first meet, but once he gets back on track he’ll be OK. Last year he was hurt, and when he came back he had a monster PR in the long jump. He’s a big, strong kid, and we’re going to rely on him a lot in the jumps and the sprints.”

James Wood also brings back a 3,200 state qualifier in senior Max Lindquist, and freshman William Crowder should rank among the area’s top newcomers after demonstrating his explosive speed in football.

The Handley boys are led by Trey Causey, a junior who took sixth in the state in the high jump last year and led the area with a top mark of 6-4.

Causey is coming off a strong indoor season in which he improved his personal best to 6-5, but a broken wrist suffered playing basketball in mid-February prevented him from finishing the season. Causey qualified for the New Balance Indoor Nationals before suffering his injury. Causey has been cleared to run and could be cleared to resume jumping within the next week.

“Within a year he improved his high jump by 11 inches,” said Handley coach Mike McKiernan, who was unable to coach in the postseason last year because of illness. “We’ve been working some on the triple and the long jump with him too. He’s also picked up more speed, so we hope to have him do some 200s.”

Handley also brings back John Delaney, who placed 11th at the state meet in the 3,200 last year and posted the area’s third-best time overall (9:49.93).

This year’s Clarke County team features Andy Bonett, who placed fourth at the Group 2A state meet in the triple jump last year and posted the area’s third-best mark in the event (42-11). The three people who finished ahead of Bonett at the state meet last year were seniors.

“I think he could [win a state title],” Clarke County coach Andre Kidrick said. “The thing that really kills us with Bonett is that he does so many events that we’re trying to find a good balance as far as practicing them.

“He was a regional qualifier in the [discus], but he doesn’t get a lot of time throwing because he’s working on the long and triple jumps. He does a little bit of hurdle work, he does a little bit of everything. So we’ll just have to see how things go.”

Clarke County — which took second to Central by 34 points at last year’s Conference 35 meet — also brings back three legs of the 4x800 team that placed fifth in Group 2A last year, including Nick Dawson (fourth in the 1,600 at the state meet in 4:38.68).

The following is a glance at each area team:

Millbrook

Coach: Kevin Shirk, 6th year.

Last year: Conference 21 West meet champions, 5th in 4A West Region, 8th in Group 4A state.

Key losses: Tyler Cox-Philyaw, Austin Devart, Tyler Russell.

Top returners: Alec Schrank, Sr., distance; Cameron Faint, Sr., hurdles/sprints; Antwon Rodgers, Sr., jumps; Josh Davis, Sr., sprints; Jared Hawthorne, Sr., throws; Andrew Smith, Sr., hurdles.

Top newcomers: Conner Freeman, Sr., jumps; Silas Schroer, Fr., distance.

Shirk’s outlook: “It’s tough to say how the conference meet will actually play out until we see other teams throughout the season, but I’m very confident in our boys based on what I’ve seen so far and what I know they’re capable of doing. Josh Davis is coming back as a strong scorer in anything from the 100 through 400 and Andrew Smith can score well in both hurdling events. In throws, Jared Hawthorne can score well for us in the discus.”

First meet: March 30 at Skyline, 5 p.m.

Sherando

Coach: Jamie McCarty, 1st year.

Last year: 2nd in Conference 21 West meet, 9th in 4A West Region, 9th in Group 4A state.

Key losses: Trevor Whiteside, Thomas Shea, Alex Martinez, Tom Powars, James Kelly.

Top returners: Jacquari Hayes, Sr., jumps/sprints; Isaiah Allen, So., throws; Sam Johnson, Sr., throws; Daniel Boespflug, So. throws; Hayden Williams, Sr., distance; Bryson Waits, Sr., sprints, Andrew Jeffries, So., sprints; Jacob Carr, So., distance; David Restrepo, Sr., hurdles.

Top newcomers: Aaron Banks, Jr., sprints; T.J. Washington, So., sprints; Darius Lane, Fr., jumps/hurdles/sprints; Jabril Hayes, Fr., sprints/jumps; Ty Waits, Fr., sprints.

McCarty’s outlook: “We’ve got some good newcomers out. We have a lot of freshmen, sophomore sprinters, so I think we’re deeper there. Distance-wise we’re not as strong, but Hayden Williams is healthy and looked good at the end of indoor season, and Jacob Carr will help too. We have a lot of young people overall. Right now they might not be quite ready, but in another two months they should be ready to go.”

First meet: Wednesday at Strasburg, 4:30 p.m.

James Wood

Coach: Matt Stegmaier, 12th year.

Last year: 4th in Conference 21 West meet, 23rd in 4A West Region.

Key losses: Donte Henry, Jace Chipman, Emmett Smith.

Top returners: Chris Vitagliano, Sr., sprints/jumps; Max Lindquist, Sr., distance; Jacksen Costa, Jr., middle distance; Cody Dahlinger, Sr., sprints/hurdles; Chance Grove, So., throws; Jared King, So., throws; Jacob Whitacre, Sr., jumps/middle distance.

Top newcomers: Jeremiah Addison, Jr., middle distance; William Crowder, Fr., sprints/jumps; Dominic Revetta, Jr., throws.

Stegmaier’s outlook: “We don’t have a lot of depth, but the kids that have been with the program have really progressed, and we’re probably going to have a better boys team than we’ve had the last couple of years. They’ll push other teams. [Crowder] is a real coachable kid, and he works his butt off. He’s got high hopes. He wants to put himself on that record board and go for John Simms’ time [10.81 seconds in the 100 meters in 2011]. He’s probably the fastest kid we’ve had on the team since John Simms. He’s already come out in the first week of practice with hand-times in the mid-11’s, and that’s not with any type of training with technique or block work.”

First meet: Wednesday at Harrisonburg Invitational, 5 p.m.

Handley

Coach: Mike McKiernan, 6th year.

Last year: 5th in Conference 21 West meet, 21st in 4A West Region.

Key losses: Aaron Arslan, David Bui, Landrum Beard, Marcus Tactikos, Micah Strother.

Top returners: Trey Causey, Jr., jumps; John Delaney, Jr., distance; Jack Armel, So., hurdles/pole vault; Max Doerwaldt Jr., hurdles/pole vault; Arthur Ashe, Sr., sprints/jumps; Ian Ganey, Jr., throws; Joey Mammano, Jr., throws; Tyler Mudd, Sr., sprints/pole vault; Diontre Bell, sprints/pole vault; Eli Bell, Sr., distance; Bennett Crow, Sr., distance.

Top newcomers: Quentin Davenport, Sr., sprints/pole vault.

McKiernan’s outlook: “We’ve got more than 50 boys, and we think some of those are really going to develop. I’m pleased with our progress, but we just have to be a little patient right now. We have depth, so I think we’re going to be pretty good pretty much anywhere. We’re going to have people who can compete in pretty much every event. Max and Jack have made big improvements in their events. They’ve really come to love the pole vault, and they feed off each other.”

First meet: April 1 at Strasburg Invitational, 9 a.m.

Clarke County

Coach: Andre Kidrick, 11th year.

Last year: 2nd in Conference 35 meet, 11th in 2A East Region, 12th in Group 2A state.

Key losses: Michael Dietz, Anthony Copeland, Jack Dale, William Jackson, Evan Whirley.

Top returners: Andy Bonett, Sr., jumps/throws/hurdles; Daniel Braithwaite, Sr., sprints; Patrick Cleary, Sr., sprints; Nick Dawson, So., distance; Kyle Erickson, So., distance; Carlos Nunez, Sr., middle distance; Isaiah Waters, Sr., jumps; Chase Ervin, Jr., distance; Cameron Shipman, Jr., distance.

Top newcomers: Tanner Dinkins, Jr., sprints; Kevin Whalen, Jr., sprints; Connor Hanson, So., distance.

Kidrick’s outlook: “Dietz is a tough guy to replace because of his ability and leadership, but we’ve got a lot of distance guys back, and we’ve added some young guys. We have a lot of inexperience on our team overall, and you don’t know how those guys will respond to competition, especially when you get to big competition. But even though we’re inexperienced, I do like our depth.”

First meet: March 29 at Jefferson (W.Va.), 5 p.m.

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