Colonel girls claim first Handley Invitational title since 2002

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI | The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Having given everything she could muster in an attempt to catch Fauquier, James Wood anchor leg Rene Rosso’s pain and exhaustion were written all over her face as she finished up the last 30 meters of the meet-concluding 4x400 relay.

Adding to the physical pain Rosso felt at the finish was the knowledge that the strong efforts put forth by her and her three teammates weren’t enough to keep the Colonels’ undefeated season intact. At least, that’s what she thought.

“Before the race, [James Wood assistant coach Ryan] Whittle told me and [fellow 4x400 runner] Emma [Hammond] that we had to hype everyone up, because we have to beat Fauquier or else we’re going to lose the whole meet,” Rosso said. “Then, when I got to the finish line and I was dying, [head coach Matt Stegmaier] ran up to us and was like, ‘Psych! You guys already won. See what happens [when you’re pushed]? You guys [improved your best time] by six seconds.’”

Technically, James Wood needed to at least finish seventh in the 4x400 to win Saturday’s 75th Handley Invitational track and field meet outright at James R. Wilkins Jr. Stadium. But the Colonels’ third-place finish (with a time of 4:18.93) allowed them to finish a comfortable five points ahead of Fauquier in the team standings (90-85). Fauquier won the 4x400 in 4:11.93.

The victory on a day that was sunny but cool because of the wind gave the Colonels — who received 42.5 points from Rosso and 23.25 from the senior Hammond — their first Handley Invitational title since 2002. It was also James Wood’s fourth win in four meets, including three invitational wins.

The Falcons - who picked up 14 points in the pole vault, an event James Wood does not compete in - was the only team in striking distance of the Colonels, though Sherando and Handley (who each tied for third with 57 points) also had strong performances in the 24-school meet.

Foremost among the individual efforts was the one delivered by three-time Winchester Star Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year Davina Lane, who took home the Joseph “Doc” Casey award as the female MVP. The Sherando senior won the 100 hurdles (15.61), the 300 hurdles (47.03) and the 200 (26.57), took second in the long jump (17 feet, two inches) and took third in the triple jump (35-3.5).

Millbrook tied for 14th with 16 points and Clarke County was 17th with 12.

Stegmaier — who playfully taunted “Ha ha, tricked you guys,“ to a group of about eight James Wood girls who had expressed astonishment over their team win just moments before — “I thought we were tied [with Fauquier]!” one said - had no qualms with his motivational ploy.

“They ran scared and they ran well,” Stegmaier said. “It’s fun to mess with them like that.”

James Wood is having a lot of fun this year. Stegmaier expressed concern in the preseason after losing top athletes like Grace Greene (state discus champion, all-state in shot put, now at George Mason University), top sprinter Princess Sales and all-around standout Becca Ferrulli, but the two-time defending Conference 21 West champion Colonels continue to prove they’ll be tough to dethrone.

Rosso won the long jump (17-3), took second in the 100 hurdles (16.32), 300 hurdles (47.77) and triple jump (35-11.5), and tied for second in the high jump (5-1). Hammond won the triple jump (36-4), took third in the long jump (16-9.5) and placed fourth in the high jump (5-1). James Wood also led by senior Hannah Cavanagh (third in the discus, 108-2, fifth in the shot put, 33-0) and freshman Kenzie Konyar (fourth in the 3,200, 12:04.07, fifth in the 1,600, 5:32.78).

Stegmaier pretty much knew what to expect from his veterans this year, but Konyar - The Winchester Star Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year in the fall - has been a key factor in picking up the points the team lost to graduation. The Colonels needed her nine points on Saturday.

“We made the call to have [Konyar] double up [in events], and having her come out and compete, and not necessarily worry about time, that speaks volumes of her as a competitor,” Stegmaier said. “I’m really impressed with what she did.

“Overall, the team just did a fantastic job and did what they needed to do. Emma and Rene do what they do and don’t shy away from being competitors and going after it. I’m really happy with everybody, and we’re just getting better. We’ve got to stay healthy, have everybody focused and have everyone work as one.”

“Everyone has to pull our weight more this year - Grace usually got us 20 points a meet,” Rosso said. “Sometimes we do have to play catch-up at the end to win, but I feel like we all come together well. We always try our hardest, and so far, we’ve come out on top.”

The wind made it difficult for anyone to get personal bests - particularly on the track - but Rosso achieved a personal best for the second straight week to win the long jump. Rosso lost to Lane by one inch last week at Strasburg’s Ram Country Invitational, but she moved ahead of Lane by one inch on her second-to-last jump this week.

Lane is relatively new to the jumping scene, but Rosso said it was nice to best her friendly rival. Lane’s been the only person standing in Rosso’s way as far as region dominance in the hurdles the last two years.

“[Today] I got a 17-0, and then she got a 17-2, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me right now?’” Rosso said. “I got mad and I just went all out.”

It’s safe to say Lane is going all out this year.

It would have made sense if Lane - the defending Group 4A state champion in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and fourth-place finisher in the 200 prelims at states last year - simply chose to stick to her specialties this spring before heading off to George Mason University next year.

But she’s added the long jump and triple jump to her arsenal in order to help the team make a run at the winning the conference. (A frequent high jumper early in her career, Lane said she’s also working on that event too.)

Lane’s adjusting to her increased workload - her face displayed the exertion she gave to make up a late five-plus-meter deficit while fighting the wind in the 200 meters to win by 0.08 - but she said she likes it.

“I don’t enjoy the sand, but I like jumping and trying to beat what I got last time,” said Lane, who improved her triple jump by more than two feet on Saturday. “When you’re running, [you only get one chance in a meet to improve your PR]. But triple jump, you jump, and then you get another chance to beat the jump you just did. I like doing that and trying to improve every single jump.

“It keeps me busy. Normally I take a nap between my 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles, but I had to do some jumps. I didn’t mind it.”

Lane’s impressive start makes you wonder just how much distance she can cover once she becomes more comfortable with everything that goes into jumping.

“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” said Lane, who has qualified to run the 400-meter hurdles at the Penn Relays on April 27. “I think it’s so technical. I’m still trying to work it out. But the fact that I can jump that far and PR every [meet], it makes me feel I’m getting better with the technical aspect of the jumps.”

Sherando was also led by Ania Summers (third in the 100 in 13.58).

“From a team standpoint, I think we did well today,” Sherando coach Jamie McCarty said. “We competed, and that’s the biggest thing I ask. Put ourselves in a position to be successful. I’m proud of the effort.”

The Handley girls also had a strong performance, led by individual champions Taylor Beard, a sophomore who won the high jump with a 5-3, and Casey Nelson, a junior who won the shot put with a personal-best 38-2.

Beard - who won the New Balance Emerging Elite Indoor Nationals title with a 5-7 on March 10 - nearly cleared 5-7 for an Outdoor Nationals qualifying mark after clearing 5-3 on her first attempt Saturday.

While Beard’s been an elite jumper from the start at Handley - she’s a two-time state indoor champion - Nelson continues to impress after barely missing on all-state honors in the winter. Nelson’s top shot put mark as a sophomore was only 29-11, and McKiernan called Nelson’s performance Handley’s most impressive one of the day.

“She’s just trusting her training,” Handley throws coach Lee Pegues said. “She comes to work, and she puts in a lot of work on her own. She’s one of those types of kids you don’t have to tell, ‘Get in a few extra reps of this.’

“It’s hard to get kids to buy in sometimes to what you’re trying to get them to do, but she trusts what I’m teaching her. Indoor we were up and down a little bit, but once she started trusting her training she started growing.”

McKiernan was also pleased with the relay pool, as each team placed in the top three. Beard, Olivia Dickens-Bowman, Desi Morefield and Mya Mintschenko were second in the 4x400 (4:17.66), Alina Grzywacz, Caitlyn Golightly, Dickens-Bowman and Neysha Washington took third in the 4x100 (52.86), and Kenzi Fergus, Nicole King, Morefield and Kristin Blake took third in the 4x800 (10:40.15). Blake also recorded a PR in taking third in the 800 (2:26.60).

“With the number of teams and the level of competition here, for us to be third I think is great,” McKiernan said.

Ashley Bigler (fifth in the 100 hurdles, 17.95) had Millbrook’s top finish, and the 4x800 team (Kendall Benoit, Catherine Lewis, Arianna Montgomery, Charlotte Smith) fared best for Clarke County with a time of 10:44.69.

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