WINCHESTER — It’s been a successful 2019 season for Sherando’s Haley Mack, whose accomplishments include a personal record long jump mark of 17 feet, 5 inches that only six girls in all of Class 4 reached in 2018.
On Saturday, she had another significant moment.
The sophomore got off to strong start and handily won the 100 meters in her first head-to-head matchup with Handley sophomore Mary McKay at the 51st annual H. Brian Landes Apple Blossom Track & Field Invitational at James Wood High School’s Kelican Stadium.
“Last year she beat me in almost all of my races against her,” Mack said. “One of the biggest goals is beating her. [Having her in the lane next to me] definitely made me push harder.”
Mack’s win was one of just many impressive performances for the five local high schools, who claimed five of the top eight places in the standings for the 18-team meet and whose athletes captured nine of the 16 events.
Woodgrove (107 points) and Loudoun Valley (76 points) captured the top two spots. But they were followed by Millbrook (third with 72.5 points), Handley (fourth with 57), James Wood (fifth with 53), Sherando (sixth with 47.5) and Clarke County (eighth with 34). Sherando and Millbrook, in particular, might have scored more points if not for some athletes leaving early because of school proms.
Saturday’s windy conditions — particularly for morning events like the 100 — made it difficult to achieve personal records, but Mack said her strong start helped her create a sizeable lead. Mack’s best 100 time this season is a 12.75.
Mack also took second in the long jump (15-11.75) and teamed with Thais Agard, Indhya Hayes and Kaitlyn Roberts to place second in the 4x100 in 51.28.
“I definitely [think I’m having a stronger year than last year],” Mack said. “I’m getting PR after PR, and I’m almost breaking records at my school. I feel stronger this season.”
Sherando coach T.J. Rohrbaugh said he liked what he saw from Mack, particularly since she hadn’t been feeling strong coming into the meet.
“She’s been under the weather the last few days,” Rohrbaugh said. “I was glad to see her come out here and battle through some things. That’s kind of what you’re looking for, to see good athletes compete under difficult situations.”
The Warriors were also led by discus champion Ella Carlson (112-4). The freshman also tied for fourth in the long jump (33-11.5).
Millbrook received another strong performance from its distance contingent in taking third. The 4x800 relay team of seniors Maddie Lloyd, Emily Muldowney, Kaycee Cox-Philyaw and freshman Rebecca Edlich fought through the wind to win by 13 seconds in 10:15.87, a time that is also four seconds faster than Millbrook’s previous best time in that event.
In her first high school 3,200, freshman Lina Guerrero led seven of eight laps and took second in 11:45.95, just 0.33 behind Woodgrove’s Sophie Hudak. In addition, Cox-Philyaw placed second in the 800 (2:27.38) and Edlich took third in the 1,600 (5:32.99, an improvement by five seconds).
Millbrook also got a standout performance from junior Sarah Purdy in the 100 hurdles. She went under 16 seconds for the first time in her career and won the 100 hurdles by almost a full second in 15.85. Purdy also took second in the 300 hurdles (48.19) and fifth in the high jump (4-10).
“Sarah had a big PR on Wednesday, going from 16.6 to [16.23] to 15.85,” Millbrook coach Kevin Shirk said. “She’s only five-hundredths away from a state time, so today was a huge step in the right direction. And her 300 hurdles were a season-best and her second-best time ever. She had a really nice day.”
Purdy only finished behind Handley senior Taylor Beard in the 300 hurdles. Beard competed in the high jump on Thursday at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia (she tied for fifth), so Handley coach Mike McKiernan decided to not have her jump and have her focus on helping out the Judges’ relay teams.
It couldn’t have gone much better. Beard shattered her personal record in the 300 hurdles by more than a second with her winning time of 45.02 seconds. Beard anchored the 4x400 team of sophomore Sofia Posadas, sophomore Brittnay Turner, and freshman Julia Ingham to a dominating eight-second victory (4:08.72) to qualify for the Class 4 state meet. The 4x100 team of freshman Mikayla Balio, Posadas, McKay and Beard did not qualify for states, but its winning time of 50.81 was a comfortable 0.45 ahead of runner-up Sherando.
“It felt really good,” said Beard of the 4x400. “Everybody was kind of freaking out before we went out there because we were worried about state-qualifying. Especially for Sofia, for her to come out and give us kind of a lead after having a panic attack, just shows her mental strength. It felt good to go through all that and still come through with a win.”
Posadas was also strong individually, as she took second in the 200 (26.92). Turner took third in the 200 (27.06).
Junior Kenzie Konyar was the lone individual champion for James Wood, taking the 1,600 in 5:24.42, more than two seconds faster than Hudak.
“It was awesome,” said Konyar, who improved on the 1,600 she ran at Mountain View by 13 seconds on March 30. “I feel so good. I feel like I’m in good shape now. It was a lot better than the first time I ran the 1,600. It’s pretty cool [to win at my home meet].”
The Colonels also received an excellent all-around performance from sophomore Brooke Sandy. She placed second in the high jump (5-2), third in the 100 hurdles (16.83), third in the long jump (15-10.25) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (50.10). Freshman Lauren Beatty placed third in the 3,200 (11:51.17).
Clarke County senior Madison Webster didn’t get the time she was looking for in the 800, but she ran an exceptional race nonetheless. Three weeks ago Millbrook’s Cox-Philyaw took the lead from the outset in the 800 and never let it go to defeat Webster at the Handley Invitational, and Webster did the same on Saturday. She led by seven meters after one lap and doubled that advantage by the end to win in 2:24.43, almost three full seconds ahead of Cox-Philyaw.
“I was hoping for around 2:20, but I think with today’s conditions, I’m happy with what I did,” Webster said. “It felt a little windy on the backstretch, so you kind of had to power through that. I do feel stronger [than I did three weeks ago]. With the kind of workouts we’re doing, I just feel like that’s making us better.”
Clarke County did not have Keagan Bragg available for the 4x400 because of an ankle injury suffered in soccer, but the team of Webster, Skylar Bragg, Heather See, and Ellie Brumback qualified for the Class 2 state meet by taking sixth in 4:22.84. Also for the Eagles, Skylar Bragg placed third in the 800 (2:29.00) and Sara Murray was second in the discus (111-1).
“We’ve got very good talent and some toughness on our girls’ side,” Clarke County coach Andre Kidrick said. “I think we can do well in the postseason.”
The Jim Casey Most Outstanding Performer award winner was Woodgrove senior Ahmirah Robinson, who won the 400 (1:00.80), long jump (16-7.25) and triple jump (35-1.75).
