Girls' track preview: No shortage of talent in area

The 2020 girls' track & field season will look a lot different without Handley graduate Taylor Beard, a 10-time state champion across the outdoor and indoor seasons in her career and the state record holder in the high jump.

However, there's still plenty of talent to watch even without Beard, now at NCAA Division I Cincinnati. Every local team has at least one all-state performer back from last year, and there are some who picked up all-state honors during this year's indoor season.

A few area athletes might just find themselves with gold medals come June provided the track season actually takes place. Because of coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, local teams will not compete in any track meets prior to April 14.

The person who came the closest to winning a state title without actually winning one last year was Sherando's Ella Carlson. The sophomore — who topped the area with a mark of 128 feet and 1 inch in the discus and won the Region 4C title — took second to Dinwiddie junior Leslie Young with a 119-7 to Young's 124-5 at the Class 4 state meet.

"We definitely expect her to be right there in the thick of things at the end, and competing for state titles in both the discus and the shot put," Sherando coach T.J. Rohrbaugh said. "She has a real good work ethic and she takes coaching well. She really is putting a lot into it. I expect her to have a good season."

Carlson also was tops in the area in the shot put last year (35-0.5).

Sophomore Thais Agard (second in the area in the 100, 12.95, third in the long jump, 16-8) will also play a big role for the Warriors, though Rohrbaugh isn't sure how much he might get from another talented sprinter and jumper in Haley Mack, who did not finish the basketball season because of injury. As a sophomore, Mack was No. 1 in the area in the 100 (12.57) and No. 2 in the long jump (18-4.5), placing ninth and 14th, respectively, in those events at the state meet and winning region championships in both. Mack was also third in the area in the 200 (26.57).

The area could see two state champions in the discus this year.

In Class 2, Clarke County junior Sara Murray's top throw (126-3) wasn't much behind Carlson's and ranked second in the area. Murray placed fourth at last year's state meet, but the top two finishers were seniors and the third is no longer in Class 2. Murray threw 114-8 at last year's state meet.

"I love her potential," Clarke County coach Andre Kidrick said. "Sara is very athletic and very determined. She just has to focus and slow down.

"She's had a lot of success so she's trying to go full-out already, but she needs to work her steps. Right now her balance is off. If I can get her technique right, she has a chance to win it all."

Murray is also a successful 100 runner (third in the area in 13.10 and 11th in the state last year).

Clarke County faces a huge transition in the distance events with the graduation of two all-state, now NCAA Division II runners in Madison Webster (800 state champion, third in 1,600, Queens University of Charlotte) and Skylar Bragg (fourth in the 800, Minnesota State-Mankato). Kidrick hopes all-state cross country runner and senior Kateri Thorne can be one of the people who keep that group on track.

Millbrook adds an immediate state title threat in freshman Madison Murphy. The Winchester Star Cross Country Runner of the Year had two third-place finishes at the Class 4 indoor state meet.

In the 1,600, Murphy ran 4:59.21, finishing a little more than two seconds behind the winning time of Loudoun Valley’s Ava Gordon (4:57.59). In the 3,200, Murphy ran 11:08.71 to finish just under two seconds behind the winning time of Hanover’s Alli Cryster (11:06.73).

"[Murphy] has already exceeded most of the expectations that she and I had set at the end of cross country," Millbrook coach Kevin Shirk said. "So from here I'd like to simply see her continue to learn from her races, gain experience in some bigger and more competitive meets, and maybe set a PR or two along the way."

Senior Sarah Purdy (second in the area last year to Beard in the 100 hurdles, 15.85, and 300 hurdles, 47.48) also earned all-state honors in indoor, placing fourth in the 55 hurdles in 8.69. Purdy will be looking to finish her outdoor career strong after being hampered by an injury suffered at last year's district meet.

The Pioneers had a third individual all-state indoor performer in sophomore Lina Guerrero (seventh in the 1,600), but she will be playing for the Pioneers' JV soccer team this spring. Millbrook's strong distance crew does bring back sophomore Becca Edlich, who helped the 4x800 team earn all-state honors (fifth) and placed 10th in the 3,200 in 11:31.92 at last year's Class 4 meet.

Handley junior Mary McKay will be looking to add to her individual state honors in the pole vault. In outdoor last year, McKay led the area (11-6) and placed fourth in the state and won a region title; in indoor this year, McKay placed third in the state and won a region title.

While the defending district champion Judges lose Beard (a two-time overall Star Athlete of the Year and one-time Track & Field Athlete of the Year) they have four standout sprinters who along with Beard played a part in last year's 4x100 team, which won the regional title and placed seventh in the state meet. Junior Sofia Posadas ranked second in the area in the 200 (26.26) and junior Brittnay Turner was No. 4 in the 400 (1:01.16). McKay and sophomore soccer standout Mikayla Balio were also part of the mix. The Judges also add Malachi Imoh's freshman sister Liz to the sprint crew.

Junior Brooke Sandy should have a big season for James Wood after a stellar all-around sophomore year. The area's No. 2 high jumper behind Beard (5-2) tied for eighth at the Class 4 state meet in that event last year. She also ranked third in the area in the 100 hurdles (16.77) and 300 hurdles (48.44). Sandy took seventh in this year's indoor high jump state meet. Sandy's twin sister Audrey tied for third in the area in the high jump (5-0) in 2019 and took 10th at indoor states this year.

The Colonels also bring back Kenzie Konyar, who is heading to NCAA Division I George Washington. Konyar placed 13th in the 3,200 (best time, 11:19.45) and 15th in the 1,600 (5:20.30) at the state meet last year.

The area's top 400 runner is back in junior Ja'Niyah Stovall (1:00.96, placed 16th in Class 4). Stovall also leads the James Wood 4x400 team that qualified for the state meet and has every member back (Mia Johnson, Riley Rose and Faith Gansor are the others).

In the team races, Fauquier should be strong in the Class 4 Northwestern District. The Falcons won the indoor district and region meets and placed second in the Class 4 state meet.

In the Bull Run, East Rockingham joins the district after winning the Region 2B outdoor meet and placing second in Class 2.

The following is a glance at each area team:

Handley

Coach: Mike McKiernan, ninth season.

Last year: Class 4 Northwestern District champions; 2nd in Region 4C; tied for 5th in Class 4 state.

Key losses: Taylor Beard, Kenzi Fergus, Riley Fisher, Chloe Putnam.

Key returnees: Mary McKay, Jr., sprints/pole vault; Sofia Posadas, Jr., sprints; Amyra Newman, Jr., throws; Brittnay Turner, Jr., sprints/jumps; Julia Ingham, So., hurdles/pole vault; Tori Stanford, Sr., distance; Mikayla Balio, So., sprints; Abby Bales, Jr., hurdles/pole vault.

Key newcomers: Tierney Finley, Jr., hurdles/jumps; Liz Imoh, Fr., sprints/jumps; Sarah Roberson, Fr., distance.

McKiernan's outlook: "You don't just replace people like Taylor Beard. She comes along once in a generation or so. But I think we've got some good athletes. We won't have that one dominant athlete, but we have a lot of young ladies who can place that will be able to get some points and keep the team competitive. Mary is a great vaulter and her [sprint] speed is back. Sofia Posadas is top quality. Brittnay Turner will be strong. Liz Imoh had a really good indoor season and we're really excited to see what she can do."

Millbrook

Coach: Kevin Shirk, ninth season.

Last year: Third in Class 4 Northwestern District; eighth in Region 4C; tied for 14th in Class 4 state.

Key losses: Jalyn Abernathy, Keona Robinson, Ava Derrick, Kaycee Cox-Philyaw, Maddie Lloyd, Lina Guerrero (on Millbrook's JV soccer team), Sophie Edlich, Emily Muldowney, Hope Hawthorne, Madison Smith.

Key returnees: Sarah Purdy, Sr., hurdles/jumps; Sydney Bayne, So., hurdles/sprints; Becca Edlich, So., distance; Kaylin Upson, So., hurdles; Chloe Owings, So., throws; Desiree Blowe, Sr., throws.

Key newcomers: Madison Murphy, Fr., distance; Kat Kibler, So., throws.

Shirk's outlook: "We'd love to see the team finish as well as we did during the indoor season where we finished second in the district to Fauquier and third in the region, but we also know that the outdoor season can bring in a lot of new athletes on every team that can really change the dynamics of team scoring. Sarah Purdy has already shown that she's extremely motivated to redeem herself after having an unfortunate and unpredictable injury at last year's district meet where someone knocked her over, causing her to sprain her ankle. She came into indoor season extremely determined and set a big personal best in the 55 hurdles, finishing with her first state medal."

James Wood

Coach: Mike Onda, third season.

Last year: Fourth in Class 4 Northwestern District; sixth in Region 4C.

Key losses: Kaitlyn Poppo, Haley Witt.

Key returnees: Lauren Beatty, So., distance; Emma Dean, Jr., throws; Faith Gansor, Jr., sprints; Aubrey Grove, So., throws; Mia Johnson, Sr., sprints; Kenzie Konyar, Sr., distance; Riley Rose, Jr., sprints; Audrey Sandy, Jr., jumps/sprints; Brooke Sandy, Jr., jumps/ hurdles; Stephanie Smith, Sr., throws; Ja'Niyah Stovall, Jr., sprints.

Key newcomers: Quetzali Angel-Perez, Fr., distance.

Onda's outlook: "[Brooke Sandy] did all right in indoor 55 hurdles, but she needs a little bit more distance to build up her speed. We expect a lot of her in outdoor. She's getting better in the jumps, and she'll help us in the relays. Her sister Audrey is pretty much tracking with her in those same events and could possibly do some sprints and middle distance, but we don't want to spread her too thin. On the distance side, both Lauren Beatty and Kenzie Konyar are looking really strong in the distance events after doing really well in the indoor season. Quetzali did well in cross country and indoor and is showing real potential. We've got a lot of throwers returning who are looking good and we've got some potential in the sprint events with our entire 4x400 team back."

Sherando

Coach: T.J. Rohrbaugh, second season.

Last year: Fifth in Class 4 Northwestern District; fifth in Region 4C.

Key losses: Kaitlyn Roberts.

Key returnees: Thais Agard, So., sprints/jumps/middle distance; Molly Robinson, Jr., middle distance; Ella Carlson, So., throws; Gracie Ridings, Sr., hurdles/jumps; Indhya Hayes, Jr., hurdles/jumps; Haley Mack, Jr., sprints/jumps.

Key newcomers: Victoria Corbit, So., middle distance; Lea Aufdenberg, So., middle distance; Anna Duke, So., middle distance; Samantha Gaylor, Fr., jumps/middle distance; Karson Rust, So., distance.

Rohrbaugh's outlook: "Thais is doing an awesome job. She works really hard. She had her best 100-meter time at the region championship last year. She got down in the 12s, and we kind of expect her to pick it up from there this year and shave off some time and hopefully get down to near the mid-12s. Molly Robinson does a great job for us and has a great work ethic. She can do everything from the 400, to the 800, to the mile. She's so diverse in what she brings to the table, so it's going to be about where she helps the team the most."

Clarke County

Coach: Andre Kidrick, 14th season.

Last year: Second in Bull Run District; sixth in Region 2B; tied for seventh in Class 2 state.

Key losses: Heather See, Madison Webster, Skylar Bragg, Keagan Bragg.

Key returnees: Liz Wallace, Sr., hurdles; Sara Wenzel, Sr., relays; Sara Murray Jr., throws/sprints; Ellie Brumback, So., relays/jumps; Ellen Smith, So., distance; Kateri Thorne, Sr., distance; Angel Crider, Jr., hurdles/sprints; Hannah Ventura Jr., distance; Sarah Flockhart, So., distance.

Key newcomers: Sophia Deem, So., sprints; Ava Mansfield, Fr., middle distance; Julianna Pledgie, Fr., distance.

Kidrick's outlook: "We got Sophia Deem from soccer, and she's fast. I want to see how that translates. We can put her to use in the 100, 200, and 4x100. I'm excited to see that. The distance runners have some big shoes to fill, but we have some tough runners. I'm looking for something from Kateri Thorne and seeing if she can step up. I also think Sarah Flockhart in the shorter distances, if she can get her focus right, that she can do well."

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