Boys' track & field preview

The class of Class 4 Northwestern District track & field in recent years certainly looks like it can continue its reign.

The Handley boys won have won three straight outdoor district track meet titles, and the Judges are coming off an indoor season in which they were also district champions.

Handley won that district indoor title without the full contributions of one of the area’s best and most versatile athletes in senior Stephen Daley, who played basketball this winter and will play football for NCAA Division I Kent State next year.

Daley only competed in the shot put at the indoor district meet, and he recorded a mark of 48 feet, 4 inches which topped what he did last year. Daley threw 48-4 again at the Region 4C meet (second), then threw a 49-2.5 at the Class 4 meet to place fourth.

Daley’s shot put success adds to his already impressive arsenal. Last year he was tops in the area in the 100 meters (third in the state, 10.81 seconds), the 200 (23.16) and the discus (147 feet, 10 inches; Daley placed fifth in Class 4).

Daley is also one of three returning legs on the Judges’ 4x100 team that placed fifth in Class 4 last year. Aaron Lee (No. 2 in the area in the 400 last year, 52.41) and Christian Metzger are the others.

Handley also won that district indoor title without any points from Will McKay. The senior did not clear the bar at the district indoor meet this year, ending his season. But the defending Class 4 state pole vault champion is a threat to score 10 points in every major meet he enters. At last year’s Class 4 meet, McKay broke his personal record by nine inches with a mark of 14-9, which broke a Handley school mark that had stood since 1973.

This year’s Judges also feature All-State performer Ryan Stickley (seventh in the 400, area-best 51.16 last spring), who won the district indoor 500 this year and placed 10th in Class 4. Handley also has district indoor champions Emerson Fusco in the high jump (No. 2 in the area last spring, 5-10) and Carson Harris in the triple jump (No. 2 in the area last spring, 40-0).

Senior Nico Schianchi returns after ranking third in the area last year in the 1,600 (4:34.36) and 3,200 (10:07.44) and qualifying for the Class 4 indoor meet in the 1,600 (4:31.83), and sophomore Will Pardue (9:54.16) was a Class 4 3,200 indoor state qualifier this year.

James Wood (fourth at last year’s outdoor district meet) features an impressive distance crew led by Nathaniel Woshner, who is headed to NCAA Division I Duquesne. The senior placed fifth to earn All-State honors in the 3,200 last spring (9:30.9, No. 1 in the area) and the district indoor champ earned indoor All-State honors by placing sixth in that event this year. Sophomore Ethan Pratt-Perez ranked second in the area in the 3,200 last year and placed eighth at this year’s Class 4 indoor meet (9:38.21). Senior Liam McDonald qualified for the state indoor meet this year in the 1,000 and ranked third in the area in the 800 last year (2:04.14).

The Colonels also boast two of the area’s best hurdlers in junior Andrew Link and senior Brendan Cassidy. Link placed sixth in Class 4 in both the 110 hurdles (No. 3 in the area, 15.84) and 300 hurdles (No. 2 in the area, 40.95) last spring. Link played basketball in the winter, but Cassidy (No. 3 in the area in the 300 hurdles last year, 43.54) was the district’s 55 hurdles indoor champ this year and placed ninth at the Class 4 state indoor meet.

Millbrook (fifth in the district last spring) should also have a strong distance and middle distance crew. The 4x400 team of Nick Hayden (No. 1 in the area in the 800 in 2:02.73 and 1,600 in 4:27.98), Brian Washington, Scott Montgomery and Landon Baker (No. 3 in the area in the 200 in 23.82 and 400 in 52.96 last spring) won the Region 4C title, and the 4x800 team that included Hayden and Carter and Kai Johnson qualified for the state meet.

Sherando (sixth in the district last spring) was strongest in the throws last year. Senior Avery Dodson is back after ranking third in the area in the discus last year (134-3), and junior Anthony Binibini placed fourth in the 110 hurdles and eighth in the 300 hurdles at last year’s outdoor district meet. Josh Ilnicki, an indoor track head coach for the Warriors since 2018-19, is the new outdoor track head coach with T.J. Rohrbaugh now an assistant coordinator of student activities at Millbrook.

Clarke County captured the Bull Run District title last year, but the Eagles lost several of their top athletes, including Ellis Nei, who won the championship in the 110 hurdles, took second in the high jump and placed third in the long jump at last year’s Class 2 state meet. The school record-holder in the 110 hurdles and long jump is now competing for NCAA Division I George Mason.

The Eagles still have some strong performers. Junior Dain Booker (No. 3 in the area in the triple jump last year, 39-5.5) helped the Eagles place seventh in Class 2 in the 4x100, and Spencer Blick took ninth in Class 2 in the 300 hurdles.

Handley, James Wood, Millbrook and Sherando all open their season on Saturday at the City/County meet at the Warriors’ Arrowhead Stadium. Clarke County opens its season on March 26 at Strasburg’s Invitational.

The following is a glance at each area team:

Handley

Coach: Mike McKiernan, 10th season.

Last year: Class 4 Northwestern District champions; 2nd in Region 4C; 7th in Class 4 state.

Key losses: Matthew Peete, Jayden Vardaro.

Key returnees: Stephen Daley, Sr., sprints/throws; Emerson Fusco, Jr., jumps; Carson Harris, Sr., jumps; Aaron Lee, Jr., sprints; Ryan Stickley, Sr., sprints; Will McKay, Sr., pole vault; Manno Lusca, So., sprints; Christian Metzger, So., sprints; Elliott Redcay, So., sprints; Nico Schianchi, Sr., distance; Garrett Stickley, So., distance.

Key newcomers: Rodd’ney Davenport, Jr., throws; Reilynd Worrell, Jr., sprints; William Pardue, So., distance; Hassan Akensi, Fr., jumps.

McKiernan’s outlook: ”The boys’ team has depth with quality performers in almost every event and is working hard to improve each day. Even with a large number of good teams in the district, the boys should be competitive. It is an exciting group as they are competitive in practice and pushing each other to improve.”

James Wood

Coach: Abeeb Badmus, second season.

Last year: Fourth in Class 4 Northwestern District; 7th in Region 4C; tied for 17th in Class 4 state.

Key losses: Owen Emerson, Colin Staneart, Jimmy Burdock, Chris White.

Key returnees: Andrew Link, Jr., hurdles/middle distance; Zachary Smith, So., sprints/throws; Karim Cisse, Sr., sprints/jumps; Brendan Cassidy, Sr., hurdles/ middle distance; Logan McKay, Sr., hurdles/middle distance; Nathaniel Woshner, Sr., distance; Liam McDonald, Sr., distance; Ethan Pratt-Perez, So., distance.

Key newcomers: Elijah Richards, So., sprints/middle distance; Casey Floyd, So., hurdles/middle distance.

Badmus’ outlook: “The expectation for the boys is for them to compete at a high level in their events, and to continue to have season-best performances throughout the season. The expectation for the boys in district is to have as many as we can advance to the postseason and for them to have a chance to win the district. We have some key seniors, juniors and sophomores that could help reach that goal.”

Millbrook

Coach: Joe Hall, second season.

Last year: Fifth in Class 4 Northwestern District; 14th in Region 4C.

Key loss: Josh Mihill.

Key returnees: Tyler Lam, Jr., sprints; Scott Montgomery, Jr., sprints; Landon Baker, Jr., sprints; Brian Washington, Sr., sprints; Joseph Young, Sr., throws; Xavier Floyd, So., sprints; Tyson Mallory, So., sprints/jumps; Nick Hayden, Jr., distance; Carter Johnson, Sr., distance; Kai Johnson, Jr., distance.

Key newcomers: Jett Helmut, Jr. throws; Elijah McGee, So., sprints; Wade Groves, Fr., sprints; Kyler Jackson, Fr. sprints/jumps.

Hall’s outlook: ”The boys’ team will be competitive within our district. We have several runners that are coming off great indoor seasons. As a program, we are looking to carry that success into outdoor season.”

Sherando

Coach: Josh Ilnicki, first season.

Last year: Sixth in Class 4 Northwestern District; 13th in Region 4C.

Key losses: Eric Sheetz, Will Fletcher.

Key returnees: Anthony Binibini, Jr., hurdles; Avery Dodson, Sr., throws; Jhabari Jackson, So., sprints; Dylan McGraw, So., distance; Ben Freilich, Jr., distance; Camden Palmer, Sr., middle distance.

Key newcomers: Noah Harris, Fr., sprints/middle distance; Jed Bell, Fr., distance; Micah Carlson, Fr., throws/sprints.

Ilnicki’s outlook: “My overall expectations for the team are continuous improvement and to have fun while doing so. As a team, we are growing in size and developing a sense of community that will take us far in the years to come. As for this year, our hard work will show — maybe not in the team scores — but we should have a rather large crew heading into the postseason. Our young distance group has been competing at a high level since indoor track. They continue to push themselves and are led by senior Camden Palmer. Though they might not win many titles, they will be chomping at the heels of anyone that gets in their way. As for throwing, Coach [Cory] Carlson has developed an amazing group of throwers that are disciplined and strong. Avery Dodson, Ethan Gonzalez, Fabian Kimbrough and Micah Carlson are all capable of throwing their implements far and long. With sprints and jumps, Coach [Alee] Smith and Coach [Ryan] Whittle have been laying a solid foundation for all our sprinters/jumpers to be successful. All of them, especially Jadyen Polston, Noah Harris and Jhabari Jackson, have been putting forth solid efforts in practice and will pop off some fast times and long jumps.”

Clarke County

Coach: Andre Kidrick, 15th season.

Last year: Bull Run District champions; 3rd in Region 2B; 8th in Class 2 state.

Key losses: Luke Brumback, Sam Brumback, Josh Hinton, Daniel Lai, Cooper Lowell, Ellis Nei, Trey Trenary, Kameron Lane.

Key returnees: Dain Booker, Jr., jumps/sprints/relays; Spencer Blick, Jr., hurdles/sprints; James Dalton, Jr., distance; Gage Shiley, Sr., throws; Matt Stroot, So., distance.

Key newcomers: William Booker, So., jumps/sprints; Harrison Blick, So., throws; Josh Crawford, So., sprints/jumps; Ryan Hanley, Fr., middle distance; Jacob Kitner, Fr., distance; Wyatt Palmer, Fr., sprints/jumps/relays.

Kidrick’s outlook: “It’s a difficult job to replace three multi-event athletes like Ellis Nei and Luke and Sam Brumback who were the backbone of the Eagles team last year, and with a smaller turnout this season, it’ll be an uphill climb. Having Booker in as a multi-talented athlete will help pull in many team points, as will the strength of the distance crew, several who were on the state second-place cross country team in the fall. Several promising ninth- and 10th-graders for the team will help round out the Eagles squad this season.”

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
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