Boys' NWD Track Meet

WARRENTON — As he scrolled through the results on his phone to check out the exact mark of Handley sophomore Hassan Akanbi in the long jump after Wednesday’s meet at Fauquier High School, Judges coach Mike McKiernan’s voice suddenly went up a couple of decibels.

“Oh, Christian [Metzger] went over 20 feet and won the long jump!” McKiernan said. “That’s fantastic!”

McKiernan — who was in charge of running the high jump competitions — was a busy man at the Class 4 Northwestern District track & field meet. And when a team has as many impressive performances as the Judges had on Wednesday, keeping track of all them is almost as difficult as beating Handley in district competition.

The Judges captured their fourth straight district meet in dominant fashion, scoring 176 points to win by 56.67 points over runner-up James Wood (119.33). Those two were followed by Fauquier (115 points), Sherando (93.67), Millbrook (76), Liberty (54) and Kettle Run (10).

The top eight individuals and top four relays in each event, as well as anyone with qualifying times and marks, advance to next Wednesday’s Region 4C meet at Lightridge High School in Aldie.

Handley scored points in every event but the 800 and 4x400, and the Judges won eight of the 17 events, including both the 4x100- and 4x800-meter relays. Those relays were just two examples of the Judges’ depth.

Handley’s best 200-meter runner, Aaron Lee, missed the meet with a hamstring injury, but Handley senior and cross country runner Ryan Stickley wound up winning that event in just his second time doing it. The Judges plugged senior Jacob Duffy into Lee’s spot on the 4x100 team and captured that event in a season-best 43.40.

Handley also made do without getting any points from defending Class 4 pole vault state champion William McKay, who chose to open at 12-0 but wasn’t able to get up in the air on his three attempts. (The winning mark was 11-0.) McKay’s best this year is 12-6 and he won last year’s state title with a 14-9.

“We had some spots where we could have scored more points, but I felt like we had a lot of nice performances today,” McKiernan said. “We showed a lot of depth today. We scored in so many places and I was really pleased with the improvement we showed in a lot of places. I just like the improvement, the attitude and the competitiveness from everyone.”

As usual, senior Stephen Daley was at the forefront of Wednesday’s charge, and he charged down the track in the open 100 faster than he has all year. Daley beat 11 seconds for the first time this season with a sizzling 10.85, 0.53 ahead of the runner-up Duffy.

Daley also captured the shot put (a mark of 48 feet, 11 inches to win by 6-9 over the 42-11 from Sherando’s Ethan Gonzalez) and anchored the 4x100 team of Metzger, Duffy and Manno Lusca to a winning time of 43.40, 0.81 ahead of runner-up Fauquier. In the discus, the top-seeded Daley (146-10) didn’t get much of a chance to warm up in Wednesday’s quickly run meet, but he still placed fifth with a mark of 120-11.

Daley remarked earlier this season that he wasn’t in peak shape for the 100 yet, but on Wednesday he broke out on one of his favorite surfaces. A year ago, Daley ran what was a then-personal best time of 10.88 at the Region 4C meet held at Fauquier.

“I always run pretty good on Fauquier’s track,” said Daley, whose PR is a 10.81 run at last year’s state meet. “It’s a good track that’s nice and soft. I knew if I just came out strong and ran my race, I probably could do what I did last spring.”

It’s hard to say what Handley’s 4x100 lineup will look like the rest of the season, but the Judges certainly have options based on what Duffy did Wednesday. Duffy also plays baseball, but since that team’s season ended Tuesday he can now focus on track.

“That was the first time the four of us all ran together,” Daley said. “All of us ran some pretty good [open] 100 times [before the 4x100], and I think that helped us.”

Stickley won the 400 by 1.06 seconds in 50.74 over James Wood’s Brendan Cassidy (51.80), then won the 200 even though he was only seeded sixth with a time of 23.87. He won on Wednesday in 23.08, 0.15 ahead of Fauquier’s John Bynaker.

Stickley’s victory was the last for the Judges on a day that began with the 4x800 team of Elliot Redcay, Pierce Francis, Max Ware and Will Pardue winning in 8:25.69, with Pardue holding off a strong challenge from Sherando’s Camden Palmer on the anchor leg. Ben Freilich, Dylan McGraw and Justin Dante also ran on the Warriors relay that placed second in 8:26.24.

Metzger won the long jump by four inches with a personal best 20-0.5. Akanbi placed fourth (18-8) as the top seed for the long jump (21-4), but he later set a PR and qualified for the state meet with a leap of 6-0 in the high jump, giving him a win by four inches.

Handley was also led by Lusca (second in the 300 hurdles, 44.32), Nico Schianchi (third in the 3,200, 9:53.69), who didn’t run on the 4x800 team because he was sick, Deonte Trammel (third in the 110 hurdles, 17.20) and Peter Kim (third in pole vault, 10-0).

“Manno had a huge improvement in the 300 hurdles today, and you wouldn’t have thought Deonte would be third in the district in the hurdles a month ago,” McKiernan said.

James Wood was led by double-winner Andrew Link. He and Cassidy set season PRs to take first and second in the 110 hurdles (15.69 to 15.71), and Link was just off his season PR in his dominant 300 hurdles win, where he won by 3.68 seconds in 40.64.

“I felt like that was my best [110], and my teammate Brendan was right there with me,” said Link, who has struggled with his start in the 110 hurdles this year, including a false start at the Apple Blossom Invitational. “We just wanted to have a great race. I felt like the start was pretty good. I’ve definitely gotten a lot better with my start.”

Link also ran on the 4x400 team that placed second in 3:36.16. He teamed with Cassidy, Will Andrews and Landon Burdock.

James Wood senior Nathaniel Woshner pulled away from teammate Ethan Pratt-Perez and Schianchi at the start of the final lap of the 3,200 and won that event in 9:50.82 to Pratt-Perez’s 9:52.24. Woshner (4:20.24) also took second in the 1,600 to Millbrook’s Nick Hayden (4:18.60). Also for the Colonels, Liam McDonald took third in the 800 (1:58.68) and Casey Floyd placed third in the 300 hurdles (44.39).

Hayden won two events for Millbrook, taking the 800 in 1:57.70 by one-tenth of a second as he held off a late charge from teammate Kai Johnson (1:57.80). The Pioneers also were led by Scott Montgomery (third in the 200 in 23.83 and 400 in 52.56), Joseph Young (third in the discus, 123-10), and two third-place relays. Xavier Floyd, Logan Downs, Tyson Mallory and Tyler Lam were on the 4x100 team (45.37) and Floyd, Matthew Topham, Johnson and Montgomery were on the 4x400 team (3:36.62).

Individual winners Avery Dodson (discus, 139-6) and Anthony Binibini (39-6.25 in the triple jump to win by 14 inches) led Sherando. Micah Carlson placed second in the discus (126-9). Jhabari Jackson was third in the 100 (11.40), Noah Harris was third in the high jump (5-8) and Jayden Patten was third in the long jump (18-11).

For more meet coverage, see Friday’s edition of The Winchester Star.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
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