Setting the bar high

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

Winchester — A year ago, the James Wood High School boys’ track and field team needed its 4x400-meter relay to deliver a strong performance so it could win its first Apple Blossom Invitational since 1990.

No title was on the line for the host Colonels team as their 4x400 team stepped on the track for the meet’s final event this year. But as onlookers watched anchor leg James Thorne grind and strain every muscle in the final meters, it was evident that every moment of the senior’s final ABI was of utmost importance to him.

Thorne, who helped the 4x400 team to third, took first in the high jump and second in the long jump and triple jump to highlight area boys’ performances at the 42nd annual H. Brian Landes ABI Saturday.

“It feels good to win here,” said Thorne, one of two local boys’ athletes who won individual events. “This is a big, big meet.”

Though it didn’t defend its title, James Wood came up with the biggest performance among area schools, placing third in the 17-team field with 53 points. King George was first (71 points) and Park View was second (66). Clarke County, led by senior shot put champion Hilton Morgan, took fifth (44 points). Sherando placed 12th (18), Millbrook was 13th (16), and Handley was 15th (6).

Thorne was unable to hit his goal of 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump, but his winning jump of 6-2 was more than enough to top the Clarke County duo of Ron Anderson and Daulton Teaford (5-10).

There was no way Thorne was stopping at 5-10 this year. That was the mark that left him in a four-way tie for seventh last year, and the memory of that day fueled his winning performance.

“I felt really good,” said Thorne, who won last week’s Handley Invitational with a 6-2. “I was making all my heights on the first try. I’m happy with the consistency.”

Thorne (20-51/2) wasn’t able to best last week’s career best of 21-3 in the long jump, but his second-to-last jump moved him up several spots. And he took second in the triple jump with a mark of 41-91/2 after scratching on all of his attempts last week.

“I think come district, he’s the guy to beat in all three of those [jumps],” said James Wood coach Matt Stegmaier, who thinks triple jump will be Thorne’s best event even though it’s the only one he hasn’t qualified for the state meet in. “He knows that, and everybody else I think knows that. I think he likes that target on his back, and that’s just going to push him.”

Stegmaier said the team entertained thoughts of repeating, but he was pleased with third, especially since he had to pull sophomore sprint star John Simms (second in the 100) from the 200 and 4x400 because of a quad injury that cropped up Saturday.

“Everybody’s still got to show up on the same day and perform their best for us to win these big meets, and we haven’t done that yet,” Stegmaier said. “But I’m not discouraged at all. It will come here pretty soon.”

The Colonels also had Jamel Johnson and Aaron Shiffler take third and fourth, respectively, in the 110 hurdles.

Though Clarke County is probably best known for what it does on the track, Saturday was the latest of many field days for the Eagles. Morgan led the way with his personal-best heave of 47-113/4 in the shot put, Clarke County had the two high jumpers tie for second, and Caleb Hartsook and Billy Parker took second and fourth, respectively, in the discus.

“Our boys’ throwers have been a real strength,” Eagles coach Andre Kidrick said. “All of them are just working their butts off. In every meet we’ve been in, they are consistently getting us points.”

Because Saturday’s cool and wet weather made throwing conditions less than ideal, Morgan scored more points than he thought he would.

“I didn’t think I was throwing that well,” said Morgan, who led from his second throw on. “It’s a great feeling to win though, being from one of the only Single-A schools there.”

Morgan’s goal is to be one of the best in Group A, and he knows he’ll have to get past 50 feet to do that.

“I’m ranked third right now,” he said. “I just need to keep working.”

Sherando was led by its 4x800 team, which took second, and Devon Newman, who was third in the triple jump. The Warriors also had some deceptively strong performances in the sprints.

Dalton Boyd had the third-fastest time in the 100 preliminaries (11.44), but he didn’t make the finals because only heat winners were permitted into it. Boyd took second in his heat to Park View’s Dennis April, who wound up taking third. Also, the Sherando 4x100 team took fourth despite the absence of Kadeem Blackwood, who’s nursing a hamstring pull.

Millbrook was paced by shot putters Tim Shepard (third, 43-103/4) and Jacob Zacharko (fourth, 43-1), who each had personal bests, and Ryan Farnan, who took third in the 3,200.

Tom Delaney took fourth in the 3,200 to lead the Judges.

Javar Cruz of Frederick (Md.) won the Jim Casey Outstanding Performer Award after winning the 110 hurdles (14.92) and the 300 hurdles (39.14).

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