By Robert Niedzwiecki

The Winchester Star

HARRISONBURG — Six feet, four inches.

That’s James Wood High School senior James Thorne’s height, and it’s served him well this year as he captured high jump titles at the Region II and Northwestern District meets, not to mention regular season competitions like the Handley and Apple Blossom invitationals.

But Thorne — whose personal-best jump is 6-5 — found 6-4 to be troublesome at Saturday’s Group AA track and field meet. His three misses at that mark forced him to settle for seventh (6-2).

Thorne came in a contender for the state title (his seed mark was just one inch off the top three seeds) but the last thing he was going to do was beat himself up over not taking the ultimate prize. Especially since he left Harrisonburg with a medal in the event after no-heighting a year ago.

“I was a little tight today, but 6-2’s not a bad jump,” Thorne said. “I wanted to place, and I did that. I can’t be too disappointed.” On Friday, Thorne placed higher than any area boy by finishing fourth in the triple jump with a personal-best 44-1, and he was one of just four local boys to place in the two-day competition.

Grafton won a tight meet with 46.5 points, edging out King George (42). Millbrook, which received a fifth place from junior Ryan Farnan in the 1,600 a day after he placed fifth in the 3,200, placed 26th with 8 points, James Wood tied for 27th with 7, and Sherando tied for 33rd with 5. Handley did not score.

In the high jump, 6-4 gave all eight people who tried it problems. The first 12 attempts at it failed. Six-six eventually won it, a height that had Thorne reached would have left him a quarter-inch short of the school record. But Thorne has no regrets about his season.

“I did everything I could this year,” Thorne said. “I’m 100 percent satisfied.”

Thorne, who qualified for states in all three jumps, was particularly pleased with how he did in the triple jump this year. This was the first year he focused on it, and his personal-best third jump in the preliminaries sent him out on a high note.

“You just need one big jump,” he said. “My goal was 45 feet, but 44 feet was my hope. I’ve been jumping 43-10, 43-11, so to finally get over 44 feet was awesome.”

Awesome would be a good way to describe Farnan’s state meet. He got his fifth in the 3,200 — a school record 9:30 — after being seeded ninth, and his fifth in the 1,600 (4:27.58) came after being seeded 12th.

“I definitely had the confidence [to place],” Farnan said. “I just went out there and did my thing. There was a big smile on my face [after the school record].”

Farnan repeatedly credited his coaching and looked back at Millbrook distance coach Greg West when talking about what made his success possible. Saturday was West’s last meet at Millbrook — he’s moving to Colorado Springs, Colo., this summer.

The Pioneers hit several school and personal records in the past two weeks, and West said he couldn’t have picked a better way to finish his time at Millbrook.

“It was the best state meet I’ve been to since I’ve been the coach here,” said West, a seventh-year coach. “Knowing this was going to be my last state meet, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better. This just shows how well they train.

“Ryan had confidence and knew what he was capable of doing, and he put himself in good position. He wasn’t caught up in the fast pace in the 3,200.”

Sherando was led by junior Berham McDowell (sixth in the 800 in 1:57.81) and senior Dalton Boyd (seventh in the 100 in 11.52).

Boyd struggled out of the blocks in the 100 and was never able to recover. Despite a rough finish, he enjoyed his one year of track immensely.

“It’s helped me with my endurance and to stay in shape,” said Boyd, who will be a preferred walk-on for the William & Mary football team next year. “And it means a lot to place in states.”

James Wood sophomore John Simms, who qualified for the state meet in the 100 and 200, did not have a chance to compete against Boyd because of an injured hamstring suffered at the Region II meet.

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