Colonels' boys land in second at ABI

May 9, 2011

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- James Wood junior John Simms truly loves the 100 meters, and Colonels track coach Matt Stegmaier thinks Simms can be a pretty special 400 runner if he wants to be.

There might be some future discussion about what events Simms should do in the postseason. But when Simms and Stegmaier smacked their hands together toward the end of Saturday's meet, it was clear they agree on one thing - there's something special about Simms and the 200 meters.

The victorious Simms nearly broke his own school record in the 200 after winning the 400 earlier in the day, and his standout performance played a big role in helping the Colonels' boys take second at the 43rd annual H. Brian Landes Apple Blossom Invitational at James Wood High School's Kelican Stadium.

The Colonels - who earned their third straight top three finish at the event - scored 70 points to finish behind only Manassas Park (115) in the 12-team field.

Sherando was third with 55 points, Clarke County was fourth with 49, Handley was seventh with 34 and Millbrook was ninth with 29.

When Stegmaier congratulated Simms, they thought he might have broken the school record in the 200.

Even though he didn't - Simms' winning time was 22.42 seconds, just off the 22.34 he ran at the the Northwestern District meet a year ago - his powerful final 75 meters beat Clarke County's Daulton Teaford by 0.36 seconds and beat Simms' season-best by a half-second.

"The 200 is one of my favorite ones," Simms said. "My coach is always telling me to get a good burst out of the first 100, and then the same thing with the last one. I just listen to what the professionals have to say and have a positive mentality."

Another key for Simms is that he's constantly working to make his form perfect.

His arms and legs were certainly working in harmony down the stretch in the 200, which is a good sign going forward. Simms' postseason was derailed by a hamstring injury last year, and he had a brief scare when he suffered a quad injury at the Smithsburg Invitational on April 9.

"I've been struggling with that," Simms said. "But doing the right preparation and having faith - it didn't hurt today at all."

Smith also looked good in the 400, which he won with a season-best 51.92 to top a late-charging Teaford (52.36).

Smith didn't expect that time by any means, but Stegmaier didn't seem too surprised.

"He loves that 100 and 200, but I really think his best two are the 200 and the 400," Stegmaier said of Simms, who has already earned a state-qualifying time in the 100. "The sky's the limit for him. He's growing, he's getting more mature, and I think he knows he can go to the next level. He's doing a really good job."

Stegmaier was also pleased with the entire Colonels' effort, which included Mason Smith's win in the triple jump (41 feet, 9 inches) and second-place finish in the long jump.

"We thought we could make a run [for first], but we had a few things not happen that we thought would happen," said Stegmaier, whose team will attempt to wrap up the district regular season title Wednesday against Skyline. "But, all in all, I was very proud of the kids. Mason stepped it up. He didn't do what he wanted to do in the high jump, but he came back and did well."

Aside from Simms, Handley junior Derek Dowrey was the only other local boys' athlete to win two events. Dowrey won the discus by nearly four feet (140-6), but it was his performance in the shot put that made it a memorable day for him.

Warren County's Ben Carey appeared to have the win wrapped up when he went ahead of Dowrey and Manassas Park's Bobby Jackson with a mark of 50-5 on his final heave. But Dowrey achieved a personal best and hit 50-10 in his last attempt to earn the win.

Since Dowrey - who improved by about three feet overall Saturday - had already surpassed the state qualifying mark of 49-1 on his second-to-last toss, he decided to go for broke.

"That was great," said Dowrey, who achieved a season-best at the ABI for the third straight year. "On my last throw, I just told myself, 'I've got to go for it all. [Carey's] thrown really far, so I've got to go for it all. Let's see what I can do, because I don't really have anything else to lose.' I've been a little disappointed with my shot recently, but today I did well."

Sherando was led by senior Berham McDowell, who took the 800 in a season-best 1:58.27 and helped the 4x800 team - which also featured Seth Chewey, Antony Han and Joel McAuliffe - to a winning time of 8:22.41.

Millbrook senior Ryan Farnan took the 3,200 in 9:53.62. Farnan steadily improved his position as the race went on, and after he ran up on the shoulder of Handley's Chris Arslan at the end of the fifth lap, he took a five-meter lead at the end of the sixth and went on to a comfortable five-second win.

"I just kind of stayed with [Arslan], and when I realized he was slowing down a little bit, I just went right by him," said Farnan, who also took third in the 1,600 (4:26.54). "I was very happy with my mile, and coming into the two-mile and getting a nice time is always great."

Javar Cruz of Frederick (Md.) won the Jim Casey Outstanding Performer Award for the second straight year. He broke his own record in the 300 hurdles (39.01 to beat 39.14) and won the 110 hurdles in 14.77.

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