STEPHENS CITY — One day after she helped close out a huge soccer win at Arrowhead Stadium, senior Reese Lessard helped the James Wood High School track & field team finish off a Northwestern District meet championship at the same location.
The Colonels trailed Fauquier by 3.5 points heading into the meet-concluding 4×400-meter relay. Lessard anchored James Wood to second place in that event to give James Wood eight points and vault the Colonels to their second straight district team title with 116 total points, 2.5 more than Fauquier (113.5).
The 12-school meet also featured Sherando (88 points), Handley (71) and Millbrook (67), which placed fourth through sixth, respectively.
The Falcons placed seventh for two points in the 4×400. James Wood needed every bit of effort from its 4×400 team. If the Colonels were 73 hundredths of a second slower, they would have finished fourth and Fauquier would have been team champions.
Lessard — an outside back for a James Wood soccer team that earned its 12th shutout of the year in a 1-0 win over Sherando on Thursday — said the coaching staff made the 4×400 members aware of the scoring situation before they took the track.
The situation was made even more complicated by Handley, which hadn’t fielded a 4×400 team all season and was forced to compete in the first of the two heats as a result. The Judges put up an imposing time of 4:12.69, faster than any local team had run all season. James Wood came in with a seed time of 4:15.12.
The Colonels team of freshman Grace Thompson, sophomore Sierra-Nicole Wimer, sophomore Melanie Padilla and Lessard answered the challenge. They couldn’t keep up with Brentsville (4:09.37), but they ran a season-best time by more than three seconds (4:12.01) to beat Handley’s time from the first heat (the Judges finished third overall) and a strong Millbrook team in the second heat (fourth overall in 4:12.73) .
“It was a big number that we needed to get to win,” Lessard said. “After we were done, we realized how good we did.”
The performance of the 4×400 team capped off a memorable day for the Colonels. They had three event wins (the 4×800, Kate Konyar in the 3,200, and Erin Link in the shot put), 10 total top-three finishes, and had two girls who didn’t place in the top three set school records.
“Fauquier obviously gave us a pretty good run for our money,” James Wood second-year head coach Danielle Koelker said. “They were in the [team standings] lead for a good bit. Our 4×4 girls did what they do and ran a really good time.
“Overall, I think the girls just did what they do best. They just brought their ‘A’ game. From the relays, to the individual track events, to the field events. Overall, I’m just proud of all of them.”
Lessard continued to show she’s a dynamo on Friday.
In the fall, she runs cross country, and Koelker noted she was also a manager for the football team. In the winter, she was part of the indoor track team and helped James Wood set a school record in the 4×200 en route to taking ninth in Class 4.
Lessard said she first started running competitively after someone suggested to her at Frederick County Middle School that she should join the school’s cross country team. She joined the team in eighth grade, and she’s glad she did.
“You can definitely tell on the field I’m able to play all 80 minutes because of my experience with cross country and [track] running,” Lessard said. “It’s so much fun [playing soccer and running] and trying to juggle both. I love it. I really enjoy the challenge.”
Lessard won’t be done being a multi-sport athlete after this year. She’ll play soccer and run track for NCAA Division III Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, which is also the site of this year’s Region 4D meet on May 26.
Koelker certainly appreciates her effort.
“How she balances her schedule, I have no idea,” Koelker said. “She was talking about how she was sore from her game [Thursday], then she came out and split I think it was a 1:02 in the relay. She’s still able to live up to her potential even working herself so hard. She’s just all-around very impressive.”
One of the most impressive runners in all of Class 4 dominated the 3,200, lapping four of the other nine runners in the fast heat. Konyar recorded a time of 11:07.24 to win by 53.92 seconds.
Konyar immediately separated herself from the field and accomplished her goal of running a sub-5:20 time for the first 1,600 by coming through in 5:17. She then finished up her race at a comfortable pace.
It was a different style of race than the two-mile she ran six days prior at the 37-team Victor Cahoon Track Classic at Class 6 Osbourn Park High School in Manassas. In that race, Konyar had someone to run with for the first mile, but the last mile saw her take ownership. She won by 23.75 seconds in 10:50.01, which converts to a career-best 3,200 time of 10:46.24 for Konyar.
“I was super surprised,” said Konyar, the defending Class 4 outdoor 3,200 state champion. “It was also windy. I could feel on the whole homestretch a lot of wind. And I was basically running alone because I took the wind the whole time. The girl just sat behind me for the first mile. So I was really happy with that time.”
When Konyar ran her previous best time of 10:47.82, it was done while battling Hanover freshman River Smith throughout the race at the Class 4 indoor state meet, with Smith winning in 10:44.36 and Konyar taking second. Setting a career best without a push should bode well for Konyar at the Class 4 state meet if she’s involved in another battle with Smith, who has lowered her PR to 10:39.76.
“It definitely gives me a good spot for states,” Konyar said.
Konyar anchored the 4×800 team of senior Lauren Thompson, junior Ally Oliver and sophomore Vivian Porter to a 4×800 win by 1:02.79 in 9:54.95. The Colonels were 1.33 seconds off a state-qualifying time.
“I felt good,” Konyar said. “I was a little sad we didn’t make it to state by one second, but I think we all ran super good.”
Konyar was impressed with Porter. She’s a new addition to the relay after showing how well she can run the open 800 (only Konyar is faster than Porter among area runners). Konyar said Porter ran a 2:27 split, and Porter would go on to place second in the open 800 later in the meet in a PR of 2:27.13.
A junior, Link (32-0.5) captured the shot put by 1 foot, 3.5 inches over Sherando senior Thema Nyarko (30-9). Fellow James Wood junior Dayana Jackson placed third with a 30-7.75.
Also earning bronze or better for the Colonels were the 4×100 team of Alexis Brown, Wimer, Padilla and Isabelle French (second, 50.16); French (100 hurdles, third, 16.17, long jump, third, 16-2.5); and Jordan Bowes (300 hurdles, third, 49.59).
Brown took fourth in the 100 in 12.67 for the area’s fastest time this year and broke the school record of 12.70 first set in 1979 by Gloria Beatty and tied in 2016 by Princess Sales. Wimer placed fifth in the 200 in 26.29 to break the record of 26.32 set by James Wood assistant coach Rene Rosso in 2018.
Sherando had two individual champions. Shelby Willett captured the triple jump with a mark of 34-3, 5.5 inches better than runner-up Keri Hecker of Millbrook (33-9). Aariya Pun Magar had a mark of 102-3 to edge runner-up and teammate Emma Messick (101-11).
The Warriors were also led by Mercedes Silver (high jump, second, 5-2; triple jump, third, 33-1); and the 4×100 team anchored by Silver (Kalysta Falls, Loraine Goka, Willett), which took third in 52.20.
Handley’s 4×100 team of Maliyah Hines, Leilah Ferrel, Monet Thomas and Keila De La O Granado edged James Wood by 0.13 with a winning time of 50.03. Hines also took second in the long jump (17-0.5).
EJ Mullins set a PR in the 200 (24.90) and broke the meet record in the 400 set last year by Millbrook graduate Jada Arrington (Mullins 56.84, Arrington 57.13). But she took second to Brentsville senior Kayla Smith in both races, with Smith taking the 400 in 55.93 and breaking the meet record of 24.54 set by 2025 Handley graduate Emeryce Worrell with a 24.46. Mullins also anchored the third-place 4×400 team that also featured Reagan Edsell, Anna Hensley and Janiya Ferris (300 hurdles, second, 49.46).
Junior Janai Washington was Millbrook’s lone champion. She won the high jump by two inches with a 5-4, the first time she’s cleared that height since she did so to win the Class 4 outdoor state title last year. Washington also took third in the 100 (12.49) and anchored the 4×400 team.
The Pioneers were also led by Caydence Bayne (800, third, 2:28.87) Adilyn Steinmetz (1,600, third, 5:29.70) and Kennedy McCullough (discus, third, 101-4).
For more coverage of the meet, see Tuesday’s edition of The Winchester Star.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
Follow on X @WinStarSports1