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FHS boys are 7th at region track meet
There’s a difference between a run of luck and a streak of good fortune in track and field,
Fauquier High had both Friday during the Northwest Region meet at the University of Virginia’s Lannigan Field in Charlottesville, helping it finish seventh in the boys competition with 36 points and 25th in the girls competition with three points.
A less fortunate Liberty boys team took 25th with three points, while the LHS girls did not score.
Albemarle topped the boys team standings with 70.5 points and Osbourn Park topped the girls standings with 82.
Fauquier’s first “run of luck” came in the 3,200-meter boys relay. The Falcons ran across the finish line in sixth (8 minutes, 13.29 seconds), but they lucked out when four teams were disqualified post-race and they were bumped up to third.
Then, Jordan Zimmerman finished fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.35) after a pair of opponents tripped early in the run. Even in the discus, Kyle Fortney finished second with a throw (160 feet, 7 inches) that was fueled by anger over the interference of some bystanders.
With those bits of luck supplementing personal-record performances, Fortney, Zimmerman and the 3,200 boys all qualified for next weekend’s AAA state meet (see sidebars).
Fauquier coach Quentin Jones admitted that was an unexpected streak of good fortune, but he also thought it important to recognize the underlying effort that put the Falcons in position to succeed.
“To go out there and work hard and then to have something else come into play that you don’t expect to help you, it’s awesome. They’re stoked,” Jones said. “We have a bunch of kids that have worked and prepped. Everyone on the bus that we brought down here worked their tails off. It was a very, very good Friday.”
Emma Helsel, for example, finished sixth in the 1,600 (5:19.12) to earn all the Fauquier girls’ points and qualify for state. Hannah Helsel, Cassie Machamer and Lindsay Gilbert joined her to finish ninth in the 3,200 relay (10:01.31), while Talbot Armstrong was the runner-up in the boys 3,200 run (9:47.27).
Phonsy Jordan took third in the 300 hurdles (39.96) and was a member of the ninth-place 1,600 relay team (3:31.65), while Alex Pinelli and Tommy Kohler placed sixth and 10th, respectively, in the pole vault (12-0; 11-0).
Asia Tally took 21st in the 100 (13.54), Ariel Porter took 25th in the girls shot put (27-7) and Michael Sherbin and John Billings took 16th and 18th, respectively, in the boys shot put (41-2.5; 40-7). Billings also placed ninth in the discus (133-0) ahead of Sherbin, who took 22nd (111-1).
“It’s a good day overall. We had a bunch of people go to states,” Fortney said, referring to all the top-six finishes in the individual events and top-three finishes in the relays.
Neither Fauquier’s Molly Read nor Liberty’s Amber Tripp cleared a height in the pole vault, but Stefawn Ross led Liberty with a sixth-place finish in the long jump (21-1.5) and an 11th-place finish in the 200 (22.81). He did not clear a height in the high jump, but placed 15th in the 100 (11.44) behind teammate Bobby Newton, who took 11th (11.3). Newton added a 10th-place finish in the long jump (20-6.5) and a 12th-place finish in the triple jump (41-11.25).
Brianne Croushorn finished 17th in the shot put (31-10) and 18th in the discus (84-4), while Robert Ashby placed 11th in the 3,200 run (10:15.39).
Only Ross’ long jump performance added to the Liberty contingent that will travel to the state meet in Newport News next Friday and Saturday. That was a disappointment for which Liberty co-coach Dan Thompson took blame.
“I tried to coach them too much this week, put too much in their minds. I got them too confused and too flustered – didn’t prepare them well,” Thompson said. “You can blame your coach for not getting you ready right.”
Thompson was most disappointed that Newton did not qualify for state in the triple jump. Newton entered the region meet seeded fourth in the triple jump, needing a top-six finish or minimum jump of 45-8 to qualify for state, but he never found a groove. He failed to make the finals, jumping only 41-11.25, well off his season-best of 45-1.
“I only needed seven inches, but I couldn’t get it today,” Newton said. “I got frustrated a little bit. I took my head out of what I was doing.”
Ross’ biggest disappointment came in the high jump. He entered with a seed mark of 6-4, but couldn’t clear 6 feet...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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