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DyeStat Virginia
Feb 24, 2001 at George Mason U., Fairfax VA
AAA Northern Region
Preview
by Pearl Watts
Early in the season, the Lake Braddock girls and boys teams both looked to be the most impressive in the area. The past two months have done nothing to change that as both Bruins squads are in the role of favorites for the Northern Region Championships this Saturday.
The one day affair, which can be a war of attrition for many of the multi-eventers competing, will be contested at the GMU Fieldhouse beginning at 8:00 a.m. with field event finals in the boys high jump and boys shot put in addition to the girls long jump. The boys pole vault will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the girls high jump and shot put in addition to the boys long jump scheduled for an approximate start of 10:00 a.m. The field events will conclude with the girls triple jump at approximately 12:00 noon followed by the boys triple jump (1:30 p.m. approx.) with the girls pole vault also expected to start at around 12:00 noon. Running events in what will be a busy morning for many will begin at 11:30 a.m. with trials followed by semifinals in the 55 meter hurdles and 55 dash events for both boys and girls. Running event finals will begin at 1:00 p.m. with the presentation of the team championship awards expected at 4:30 p.m. Team scoring for all events will be through six places on a 10-8-6-4-2-1 basis with the top six finishers in all individual events and top three teams in the trio of relay events automatically advancing to the AAA state championships at the GMU Fieldhouse on March 2-3.
GIRLS
The Lake Braddock girls team, which put on a dominating performance at the Patriot District Championships two weeks ago, will be shooting for their first regional title since 1993. Bruins coach Bob Digby said, "the girls go into every big meet ready, but for this meet they are really chomping and ready to run. It helped to have two weeks off between the district meet and region meet to take care of some things we wouldn't normally have been able to. Now the girls can't wait to get started."
The Bruins, who were especially strong in the field events at the Patriot District meet, could leave the other schools very disenchanted about any hopes of a team title by the time the running event finals start if they can fare as well in the field events again. Lake Braddock has three of the top four seeded long jumpers in Meredith Brill, Sarah Beale and Alexandra VanHeuven, the top ranked shot putter in sophomore Catherine Muehleib, could get a couple of places in the pole vault and have VanHeuven as the top ranked performer in the triple jump by almost two feet.
On the track the Bruins have the top seeds in the 55 meter hurdles with VanHeuven, the 300 dash with Sarah Beale and the 3,200 run with Kelly Swain. Lake Braddock also goes into the regional meet with the second ranked competitors in the 500 dash in Shawnette Adams and the 1,600 run with Heather McCarthy and additionally have the fastest times in both the 800 relay and 1,600 relay as they look to be a good bet to improve upon their third place regional finish of a year ago.
If for some reason Lake Braddock falters in a few events, Robinson, Jefferson and Oakton appear to have the best chance of upending the Bruins.
Patriot District runnerup Robinson should be relay ready with the top time posted in the 3,200 relay, the number two mark in the 1,600 relay and the number three seeded squad in the 800 relay. The Rams will also be looking for individual points from Shehara Chitty in the 55 dash and 300 dash, Michelle Gregory in the 1,000 run, Emily Beck in the 55 hurdles and from Sam Ference and Joanna Rodgers in both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
Jefferson has high jump meet record holder (5 feet, 8.5 inches) Krystle Moss back to defend her title and the senior for the Colonials is also seeded third in the triple jump. Jefferson could also get some important points in the jumping events with the trio of Molly Mahar, Kristen Hicks and Leathan Domeshek. On the track, Jefferson has senior Kelley Otstott back to defend her title in the 1,000 run and as their anchor for the 3,200 and 1,600 relays for the bulk of their running points.
Oakton has one of the region's top individuals in junior Bonnie Meekins, who is top ranked in both the high jump and long jump in addition to being the second seed in both the triple jump and 55 hurdles to lead the cause for the Cougars.
Centreville also has top five team aspirations with junior Alicia LaRoche expected to battle Hayfield's Carrie Bennett and Kathryn Pettine of Westfield for the pole vault title. The Wildcats are also solid in the long sprints led by Sarah Lewis and Christina Dyck and in the distance events with freshman Dacia Barr.
Other top performers to watch include Junique Morris of T.C. Williams in the 55 and 300 dash events, West Springfield's Mo Hagan in the 1,600 run and possibly the 3,200 relay for the Spartans; Langley's Leslie Schultz in the 1,000 run and West Springfield's Lindsey Shaddrix along with Stephanie Glynn of Madison in the 500 dash.
BOYS
On the boys side, Lake Braddock appears to be in good position to win their second regional title in a row. Bruins coach Bob Digby said, "if the boys team can perform as well at the regional meet as they did at the district meet, we stand a good chance of winning."
The Lake Braddock boys, just as their girl counterparts, could make it tough sledding for the rest of the region with a big point haul in the field events. Senior Garret Brickner is the top potential point producer for the Bruins in the field events. Brickner was the Patriot District champ in the long jump, triple jump and high jump in an exciting duel in all three events with Chris Smith of T.C. Williams. Brickner and Smith along with Oakton's Teddy Presley should provide some of the main highlights of the meet with that trio of seniors all capable of finishing in the top three in the long jump, triple jump and high jump with Saturday determining the order of finish. The Bruins also have the top seed in the shot put with senior Kellen Meckelson who had an impressive series topped by a throw of 53-8.5 enroute to winning the district title.
Lake Braddock will also be tough on the track led by senior Frank Francois, the top ranked sprinter in both the 300 and 500 dash and also the anchor of the top seeded 1,600 relay for the Bruins. Lake Braddock also has four of the top six seeds in the 55 hurdles led by Craig Gallimore and Jim Borrell and are relay tested tough with a strong group including Pat Buchanan, Mike Yakovac and Jimmy Judge.
To provide pressure on the Bruins, many of the other teams in the region will need big days from their top performers. Oakton will look to back up Presley's field event points with Matt Maline and Phil Gaeta in the 1,600 run and Neville Jiang in the high jump while T.C. Williams will provide held for Smith in the 500 and 300 dashes with smooth running sophomore Timothy Nunn. Other top performers to watch include Centreville junior David Sullivan, the defending regional champion in the pole vault who is a threat to the meet record of 14-9 set by Robinson's Jake Williams in 1990 and Hayfield's Ron Richards, the 55 dash runnerup last year who comes in with the top time this year at 6.51 and is also the second seed in both the 300 dash and 500 dash behind Francois of Lake Braddock.
Robinson senior L.A. Snead comes in with the top times in both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs and South Lakes junior Richard Smith is the runner to beat in the 1,000 run. Smith will also team up with senior Alan Webb in the 1,600 relay as the Seahawks shoot for a state qualifying effort in that event. The 1,600 relay will probably be the only event for Webb at the regional meet unless there is a last minute decision to insert him in the 3,200 relay, an event South Lakes already has an automatic state qualifying time in. The rest could prove beneficial to Webb. The South Lakes symbol of running superbness won the 1,600 and 1,000 meter runs in addition to the 500 dash in the space of an hour and forty minutes two weeks ago at the Concorde District Championships and is currently scheduled for two running events and a relay event at the state meet next week in addition to possibly an individual event and also a relay event at the Nike Indoor Classic the following week.
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