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Summer officially doesn’t begin until June 21, but it was certainly Summers time on Friday at James Madison University.
Castlewood High School freshman Anna Summers won the girls discus championship with a top heave of 110-04 at the VHSL Class 1 state track and field meet in Harrisonburg.
The top mark came on her fifth and penultimate throw. Cumberland’s Nalonda Henderson was runner-up with a top heave of 108-07.
“It feels awesome,” Summers said. “I still can’t believe it. I’m shocked. .. I was really nervous. My first three throws weren’t really good and I was really stressing out. After I made it to the finals, I settled down, calmed down and it went better.”
Summers also plays volleyball, basketball and softball for the Blue Devils. She began throwing the discus in mid-March.
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“I learned a lot by watching the other girls and also watched some YouTube videos as well,” she said.
Chilhowie’s Hannah Manns won the girls Class 1 crown in the triple jump with a leap of 36-2. That beat her personal best by nearly a foot.
“I knew that I had a great shot going into the finals when I ended up being the last triple jumper,” Manns said. “I was in awe [after winning]. I was, and still am, in shock. I have worked so hard to get to where I am today. God helped guide my legs. He is truly my Alpha and Omega. … I am beyond blessed; thankful for my coaches, my family, friends, and teammates for always pushing and believing in me. No matter what the outcome I have gained so much through track and field and will continue to keep striving to beat my own best distance.”
Grundy’s boys 4×800 relay team of Landon Johnson, Jacob Fields, Keyston Hartford and Kaleb Elswick were victorious in 8:22.99. The quartet blitzed the field with Elswick running the anchor leg as Lancaster (8:30.29) followed in a distant second.
“This group has put in the work and it was great to see it actually pay off,” Elswick said. “We knew going in that it was going to be a very close race and every second mattered. We knew if we raced the way that we could then we could win but we also knew things don’t go as planned a lot of times. When I got the baton I knew that I had a gap, but I also knew the anchor leg for Lancaster was a beast. I just went out the first 400 as fast I could hoping to keep the gap growing and tried to hang on. It was a very long and quiet minute and a half for Grundy fans due to the unknown of what was coming up. Coming down the last 100 I heard them start cheering again and I knew that’s when Grundy was bringing home some gold.”
Patrick Henry’s Tyler Barrett was runner-up in the boys shot put at 52-01.
In the Class 2 meet at JMU, Tazewell’s Landri Lallande defended her title in the girls discus with a heave of 127-07. Morla Lester of Tazewell was second at 119-4.
Cassidy Hammonds won the Class 2 girls triple jump with a top leap of 36-10.
At Liberty University, the Abingdon team of Rives Boltwood, Teddy Pillion, Bramley Childress and Jack Bundy won the Class 3 title in the boys 4×800 relay with a Southwest Virginia record time of 8:00.76.
Bundy recently committed to run at Georgia.
“Today was really special for the entire group,” Bundy said. “We were all determined and motivated to win coming off a second-place finish in the indoor season. The key today was the improvement we saw in each one of our legs. Our first leg, Rives, had a spectacular opener to put us right in the mix. Our second leg, Teddy, ran a season best by over two seconds. Our third leg, Bramley, ran a perfect leg by keeping us in the race. Going into the race, we knew if we were able to stay with the top pack until the last leg, I could close the race and get the win. We executed this plan perfectly and ultimately came away with the win. This group is really special. This year, after losing two key seniors, we were unsure as to how our distance program would compete. Fortunately, we have a great group of guys who took the next step and we assembled a competitive team. I’m so proud of the distance squad we have this year and how far we’ve managed to come.”
The Abingdon girls were second in the 4×800 relay as Amanda Ferrante, Cecilia Johnson, Tennessee Tech recruit Makaleigh Jessee and Josie Jackson ran a school record time of 8:37.25. Meanwhile, Ellie Ruble of Abingdon was sixth in the discus at 98-09.
The state meets will continue today with the 3,200 meter finals at 9 a.m., followed by the field events at 9:30. The 110 hurdle finals are set for noon after the national anthem.
Action is scheduled to conclude with the 4×400 relay at 5 p.m.
