VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA, January 16‑17 — The new banked 200-meter track at the Virginia Beach Sports Center proved its worthiness as a host of top prep performances came out of the Virginia HS Showcase.
Sydney Thorvaldson (Rawlins, Wyoming) chalked up a nice distance double, on Saturday easily capturing the mile 4:43.90–4:49.06 over Brooke Rauber (Tully, New York). On Sunday, Thorvaldson traded the 2M lead with Brynn Brown (Guyer, Denton, Texas) for the first half before setting out on her own to notch a 9:47.95–9:51.00 victory. They moved to Nos. 2-3 all-time (see chart).
The quest for the fastest Junior girls 4×8 (an event not recognized at the U20 level by either WA or USATF), brought together four of the top preps in the event, who on Saturday had hammered out a dazzling 800. Juliette Whittaker (Mt. De Sales, Catonsville, Maryland) broke the junior-class record with her 2:02.07, moving to No. 3 all-time. That topped soph Sophia Gorriaran (Brown, Providence, Rhode Island), who ran 2:03.96 to move to No. 6 all time. Roisin Willis (Stevens Point, Wisconsin) followed in 2:04.31, then came Bailey Goggans (Marble Falls, Texas) in 2:07.84.
For the relay on Sunday, the four teamed up to go after the best in the rarely run event — the standard was the 8:37.71 that Vere Tech team from Jamaica ran outdoors at the ’91 Penn Relays.
Willis led off at 2:05.97, followed by Goggans (only 2:20.49, but on what was subsequently reported as a broken foot), Whittaker (2:05.25) and Gorriaran (2:05.49). That brought the foursome home 0.51 better than the record. Note that the mark is not eligible as a High School Record because T&FN doesn’t consider all-star teams for such recognition.
On the boys side, a HSR was missed in the 300 when Jaylen Slade (IMG, Bradenton, Florida) almost stopped at the wrong line but had enough momentum to record the No. 2 time ever, 32.77, just 0.13 short of the record.
In the 500, Justin Braun (Worthington, Ohio) and Ashton Schwartzman (IMG) battled to the line in 1:02.67, sharing the No. 8 spot on the all-time list. Braun got first by virtue of an 0.008 margin.
— VIRGINIA SHOWCASE BOY’S RESULTS —
(200 banked)
55: 1. Udodi Onwuzurike (Rice, Bloomfield Hills, Mi) 6.25; 2. *Terrell Robinson (Mt Tabor, Winston-Salem) 6.26; 3. Laurenz Colbert (Roosevelt, Greenbelt, Md) 6.35. 200: 1. Colbert 21.14; 2. Schurr 21.32; 3. Harbor 21.46.
300: 1. Jaylen Slade (IMG, Bradenton, Fl) 32.77 (2, 2 HS);
2. *Justin Braun (Worthington, Oh) 33.24.
500: 1. Braun 1:02.67 (8, 10 HS); 2. Ashton Schwartzman (IMG) 1:02.67 (=8, =10 HS).
800: 1. Samuel Austin (Oviedo, Fl) 1:53.30. 1000: 1. Cole Piotrowski (IMG) 2:31.21; 2. ***Marcus Reilly (Northbridge, Ma) 2:31.43 (frosh-class record). Mile: 1. Nathan Green (Borah, Boise) 4:13.25; 2. **Antonio Camacho-Bucks (Centennial, Ellicott City, Md) 4:14.50; 3. **Elliott McArthur (Mounds View, Mn) 4:15.34; 4. Reilly 4:15.51 (4:00.05 frosh-class record). 2M: 1. *Sam Rich (Catawba, Ft Mill, SC) 9:05.14. 55H: 1. Leonard Mustari (Dunbar, Ft Myers, Fl) 7.19;… 4. Johnny Brackins (Lees Summit, Mo) 7.43.
4 x 200: 1. PSC Panthers TC (Va) 1:27.52. 4 x 400: 1. IMG Elite 3:16.98. 4 x 800: 1. Satellite TC (Fl) 7:56.03. SpMed: 1. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md 3:34.54. DisMed: 1. Loudoun Valley, Purcellville 10:30.95.
HJ: 1. *Brandon Pottinger (Florida Christian, Miami) 6-10. PV: 1. Nate Benson (Lafayette, Williamsburg, Va) 15-6. LJ: 1. Kaelen Mitchell (Piscataway, NJ) 24-3¼; 2. Mustari 23-11½; 3. Brackins 23-9¾. TJ: 1. Brackins 50-¼. SP: 1. Cooper Mack (Watertown, SD) 64-9¾.
SHOWCASE GIRLS RESULTS
55: 1. *Autumn Wilson (St Savio, Austin) 6.81. 200: 1. ***Avery Lewis (Friends Central, Wynnewood, Pa) 23.91; 2. Wilson 24.20. 300: 1. *Hali Murphy (St Savio) 38.93. 500: 1. **Sophia Gorriaran (Brown, Providence, RI) 1:12.95.
800: 1. *Juliette Whittaker (Mt de Sales, Catonsville, Md) 2:02.07 (3, 3 HS) (junior-class record); 2. Gorriaran 2:03.96 (6, 8 HS);
3. *Roisin Willis (Stevens Point, Wi) 2:04.31; 4. Bailey Goggans (Marble Falls, Tx) 2:07.84.
1000: 1. Brooke Rauber (Tully, NY) 2:49.29. Mile: 1. Sydney Thorvaldson (Rawlins, Wy) 4:43.90; 2. Rauber 4:49.06.
2M: 1. Thorvaldson 9:47.95 (2, 2 HS); 2. Brynn Brown (Guyer, Denton, Tx) 9:51.00 (3, 3 HS).
55H: 1. Eddiyah Frye (Aquinas 7.81; 2. Lucheyona Weaver (Dunbar, Ft Myers, Fl) 7.92.
4 x 200: 1. South Dade Express TC (Fl) 1:37.41. 4 x 400: 1. Mvp League TC (Va) 3:47.68.
4 x 800: 1. 800 United All Stars 8:37.20 (WJR, AJR both indoors and absolute) (old world absolute best 8:37.71 Jamaica) (all-star teams not eligible for HS Records (*Roisin Willis 2:05.97, Bailey Goggans 2:20.49, *Juliette Whittaker 2:05.25, **Sophia Gorriaran 2:05.49).
4 x 1600: 1. Loudoun Valley, Purcellville 21:03.19. SpMed: 1. Real Training TC (Co) 4:05.43. 4 x 55H: 1. Cal Rising Stars TC (Ca) 32.51.
HJ: 1. *Alyssa Jones (Southridge, Miami) 5-8. PV: 1. Chloe Timberg (Central Bucks West, Doylestown, Pa) 13-4½. LJ: 1. Lewis 20-8 (frosh-class reccord). TJ: 1. Stephanie Robson (Fauquier, Warrenton, Va) 40-½. SP: 1. Jayden Ulrich (East Alton-Wood River, Wood River, Il) 43-7¾. □