A Great Day to Run Track for Collegiate

Depending on their point of view, regard for personal comfort, and resilience, the wet oval and runways created less-than-ideal conditions as well for practitioners of the 17 events contested that day, especially those involving jumping, vaulting, and hurdling.

 

Did anyone in the Collegiate contingent flinch? Or bemoan the inclement weather, which was predicted to be much worse? Or make excuses?

 

Of course not.

 

Instead, the Cougars brought their fight-and-smile best, proving yet again that every day, even the messy ones, is a great day to run track for Collegiate.

 

Collegiate’s girls placed third overall (91 points) behind Potomac (113.5) and St. Catherine’s (95) in the 15-team field. Collegiate’s boys finished fifth (52) behind Woodberry Forest (129.5), St. Christopher’s (115), Saint John Paul the Great (71), and Fork Union (55) among 14 entries.

 

“Everyone came out and really competed today,” said head boys coach Brent Miller as he stood on the muddy sidewalk beside the team tent, which was buzzing with conversation amongst current athletes and track alumni who spent the afternoon supporting their efforts. “They knew what to expect, and they were prepared. They brought the right focus. They respected the weather, but they weren’t worried about it. They did what they needed to do to be in the right head space. We’re proud of them.”   

 

Three school records fell.

 

The 4x800 team of Macy Boyer, Giles Ferrell, Rosie Ferrell, and Virginia Harris ran 9:47.21 to eclipse the mark (9:49.24) set in the 1995 League of Independent Schools meet by Annie Hamlin, Brooke Purcell, Connie Hamlin, and Anne Hunter Smith.

 

Ranked second behind Potomac (9:51.11 seed time), the Cougars far surpassed their previous best (10:03.50), which they ran to win the LIS title a week earlier.

 

Boyer, a sophomore, led off in 2:32.1. Senior Giles Ferrell followed in 2:32.7. Freshman Rosie Ferrell ran 2:25.4, and Harris, also a freshman, anchored in 2:17.0, the fastest open 800 or relay split in program history, to bring the Cougars home 6.16 seconds ahead of the Panthers.

 

“What was really special about that race was watching them run and compete,” said Matthew Richardson, track and field program leader and head distance coach. “At one point, they were in last place. They moved up through the entire field, and they did it through the confidence they have in each other, their fitness, and their knowledge of how to run the race. It was a true team effort. Everyone did their part to make it happen. They believed in each other, which they have all season. They knew what they were doing, and they executed the race plan perfectly.”

 

Junior Bridget Blaszak placed third in the 1600 in a personal best 5:18.51, then, an hour-and-a-half later, lowered her own 3200 school record from 11:22.09 to 11:13.04 in her runner-up finish. In both events, she ran negative splits (2:43/2:35 in the 1600 and 5:37/5:35 in the 3200) and closed each race with her fastest 400 (71 in the former and 81 in the latter).

 

Just 35 minutes after running 1:01.84 in the 400, just .57 off her personal best, sophomore Emily Beggerow placed fourth in the 200 in 26.47 and in so doing surpassed the previous mark (26.52) set by Bridgette Williams in 2009.

 

“The coaching staff was very purposeful with regards to training our athletes and having them peak between last week and this week,” said head girls team coach Beth Kondorossy. “The athletes, too, took care of their bodies, got the proper rest, [attended to their] nutrition, and had the right mindset coming into a rainy day, so it was not just the athletes’ preparation but a testament to how the coaches got them ready to peak in the state championship.”

 

The swirling mist and slippery runways hardly fazed Collegiate’s jumpers and vaulters. All told, the boys team earned 43 points and the girls 37 in the high and horizontal jumps and pole vault.

 

Bishop Foster (second in the high jump, 6-2), Ned Bradshaw (second in the pole vault, 13-0), UVA football commit Xay Davis (third in both the long and triple jumps at 21-2.5 and a personal best 42-9.5, respectively) earned All-VISAA honors by placing in the top three in their events.

 

Azaria Bailey (second in the vault, 9-6, and third in the long jump, 15-11.25), Kyla Coffey (second in the high jump, 4-10), Harper Hailes (third in the high jump, 4-10), Harris (third in the 800, 2:22.83), and the 4x400 relay team of Reese Fleming, Rosie Ferrell, Beggerow, and Harris (third in 4:13.49) earned all-state citations as well.

 

“It’s always kind of dicey when you’re jumping, even when there’s a little bit of rain,” Miller said. “For them to come out and have the level of focus they did today…they all did really well out there. The good thing is, too, that when you look across the other events, the runners who needed to score points scored points in their events as well. We did what we needed to do on a tough weather day.”

~Weldon Bradshaw