VIRGINIA BEACH — The West Springfield boys’ track and field team won the indoor state championship the hard way.
The team won no individual events and no relays, but when the trophies were handed out Saturday night, the Spartans took first place in Class 6 thanks to strong performances up and down the line and an incredible finish in the day’s final event.
“I’m not surprised we did well at the district and region meets,” Coach Chris Pellegrini said, “because really deep teams can do well at that level. But if I’m being brutally honest, you can’t usually win state without a couple of monster athletes winning individual events. We were able to piecemeal this one. We nickel-and-dimed it, and that’s a great testament to this team.”
In the climactic 4x400-meter relay race, West Springfield was not in the fast heat. But running in the penultimate heat, the team of Joseph Blumberg, Enan Baskerville, Vishal Green and Gavin Reichard ran a time of 3 minutes 24.32 seconds — less than a tenth of a second behind the Woodson team that won the event in the final heat.
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The improbable runner-up finish gave West Springfield enough team points (46) to move past Thomas Dale (43) for the championship.
The South County girls finished second in Class 6, led by the 4x200 relay team of Jordann Germain, Catalina Sanchious, Asayla McNeal and Cameron Thompson. That team took first place in a meet-record 1:39.42, edging an Oscar Smith group that also broke the previous meet record.
Asked what it takes to win such a competitive relay, Sanchious replied matter-of-factly: “Teamwork … handoffs … believing in each other.”
Sanchious, a sophomore, also took first place in the 55 meters in 6.97 seconds, with Thompson finishing third.
In the girls’ 1,600 meters, Herndon senior Gillian Bushee won in 4:51.35, missing the meet record by a split-second but finishing more than seven seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Bushee, who will run at the University of Virginia, spent the entire race alone, far in front of the field.
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“I just tried to hit my splits and do what I was supposed to do,” she said. “On the last lap, I told myself there was a runner right behind me: ‘You can’t see her, but she can see you.’ When you think like that, it forces you to keep up your pace.”
Bushee followed that a few hours later by winning the 3,200 by more than 25 seconds.
Patriot senior Patrick Lowry had a more competitive race in the boys’ 1,600, with the lead seeming to change after almost every lap of the 200-meter track. Lowry, who will run at Virginia Military Institute, stayed in the pack for most of the race and made his move about three-quarters of the way through.
He won in 4:17.67, with a couple of runners just two seconds behind.
“I felt like if I could stay close, I could definitely outkick them in the end,” Lowry said. “When you get to the finish line and you know you’re ahead, you just get a smile on your face and you take it all in. You don’t even feel the pain at that point, not until a couple of minutes after the race. Then you feel it.”
In boys’ field events, Torian Clark-Stewart of Woodbridge won the high jump (6 feet 4 inches), while Hayfield’s Bryston Johnson won the long jump (22-2¾). Ty’Heak Buie of Potomac won the triple jump (45-4¼) and took third in the long jump.
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Robinson’s Harry Economon won the 500 meters in 1:04.94, and Jayson Bell of Westfield won the 300 meters in 34.58 seconds. W.T. Woodson’s 4x400 relay team of Lorenzo Bantug, Caleb Hymans, Ethan Spector and Justin Anderson took first place in 3:24.28.
In girls’ field events, Westfield’s Johanna Stuard won the high jump at 5-5, and Thomas Edison’s Julia Dial took first in the triple jump at 39-9.7. Viviana Rodriguez of Osbourn Park won the pole vault at 11-6, with teammate Brooke Gunter finishing second.
Rachael Wilson of Robinson won the 500 meters in 1:14.35. The Colgan girls won the 4x400 relay, with the team of Elizabeth Yeboah-Kodie, Kadynce Taylor, Kalynna Taylor and Psalmn Jones running a time of 3:56.55. The South Lakes girls won the 4x800 relay in 9:17.69 with the team of Annalise Williams, Catalina Simon, Caroline Elliott and Bella Harsanyi.
In the Class 5 meet, Wendell Ngonga of Woodgrove won the triple jump (46-3.5). Aria Ibiezugbe of Riverside won the girls’ shot put with a toss of 38-4.
State champions
Class 6 boys – 4x800 relay Oakton 7:52.55; High jump – Torian Clark Stewart (Woodbridge) 6-4; Triple jump – Ty’Heak Buie (Potomac) 45-4.25; Long jump – Bryston Johnson (Hayfield) 22-2.75; 1600 meters Patrick Lowry (Patriot) 4:17.67; 500 Harry Economon (Robinson) 1:04.94; 300 meters Jayson Bell (Westfield) 34.58; 4x400 relay Woodson 3:24.28
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Class 6 girls – 4x800 relay South Lakes 9:17.69; High jump – Johanna Stuard (Westfield) 5-5; Triple jump – Julia Dial (Thomas Edison) 39-9.75; Pole vault – Viviana Rodriguez (Osbourn Park) 11-6; 55 meters Catalna Sanchious (South County) 7.08; 1600 meters Gillian Bushee (Herndon) 4:51.35; 500 meters Rachael Wilson (Robinson) 1:14.35; 4x200 relay South County 1:39.42; 3200 meters Gillian Bushee (Herndon) 10:41.57; 4x400 relay Colgan 3:56.55
Class 5 boys – Triple jump – Wendell Ngonga (Woodgrove) 46-3.5
Class 5 girls – Shot put Aria Ibiezugbe (Riverside) 38-4
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