The varsity outdoor track team had a meet this past weekend at Osbourne Park High School. The team had a few highlights and earned enough points to win the meet.

The main purpose of this meet was to get some good races from the runners before WCAC Championships and those runners excelled in performance.

The competition for the track team was quite a challenge with Virginia schools being a tough match up with their talent. Coach Crutchfield, head track & field coach, said, “Then you throw in a few of the power houses from the WCAC [like Good Counsel, Bishop McNamara and Gonzaga] and it becomes an even tougher meet.” 

Seniors Sage Phillips and Zilan Williams ran personal bests in the 400m dash. Phillips is currently the #1 300m intermediate hurdler in the WCAC and 3rd overall in the state of Maryland. Fellow senior Dawson Grogan set the meet record in the 800m run and placed 2nd in the invitational mile. Grogan is currently N0. 1 in the WCAC in those distances.

Coach Crutchfield expressed that the relay teams ran up to his expectation, they just have to keep working hard. The team has a lot of technical processes to work on for their throwers and to fine tune their starts and handoffs prior to the WCAC Championships this upcoming weekend.

Coach Crutchfield said, “Our biggest competitor is the WCAC as a whole. All of the teams have great talent and you never know who’s going to show up.”

The team has had a few surprises in the field events this year with Junior Kristian Tate exceeding expectations in the high jump. With just a little over a month and a half of training, he is now one of the best high jumpers in the area with a best of 6-04. Coach Crutchfield said, “His jump coach thinks he has a lot more in him.”

Another good surprise is junior Michael Hansford, who has improved tremendously in the triple jump. Hansford is currently tied for 2nd in the WCAC and 6th overall in the state. Two long jumpers, sophomore Anthony Waterman and junior Isaac McGinnis, are also athletes to watch in the WCAC.

This past weekend’s meet provided great competition for the team. Coach Crutchfield added, “It was as close to what we’ll see in the championship this weekend.”

The track team will compete in the WCAC Championships this Friday and Saturday at Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland.