by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
Both of Lancaster High’s track teams won seven events each to claim team championships at the Northern Neck District meet in Heathsville last Thursday.
Lancaster edged host Northumberland by two points to win the boys meet with a team score of 122. The Indians scored 120 for second place and Essex 91 for third. Washington & Lee was fourth with 47 and Rappahannock fifth with 33.
In the girls meet, Lancaster ran away with the team victory, beating second place Essex by 38 points. The Lady Devils finished with 154 points for first place, while the Lady Trojans were the runners-up with 116. Northumberland was third with 80, Rappahannock, fourth with 30, and Washington & Lee, fifth with 23.
Zac Benton led Lancaster’s middle and distance runners, winning both the 800 and 1600 meter races. Benton ran the half mile in 2:10.55 and paced the pack in the mile in 4:55.16.
The Red Devils swept the top three places in the half mile with Marcus Keeve finishing second (2:13.73) and Dominique Veney placing third (2:20.99). Veney also was the runner-up in the mile (5:09.98).
Also on the track, Darius Reed took gold in the 300 hurdles in 43.55 and both Lancaster’s 4X400 and 4X800 relay teams won.
In field events, Jervall Kelly threw the discus 130’8″ to win and Hezekiah Fauntleroy threw the shot 43’9.5″ to win. Fauntleroy was also the runner-up in the discus (102’11”).
Also placing third for the Devils was Xavier Sutton in the 200-meter (25.03), Kyle Bean in the 3200 (14:16.61) and Kelly in the shot put (40’5.5″).
Northumberland won six events including two in the field and four on the track. DeQuine Johnson sprinted to two championships on the short track, winning the 100 meter in 11.42 and the 200 meter in 22.94. He was a triple winner with a 41’1″ jump for first place in the triple jump.
Traven Rice claimed gold in two events for the Indians, winning the 110 hurdles in 15.91 and clearing 6’0″ in the high jump.
Girls meet
In the girls meet, Jasmyn Tomlin was a triple champ, winning the 100 hurdles and both the long and triple jumps. Tomlin raced to first in the 100 hurdles in 18.18 and was the runner-up in the 300 hurdles in 55.92. She jumped 16’3″ to win the long jump and went 33’11” to win the triple jump.
U’niqua Baker cleared 4’8″ to win the high jump with teammate Tanashia Henderson clearing 4’6″ as the runner-up.
Diamond Taylor led Lancaster in field events, winning both the discus and shot put events. Taylor threw the discus 91’5″ and the shot 35’3′.
Also winning gold for the Lady Devils was distance runner Leanne Nguyen, who finished the two-mile in 13:56.69. Nguyen was also the runner-up in the mile in 6:26.02.
Baker also placed second on the short track with a time of 1:07.66 in the 400-meter. Alyssa Meadows was the runner-up in the 800-meter in 3:15.60 and Mears Pollard was the runner-up in the two-mile in 15:50.23.
Lancaster’s Nealaysia Redmond was third in the triple jump (31’2″).
Host Northumberland won four events including the 4X400 and 4X800 meter relays. Trinity Bea also won the 400 meter in 1:03.52 and Khadijah Bea won the 800 meter in 2:36.87.
Lancaster, Northumberland, Essex and Rappahannock will be back at NHS Wednesday, May 17, for the Conference #43 meet.
