By Nolan Jez
VHSL Group 6A Preview, Day 1
In this competition will be the undefeated Bruins of Western Branch. Though every year is a special year for these athletes as they continue their dynasty, this year and this meet will mean something much more to everyone involved. That is because their coach, coach Claude Toukene, is stepping down at the end of this year. Touks, as he is colloquially known, is a 21-time state champion coach and needless to say one of the best our state has ever seen.
That is why this year and this state championship is much more important. His girls team enters as the odds on favorite by a landslide over South Lakes and West Springfield, but the boys team will have their hands full. In that competition their will be some high scores from Ocean Lakes, T.C. Williams, Lake Braddock, Battlefield, and others but the real team race will be between Oscar Smith and Western Branch.
It is very fitting, though, that Touks' last indoor state championship will not only come down to the 4x400 but that it will also be one of the toughest ones ever to win.
On Friday, we will get a great insight into how the ending of this weekend will go. On the track will be the 55 hurdle prelims, 55m dash prelims, and the 4x800m relay finals. In all of those races we will see strong continents from nearly every team looking for that team title.
First up will be the hurdle prelims. On the girls side, Shadajah Ballard leads the way with her 7.87 this season and facility record 7.79 last season. She ranks fifth all-time in the state of Virginia in this event and is the top seed of five Western Branch girls in this event. Tilmon, Na'Taja Ballard, Warren, and Tucker are also entered and seeded second, third, fifth, and eighth.
In the boys' hurdle race it looks like a three man race right now between Kurt Powdar (Oscar Smith), Aaron Shirley (Oscar Smith), and Evans Roland (Western Branch). Though the two Smith boys lead by a strong margin and are arguably the best two hurdles in the nation, we know anything can happen and that all three athletes must capitalize on their opportunity to score points.
Next will be the dashes and they will certainly continue the excitement. The girls' race will feature an epic showdown between South Lakes' Hannah Waller and Western Branch's Shadajah Ballard. Waller sits at fourth all-time with her 6.94 and Ballard sits at fourteenth all-time with her 6.99. Though Waller is the favorite on paper it should be noted that not once has a girl come into the 757 and won a 55m dash title against the 757 meaning athletes from the 757 have swept every single 55m dash title ever run at Boo Williams. That is not to say Waller cannot do that but more so to say you better be ready for one of, if not the, fastest 55m dash races our state has ever seen.
The guys race should be exciting as well, with Chris Tyree (Thomas Dale) leading and the quartet of Bangura, Cole, Casey, and Powdar all chasing.
Finally, in the last race of the first day we should hear the full crowd get into it with Western Branch, West Springfield, Patriot, Lake Braddock and South Lakes all entered in the 4x800. West Springfield enters as the strong favorite but a fully stacked Branch squad could be deadly. In the guys' race Western Branch will also be toeing the line with a stacked squad but as the top seed. They will be chased by Ocean Lakes, South Lakes, Patriot, and Woodbridge in a race that will take a sub 7:58 to win.
On the field Friday there will be four of the five field events. We will have the high jump featuring Sydney Banks (Osbourn Park), the triple jump featuring Grace Yeboah-Kodie (Colgan), the shot put featuring Ebonie Whitted, and the pole vault featuring Hannah Robertson (West Springfield) on the girls' side. In Saturday's long jump we will see T.C. Williams' Nyla Ward leading the way with Skyler Reynolds (Osbourn Park) and Hannah Waller (South Lakes) giving chase.
Of those field events the biggest mark could come from Osbourn Park's Sydney Banks who is seeded at 5-10.5 in the high jump. That mark ranks her second all-time in the state of Virginia and gives her a great shot to take down the meet, facility, and state record this weekend. It has been 43 years since Virginia had a girl over six feet in the high jump so this could be huge.
In the guys' field events we will see Caden Billak (Centreville) featured in the long jump, Zakhi McCray(Grassfield) featured in the triple jump, Jabari Bennett (Washington-Lee) featured in the shot put, Decker Barborek (Fairfax) featured in the pole vault, and quite a few guys feature in the high jump. That high jump competition will not only be close but also very important for team points. Leading the way is Tehron Oliver (Grassfield) and Joshua Prince-Gilliard (Colgan) both seeded at 6-8. They are then both followed by Kurt Powdar and Mathew Mckiver (Annandale) at 6-7.
Considering how the event is run and how the bar is raised two inches at a time this will mean a potential four guys all trying 6-8 at the same time to decide the state championship.