The last large scale track and field invitational in the area for the year is Saturday 15 December with the running of the Seventh Annual Friends of Indoor Track (F.I.T.) Relays at the GMU Fieldhouse.
The meet begins at 9:30 A.M. with action in both the field events (boys long jump and shot put; girls high jump) and running events (4x800 meter relay) and is slated to culminate with the 4x400 relays at 5:30 P.M. About fifty of the top schools from Virginia, D.C. and Maryland are scheduled to compete in the event sponsored by the Friends of Indoor Track.
F.I.T. is a non-profit public service corporation with their intentions to promote athletic development and achievement of high school track and field athletes; whose numbers make them the second largest participatory sport.
Through F.I.T.'s sponsorship of regional athletic events and by working in cooperation with local and state governments they have as a major near-term objective to have a facility built that will enable the Northern Region's public schools to schedule all of its indoor track meets on a regulation track protected from the weather.
This year's meet will once again be a non-scoring team event with all running events in relays including the 4x200; 4x400; 4x800 and distance medley relays (1,200; 800; 400; 1,600) along with one of the highlights from last year's meet, a Special Olympics 4x100 meter relay at 1:00 P.M. involving youngsters from area middle schools.
Field event action allows one athlete per event with action scheduled for both boys and girls in the long and triple jumps, high jump, shot put and pole vault.
Compiled by Pearl Watts
GIRLS
LONG JUMP: 1. Joslyn Woodard (Choat Rosemary Hall) 17 feet, 9 inches; 2. Alexandra VanHeuven (Lake Braddock) 17-7 1/2; 3. Zanishia Usher (Bayside) 17-6 1/2; 4. Adrienne Mayo (South Lakes) 17-4; 5. Michelle Nowden (Elizabeth Seton) 17-2 1/2; 6. India Ransom (Largo) 16-5.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Alexandra VanHeuven (Lake Braddock) 36-8 1/4; 2. Tishiki Ferguson (North Stafford) 35-10 3/4; 3. Brittany Robinson (Madison) 35-3; 4. Kathleen Woody (Oakton) 34-5 1/4; 5. Stephanie Myers (Osbourn) 33-2 1/2; 6. Aparna Hirve (Jefferson) 32-3 1/2.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Bonnie Meekins (Oakton) 5-8 [ties meet record]; 2. Molly Mahar (Jefferson) 5-2; 3. Sarah Woody (Oakton) 5-2; 4. Brittany Robinson (Madison) 5-0; 5. Takhani Kromah (St. Stephen's/St. Agnes) 5-0; 6. Michelle Kwak (West Springfield) 5-0.
SHOT PUT: 1. Catherine Muehleib (Lake Braddock) 35-5 3/4; 2. Ashley Crocker (Hayfield) 34-11 1/4; 3. Latasha Ewell (South Lakes) 34-1 1/2; 4. Rasha Bitar (Westfield) 33-11 1/2; 5. Carissa Culbreath (Marshall) 33-11; 6. Katie Thorne (Paul VI) 32-1.
POLE VAULT: 1. Kira Barcus (Atlee) 10-9.5 [new meet record]; 2. Kathryn Pettine (Westfield) 10-6; 3. Kari Clausen (Centreville) 9-0; 4. Kristine Schreiner (Madison) 8-6; 5. Molly Mahar (Jefferson) 8-6; 6. Hussna Mirza (Oakton) 8-6.
4x800 METER RELAY [Varsity ``B"]: 1. Robinson (Courtney Kuhn, Caitlin Glass, Abby Ward, Michelle Awtrey) 10 minutes, 17.9 seconds; 2. Jefferson (10:30.2); 3. Lake Braddock (10:46.7); 4. Hayfield (10:50.6); 5. Madison (10:57.1); 6. Oakton (10:57.6).
DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY [1,200; 400; 800; 1,600]: 1. Centreville (Sarah Falk, Sarah Lewis, Kathleen Karrenbauer, Dacia Barr [5:02.6 anchor]) 12:53.3; 2. Jefferson (13:05.1); 3. Stonewall Jackson (13:07.8); 4. Oakton (13:09.0); 5. West Potomac (13:16.5); 6. Hayfield (13:18.3).
4x200 RELAY [Varsity]: 1. Largo (Sirdona Davis, India Ransom, Venessa Sessa, Lakisha Brooks) 1:43.7; 2. Western (1:46.4); 3. Woodrow Wilson (1:49.5); 4. C.H. Flowers (1:49.9); 5. [tie] Oxon Hill (1:51.0) and Bayside (1:51.0).
4x800 RELAY [Seeded]: 1. Robinson (Julie Snaman, Lauren Hovland, Sam Ference, Joanna Rodgers) 9:43.8; 2. Western (9:46.2); 3. West Springfield (9:50.7); 4. Largo (9:55.3); 5. Jefferson (10:03.6); 6. Eleanor Roosevelt (10:06.0).
4x400 RELAY [Varsity]: 1. Eleanor Roosevelt (Angel Chinn, Renee Clark, T'Andra Pante, Ramona Modeste) 3:52.3 [new meet record]; 2. Largo (3:59.5); 3. Western (4:03.8); 4. Woodrow Wilson (4:06.9); 5. Robinson (4:11.7); 6. Oxon Hill (4:12.8).
BOYS
LONG JUMP: 1. Frankie Wright (Mergenthaler Vocational) 21-9; 2. Nick Robinson (Atlee) 21-3 1/2; 3. Isaac Huff (Mount Vernon) 20-6 1/4; 4. J.R. Carroll (Woodbridge) 19-4; 5. Jon Schott (Langley) 19-2 1/2; 6. Jerome Morgan (West Potomac) 19-1 1/2.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Andrew Hackett (Mergenthaler Vocational) 44-10 1/2; 2. Johnnie Dawson (Mount Vernon) 42-8 1/4; 3. Nick Crumpton (Langley) 42-6 1/4; 4. Len Terry (Atlee) 41-3 1/2; 5. Jamaal Connally (Northwestern) 40-1 1/2; 6. Tyrone Williams (Ballou) 40-0 1/4.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Leo Emerson (Herndon) 6-0; 2. Ernest Asante (Mount Vernon) 6-0; 3. Ryan Thompson (Oxon Hill) 6-0; 4. Brandon Zimmer (Jefferson) 5-10; 5. [tie] Andrew Hackett (Mergenthaler Vocational) 5-10 and Jeff Shepley (Oakton) 5-10.
SHOT PUT: 1. Kelly Jackson (Mergenthaler Vocational) 55-7 1/4; 2. Steve Huntzinger (Robinson) 55-5 1/2; 3. Steve Jewel (Glasgow) 48-9 1/4; 4. Chris Barham (Marshall) 47-7 3/4>; 5. Jason Portwood (Mount Vernon) 43-5 3/4; 6. Judd Altman (Lake Braddock) 43-2 3/4.
POLE VAULT: 1. David Sullivan (Centreville) 15-6 (new meet record); 2. David Lewis (Westfield) 12-0; 3. Martin DelVeccio (Lake Braddock) 12-0; 4. Jay Kircher (Chantilly) 11-6; 5. Justin Loda (Madison) 11-6; 6. Andrew Spaulding (Robinson) 11-0.
4x800 METER RELAY [Varsity ``B"]: 1. West Springfield (Bryan Witt, Stephen Tobin, Adam Buckley, Ryan David) 8:36.9; 2. Herndon (8:38.0); 3. Westfield (8:53.2); 4. Oakton (8:55.3); 5. Hayfield (8:59.2); 6. Northwestern (9:00.0).
DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY [1,200; 400; 800; 1,600]: 1. Lake Braddock (Peter Gardella, Dan Wilson, Gilbert Elston, Steve Hoogland) 10:51.9; 2. Jefferson (10:55.2); 3. Westfield (10:58.5); 4. Robinson (11:06.2); 5. Hayfield (11:06.7); 6. Oakton (11:12.9).
4x200 RELAY [Varsity]: 1. Oxon Hill (Andre Felton, Quentin Daniels, Efrem Baker, Paul Young) 1:32.6; 2. Centreville (1:33.2); 3. Mergenthaler Vocational (1:33.6); 4. Hayfield (1:34.2); 5. Woodrow Wilson (1:34.3); 6. Atlee (1:34.9).
4x800 RELAY [Seeded]: 1. West Springfield (Matt Davis, Tim Kwak, James Feeney, Jason Havinga) 8:13.5; 2. Westfield (8:25.5); 3. Annandale (8:27.0); 4. T.C. Williams (8:36.6); 5. Robinson (8:37.0); 6. [tie] Gonzaga (8:38.9) and Oakton (8:38.9).
4x400 RELAY [Varsity]: 1. Woodrow Wilson (Dwayne Crossgill, Marco Aguilar, Walter Hawkins, Erik Green) 3:28.2; 2. Oxon Hill (3:29.1); 3. Centreville (3:29.2); 4. Mergenthaler Vocational (3:30.1); 5. Lake Braddock (3:34.0); 6. T.C. Williams (3:34.1).
Special Olympics 4X200 RELAY: 1. Edison High Gold Eagles (Kevin Ogletree, Ruel Daguiso, Chavilid Dujpiboonphal, Ameer Malik) 2:18.0; 2. Edison High Blue Eagles (2:28.9); 3. South Lakes High Seahawks (2:45.0); 4. McLean High Highlanders (2:59.4); 5. Stone Middle School Panthers (3:02.0); 6. Herndon Flyers (3:03); 7. Davis Center Lightning Bolts (3:11.2).
NOTES: Results from Saturday's Friends of Indoor Track Relays at George Mason University Fieldhouse on 200-meter unbanked track. No team scoring. All times in running events were hand-held and recorded in tenths of a second.
By Sean P. Flynn
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, December 16, 2001; Page D15
Centreville senior pole vaulter David Sullivan could not help but clap after clearing the bar at 15 feet 6 inches. He did so on his descent at yesterday's Friends of Indoor Track Relays at the George Mason Fieldhouse in Fairfax, although he's not a fan of vaulters who clap on the way down.
"That's my pet peeve, when people clap before they land," Sullivan said. "But I'm very pleased with my result."
At the first major meet of the indoor season, Sullivan was the top performer in field events. He set a personal record -- his previous high of 15 feet 3 1/4 won the indoor nationals last season -- and broke the meet record, showing that he is poised to make not only a run at a Virginia state title but also another indoor national championship.
Sullivan spent the fall running on the track to gain speed. Since practice began on Nov. 11, he has been vaulting four or five times a week under the close watch of his coach, Kevin McGorty. The preparation showed yesterday, as Sullivan barely missed clearing 16 feet, which would have been one inch off the state record.
"We've been working to be in shape for a long time," Sullivan said. "I want to get the state record, and I'd like to be at 16-6 by the end of the outdoor season."
The FIT meet, in its seventh season, combines individual field events with track relays, but no individual track events. The meet included most of the relay teams from the Northern Region of Virginia and several from Prince George's County, the District and the Richmond area.
Oakton senior Bonnie Meekins tied the meet record for the high jump with a leap of 5 feet 8. Meekins said this meet was a good indicator of how far along she was in comparison to her season goals, which include a strong performance at the national meet.
"I was pretty surprised with 5-8," said Meekins, the defending AAA high jump champion. "I didn't know what to expect really . . . All of this is leading up to nationals."
Lake Braddock's Catherine Muehleib was one of two Bruin girls to win individual championships, taking the shot put with a toss of 35 feet 5 3/4 inches. The Bruins' versatile senior, Alexandra Van Heuven, won the triple jump with a leap of 36 feet 8 1/4 inches while finishing second in the long jump.
Herndon senior Leo Emerson won the boys' high jump with a mark of 6 feet, winning by a tiebreaker over Mount Vernon's Ernest Asante and Oxon Hill's Ryan Thompson.
On the track, Eleanor Roosevelt's 4x400-meter relay team of Angel Chinn, Renee Clarke, T'Andra Pante and Lamona Podeste gave the best performance of the day, shattering the meet record with a time of 3 minutes 52.3 seconds. Oxon Hill had set the record in 1996 with a mark of 3:58.8.
Robinson's distance runners, coming off a Virginia AAA cross-country championship, swept the A and B races of the 4x800 relay.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company