At the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Mexico, Central Dauphin grad Ryan Whiting (Photo by Victor Sailor, PhotoRun.net) (Arizona State), won the shot put with a throw of 63-10.25. Williamsport alum Ruby Radocaj (Minnesota), took 2nd in the javelin with a throw of 166-04.75, and West Catholic grad Nicole Leach was 2nd in the 400 hurdles in 57.05. She also ran on the runner-up 4x400 relay. At the Russell Blunt Invitational at Duke University in North Carolina, Imhotep grad Herman Kirkland leapt 23-4 to win the YM long jump. Methacton's Carlton Lavong was 1st in the IB long jump at 23-2.75. He also captured the triple jump with a leap of 45-00.25. Father Judge grads and twins Jermaine and Jerome Lowery were 1st and 3rd in the 400 hurdles, going 53.16 and 54.37, respectively. Rising juniors Saudiah Lawrence (Penn Charter) and Shanae Bailey (Swenson), performed well. Lawrence was 1st in the IG long jump at 18-1, and 2nd in the triple jump at 37-08.50. Bailey ran the fastest IG 200 of the meet, going 24.59 in the prelims, before being shut down for a minor injury.
Coverage
A hot weekend down in Durham, North Carolina did not keep many Virginia high school athletes competing for their summer track clubs from putting up impressive marks and times at the Russell Blunt Invitational. Seven athletes from Virginia were event champions in the meet, while Jessie Gaines of Western Branch posted a swift sub 12 clocking in her preliminary heat of the 100 meter dash. Grassfield's Curtis Campbell led a 400 meter dash finals in the young men division which had a strong Virginian representation with four of the top six finishers from the state. Campbell took the win in Durham with a 48.13 performance. Russell Blunt Invite Results: Young Men - Young Women - Intermediate Boys - Intermediate Girls Young Men Division Top Performers: Photo by Don Rich of PennTrackXC.com Curtis Campbell (Grassfield) - 400 Meter Dash - 1st, 48.13 Jeffrey Artis (Western Branch) - Triple Jump - 1st, 47-4.50 Darnell Washington (Petersburg) - 100 Meter Dash - 3rd, 11.07 Nicholas Vaughn (South Lakes) - 200 Meter Dash - 3rd, 22.15 Taylor Sykes (Great Bridge) - 400 Meter Dash - 4th, 48.29 Jeffrey Artis (Western Branch) - 110 Meter Hurdles - 4th, 14.25 Wesley Benitez (Matoaca) - Long Jump - 3rd, 21-10.75 Young Women Division Top Performers: Photo by Brandon Miles Jessie Gaines (Western Branch) - 100H - 1st, 14.63 & 100 - 2nd, 12.07 (11.97 prelims) Ruth Hunt (Heritage) - 200 - 1st, 25.31 Myesha Barr (Grassfield) - 400 - 2nd, 56.86 Brittni Finch (Centreville) - Long Jump - 2nd, 18-3.75 Ermesha Fair (Western Branch) - Triple Jump - 3rd, 38-2 Intermediate Boys Top Performers: Dejor Simmons (Green Run) - 100 - 1st, 10.84 (10.74 prelims) Adrian Vaughn (South Lakes) - 200 - 22.29 (fastest in prelims) Intermediate Girls Top Performers: Siobhan Ford-Holland (Thomas Dale) - Triple Jump - 1st, 38-11 Sarah Fulgham (Thomas Dale) - High Jump - 1st, 5-2 Venus Whitties (Western Branch) - 400H - 2nd, 1:05.11