Team Detail
Boys Track & Field Fine Tune for State Championships
The Boys track and field team had a remarkable day at the 2018 Hoxton Invitational on Cathcart Track.
The Hoxton Invitational, for decades, has provided one of the top meets in the area for private schools as programs are starting to reach peak form before their respective championships or State Competitions. The Northern Virginia area has become one of the top areas for the upcoming VISAA Championships held on Saturday February 17 and this year's Invitational acted as a potential prelude to that meet.
The short sprints were the first events up and Sam Kamara '19 ran his season’s best time in the 55-meters to qualify for the hotly contested final where he placed 5th overall. Litchfield Ajavon '19 had a breakthrough day running an all-time personal best in the 55-meter hurdles to keep his undefeated streak alive as he goes into the weekend as the defending State Champion.
James Dixon '19 has been plugging away each and every week and had a clear goal in mind for the season. Dixon ran his all-time personal best in the 500-meters to place 3rd overall; he came back later with a scintillating leg on the 4 x 400-meter relay team. Teammate Collin Hwang '19 took advantage of his opportunity to compete by also running a personal best time by over two seconds. Freshman Edward Powers '21 was also selected to compete in the 500-meter event and ran a personal best time.
The distance crew took to the track first, running in the 4 x 800-meter event and were led by Tre Simmons '20 who had the top split on the day. Teammate Alex Keller '19 put in the next best performance with a personal best time to end his season. Scout Zhou '20 was the lone entrant in the 1600-meter race for The Maroon and he chopped an additional four seconds off of his all-time best.
Senior Vincent Notzon '18 was called upon to be the field event specialist for the day in order score valuable team points. Notzon did not disappoint placing Runner Up in the high jump and 3rd place in the long jump, as well as a solid effort on a 4 x 200-meter relay team. Patrick Zhu '20 had a strong performance in the shot put placing 2nd followed by more valuable team points from Max Meyer '20, Leo McCray '19, and David Zeng '20.
The top performances for the day, however, were held for the coveted relay teams for which Episcopal has garnered one of the top reputations in the State. The boys 4 x 200-meter and 4 x 400-meter relay teams were coming into the meet with solid times of 1:34.04 and 3:33.88. The Maroon put their state competition on notice that they were just rounding into top form. Led by speed specialist Elijah Gaines '20, the boys 4 x 200-meter team of Barry Curtis '19, Sam Kamara '19, and Jack Lee '20 ran a super fast time 1:32.46, moving them to no. 2 in the State Rankings going into the State Finals. The boys 4 x 400-meter team also put in a superb race, battling St Stephen’s & St Agnes for top spot. After battling it out with the Saints, The Maroon relay team of Lee, Gaines, Curtis, and Dixon ran a season best 3:30.93 with the Saints taking the top spot.
Senior Vincent Notzon '18 was called upon to be the field event specialist for the day in order score valuable team points. Notzon did not disappoint placing Runner Up in the high jump and 3rd place in the long jump, as well as a solid effort on a 4 x 200-meter relay team. Patrick Zhu '20 had a strong performance in the shot put placing 2nd followed by more valuable team points from Max Meyer '20, Leo McCray '19, and David Zeng '20.
The top performances for the day, however, were held for the coveted relay teams for which Episcopal has garnered one of the top reputations in the State. The boys 4 x 200-meter and 4 x 400-meter relay teams were coming into the meet with solid times of 1:34.04 and 3:33.88. The Maroon put their state competition on notice that they were just rounding into top form. Led by speed specialist Elijah Gaines '20, the boys 4 x 200-meter team of Barry Curtis '19, Sam Kamara '19, and Jack Lee '20 ran a super fast time 1:32.46, moving them to no. 2 in the State Rankings going into the State Finals. The boys 4 x 400-meter team also put in a superb race, battling St Stephen’s & St Agnes for top spot. After battling it out with the Saints, The Maroon relay team of Lee, Gaines, Curtis, and Dixon ran a season best 3:30.93 with the Saints taking the top spot.
