Varsity track teams finish season strong at championships meet
The Maroon Track & Field squad took a small contingent of student-athletes to compete at the VISAA Track & Field State Championship meet, held at Sportsbackers Stadium in Richmond, VA on Saturday May 18. With an 85 degree day to manage and some of the top competition of the season, The boys and girls in Maroon boarded the bus at the end of the day with three individual state champions, eleven All-State performances and three new School records.
Claire Boehm '20 started off the trio of State Championships with a massive upset victory in the 1600-meter race, beginning conservatively and building her energy and confidence in the first two of the four-lap race. With most of the field still in contention going into the third lap, she moved to front and started to push the pace with the hopes of taking along the top contenders. Boehm’s surge to the front was unmatched and she continued to pull away, putting in her fastest lap of the race in the final lap. Her winning time was the fastest in her career by six seconds, and was eight seconds ahead of the next competitor.
Dante Jackson '21 was next up and the 400-meters has been a focus for him throughout the season. It was apparent from the firing of the starter’s pistol that Jackson was on a mission and he did not hold back. Getting out to a fast start, Jackson was able to power through the finish, winning the race handily in a new personal record time and also clinching a New Balance National qualifying time and eclipsing a long time record help by Allante Keels '09.
Alli Boehm '20 took the 800-meter out in a fast 400-meter pace, asserting herself to the front after 300-meter and never looking back, powering away from the field at 500-meters remaining and crossing the finish line uncontested and with a season’s best time — and with the third State title of the day for EHS!
A trio of top performance also highlighted the day for the Maroon with huge personal best records and All State 3rd place finishes: Jamall Mensah '20 had a breakout race in the 100-meters running a smoking fast 10.82 against some of the fastest talent the VISAA has ever seen. Zeddy Williams '21 was next up in the 800-meters. He has been knocking on the sub-2 door for a while in the 800-meters and he used the biggest meet of the year to break through that barrier, running 1:57.73. Senior standout Jahsaiah Moses '19, in her final race for the Maroon, ran a scintillating 300-meter hurdles race for a new personal best and also taking down one of the most formidable records held by Shantell Bingham '11. The relay tradition held strong with all four relays entered by EHS (boys and girls 4x100 and 4x400) finished with All-State Honors. The girls 4x400m team of Claire Boehm, Moses, Regan Simmons '21, and Alli Boehm brought the School record even closer to the 4:00 barrier, running 4:02.06 to place Runner-Up. The boys' 4x400-meter thrilled the crowd, making the last race of the day one of the closest and most exciting as the Maroon fell by .02 seconds after an inspiring leg fro Freshman sensation Joshua Williams '22.
