LYNCHBURG 鈥 By the time Reilly Thomas completed her first lap Friday afternoon, Charlottesville鈥檚 Elaina Pierce had caught up to her and quickly moved in front by the first turn of the second lap.
Thomas didn鈥檛 fall too far behind, however, as the freshman stayed hot on the UVa commit鈥檚 tail, biding her time until the final 200 meters approached.
When it did, she turned on the accelerators and exhausted every ounce of energy she had left, passing Pierce and crossing the finish line first to deliver Blacksburg a stunning Class 4 victory in the 4x800-meter relay at the Class 3/4 track and field state championships at Liberty University.
Blacksburg鈥檚 Reilly Thomas collapses after winning the 4x800-meter relay at the Class 3/4 track and field championships Friday.
鈥淵ou see Elaina Pierce run, she鈥檚 an amazing runner. In order for her to catch up to us required a lot of energy,鈥 said Tess Dickhans, who ran the third leg for the Bruins. 鈥淪o you鈥檙e thinking; alright Reilly, when it comes around and she passes you, you just stick on her. Reilly鈥檚 notorious for her kick, so we were just like, stick with her and when you have 200 to go just send it, and that鈥檚 exactly what she did. It was really fun to see.鈥
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Blacksburg was far from favored to win the event and not all that considered to compete for the title. It was seeded fourth entering the championships, and trailed top seed Tuscarora by more than 12 seconds with a time of 9 minutes, 39.96 seconds.
But when Thomas crossed the finish line 2.99 seconds ahead of Pierce and collapsed onto the infield turf, the Bruins had captured the relay clocking in at 9:13.93, setting a new meet record.
They broke the previous mark set by E.C. Glass nine years ago by 0.2 seconds.
鈥淚t was very surprising,鈥 Dickhans said. 鈥淚 think coming into it, we all had an idea of what we could do but didn鈥檛 know fully (we could run) 9:13, because that鈥檚 a big PR from even indoor (track), so it鈥檚 really fun to see how we just came together today.鈥
Blacksburg鈥檚 Ruthie DeLapp leads the field in the Class 4 4x800-meter relay at the state meet Friday at Liberty University. Blacksburg won the race.
What made Blacksburg鈥檚 performance all the more impressive was that it was accomplished in part by a trio of freshmen. Ruthie DeLapp and Lola Olsen aren鈥檛 800 specialists and are actually competing in the 1,600 and 3,200 Saturday, Dickhans said, so the team decided to have them run first to gauge their position. Once they gained a lead, Dickhans extended it before handing off the baton to Thomas to finish it.
鈥淚t really came together better than I could鈥檝e thought,鈥 Dickhans said. 鈥淪ometimes I imagine situations before I鈥檓 going to bed, kind of picturing my race, and that鈥檚 one of the best ones that could鈥檝e happened.鈥
With the vast majority of events still to be completed on Saturday, four of 17 events have been scored through Friday. Blacksburg, the defending state champion, sits in second place and trails Hanover by two points with 22.
On the boys side, the Bruins are in 18th place out of 20 with three points, while Orange County leads the pack with 18 points. Their only competition of the day was the 4x800 relay, which resulted in a disappointing sixth-place finish in 8:10.03 after they entered the event seeded first with a mark of 8:00.05.
Salem and Jefferson Forest have not yet scored on the boys or girls side.
Cave Spring鈥檚 Doucoure shares high jump title
Cave Spring鈥檚 Hassan Doucoure competes in the high jump at the Class 3/4 state track meet Friday at Liberty University. Doucoure was named the co-champion.
Hassane Doucoure hit a personal best by clearing 6 feet, 6 inches to win the Region 3D high jump championship last month.
On Friday, the Cave Spring junior was able to do it again, this time earning himself a state championship.
Doucoure and Manassas Park鈥檚 Vincent Roland both cleared 6-6 then failed their three attempts at 6-8. Roland was initially ruled the champion via tiebreaker, but after further discussion, a 鈥渏ump-off鈥 ensued instead before the two were ultimately declared co-champions.
Among other Class 3 events, Pulaski County鈥檚 Aiden Moore finished runner-up in the shot put with a top throw of 53 feet, 0.5 inches. Turner Ashby鈥檚 Jeffery Jackson had a winning throw of 55 feet, 4 inches.
And in the triple jump, Donovan Richardson of Christiansburg earned a second-place finish with a leap of 46 feet, 1.25 inches, as Lafayette鈥檚 Tristin Harris smashed a meet record by eclipsing 51 feet, 4.75 inches.
With four of 17 events scored, Pulaski County sits in second place with 12 points, trailing Lafayette by four. Cave Spring and Christiansburg are seventh and ninth, respectively.
On the girls side, Alleghany is in 13th place with two points as Western Albemarle leads the field with 39. Bassett sits 15th.
