LYNCHBURG 鈥 Reilly Thomas wowed spectators at Liberty University on Friday when she exhausted all her energy on the final 200 meters of the 4x800-meter relay to deliver her and her Blacksburg teammates a state championship.
On Saturday she churned out another exhilarating kick, surging once more to the front of the pack down the stretch to capture the state crown in the 800, earning a personal record by more than three seconds.
鈥淚 was tired, everyone was breathing, but I knew if I could just be up front, I had it,鈥 Thomas said. 鈥淔irst lap there I was like, 鈥楾his is not so bad,鈥 kind of lying to myself, but then when I went through I was like, 鈥楾his is just a 300. You do 300 reps all the time in practice, this is going to be fine,鈥 so it was a lot of fun.鈥
Blacksburg freshman Reilly Thomas celebrates after winning the 800-meter title at the Class 4 state track meet Saturday.
Thomas finished the event in 2 minutes, 13.75 seconds, topping runner-up Christabel Agyeman-Duah by 0.37 seconds. It marked the second time this weekend, coupled with Friday鈥檚 effort in the 4x800, that she surpassed Charlottesville junior and UVa commit Elaina Pierce in the final 200 meters of a race.
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鈥淪he鈥檚 an amazing athlete, I went into this knowing she鈥檚 already run the mile, and I knew all these girls are fierce competitors,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o I knew they were going to go with her, so I was like, I鈥檓 going to go with her too. It was a fun race.鈥
The state championship performance from Thomas, the daughter of Virginia Tech track and field head coach Ben Thomas, signaled a freshman campaign that rang in the next crop of Blacksburg runners.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a freshman, but she鈥檚 a really knowledgeable runner,鈥 Bruins head coach Stephen Howard said. 鈥淪he just has this really strong hybrid training, sprints and distance, so she鈥檚 got the kick of a spring with the endurance of a distance girl, so it鈥檚 a really good combo for the 800. After she ran the 1,000 at indoor, we thought the 800 was going to be her bread and butter.鈥
Thomas鈥 achievement highlighted another stellar day for the Bruins, who captured back-to-back girls team state championships. After winning the title last year by half a point on the final event, this year they claimed the trophy by 52 points over runner-up Atlee.
The victory marks a clean sweep in running sports as Blacksburg also won team championships in cross-country last fall and indoor track and field in February, completing the 鈥渢riple crown鈥 for the 2024-25 academic year.
鈥淚 was really confident in our girls,鈥 Howard said. 鈥淢ore than ever, they just wanted it and they鈥檝e wanted it collectively, and it felt very cohesive to work towards something this year, and I really believed strongly in them that they had it at nearly every event that we could have someone placing well, so I鈥檓 super proud of them.鈥
The Bruins finished off the day by winning the 4x400 relay. Thomas and her teammates, comprised of Mirra Bowman, Bella Garza and Tess Dickhans, posted a time of 3:56.79, rolling to a 7.63-second victory.
Earlier in the day, the team of Tatianna Gibson, Lilly Ballowe, Cate Catterson and Danielle Douglas showed off their speed by capturing the 4x100 relay in a meet-record time of 48.15 seconds. They broke the previous mark, set in 2016 by Churchland, by 0.15 seconds.
Blacksburg鈥檚 Tatianna Gibson (left) crosses the finish line to clinch the Class 4 state title in the 4x100-meter relay on Saturday at Liberty University.
Gibson ran the anchor leg and was pushed by an incoming Halifax County runner to a record time.
鈥淲e came in last year and got sixth. Came back with a better mindset of we鈥檙e going to win, and we definitely took it home,鈥 Gibson said.
鈥淚 definitely heard footsteps in the last few seconds, I鈥檓 like no, my team worked way too hard to come up and get hooked. I鈥檓 like, let me push way harder than I鈥檓 pushing right now, and I just finished it out.鈥
McGee vaults to聽record, state title
Blacksburg senior Leighton McGee competes in the Class 4 pole vault state championship Saturday at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
The Blacksburg girls weren鈥檛 the only ones from the New River Valley celebrating state titles.
Bruins senior Leighton McGee waited until his final attempt, paired with top seed AJ Thomas of Amherst County, to clear 16 feet at the pole vault and capture his first outdoor state championship.
鈥淚t feels really good. I鈥檓 super excited,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 always been my high school goal, so I finally got it on my last chance.鈥
McGee had also failed on his first two attempts at the previous height of 15-6. Thomas had already cleared it on his second, putting the pressure on McGee to either keep the competition going or finish runner-up.
Had McGee then failed all three of his attempts at 16 feet, as did Thomas, then Thomas would鈥檝e also been awarded the state title via tiebreaker as he had cleared the previous height first.
The William & Mary commit came through in the clutch.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always had a fun competition,鈥 McGee said. 鈥淚 love AJ, he鈥檚 a great guy, so I鈥檓 stoked to have jumped that well with him. He had a good day too.鈥
McGee鈥檚 mark also broke a meet record, set in 2019 by Amherst County鈥檚 Kyle Mosteller at 15-6.
鈥淚t鈥檚 taken a lot of work. I鈥檓 just thankful to all my coaches, they were there all the way,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have done it without them, support from my parents, but I鈥檓 just very glad. Very tired too. Can鈥檛 really think clearly.鈥
