By:
Times-Dispatch Staff | From staff reports Published: May 13, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. -- A spring track championship consists of 17 events conducted in rapid succession with a premium placed on athletes competing in events where they can most contribute to their teams' success.
On Saturday at St. Christopher's, St. Catherine's captured the League of Independent Schools crown with seven first places and solid spots in the other 10. Fork Union claimed the Prep League title by winning 11 events and scoring in six others.
St. Catherine's (209 points) finished well ahead of second-place Norfolk Academy (136).
The Blue Devils amassed 174.5 points to outdistance runner-up Woodberry Forest (141.5).
Thirteen athletes claimed individual events or contributed to relay victories to enable St. Catherine's to defend its LIS title.
Laura Kerr won the 200 meters (27.23), Susanna Reid the 400 (59.46), Libby Parrish the 1,600 (5:17.21), Liz Spruill the 3,200 (12:08.74), and Bri Miller the triple jump (35-4).
The team of Annabel O'Hagan, Whitney Busch, Rosemary O'Hagan, and Kristine Scherger won the 3,200 relay (10:21.07) and Naya Nicholson, Maya Jackson, Heather Schumacher, and Anne Maxwell Ellett the 1,600 relay (4:26.46).
"We did really well in the distances and middle distances," said Saints coach Dave Bloor. "They're events near the end of the meet, so when we were close halfway through, I was feeling pretty good.
"Depth is what counts. It's simply getting kids out for track and getting them interested. It's hard to do, because track is not an easy sport to do. I admire the girls who come out for track because they they've chosen to do all that hard work."
Collegiate's Katie O'Connor won both the shot put (34-10¼) and discus (113-10).
The Cougars' Hannah Myers won the 100 hurdles (15.75) and 300 hurdles (47.66), and Madeline White claimed the 100 (13.41).
FUMA was led by Clyde Gross, who won the 110 hurdles (14.69) and 200 (22.56) and ran the anchor leg on the winning 400 relay (42.67). Denver Wright won the 100 (10.99), placed second in the 110 hurdles, and ran leadoff in the 400 relay.
Avery Martin captured the 1,600 (4:17.37), Michael Idziak won the 800 (2:00.00), and the two ran the second and fourth legs, respectively, of the winning 1,600 relay (3:22.88).
"I was really pleased with our team's performance considering that it's a big leave weekend and everybody's off campus except us," said FUMA coach Winston Brown. "The guys really responded today. They like to compete. They like to win."
The Blue Devils, the defending league champs, have tested themselves all season against the toughest competition they could find with their eyes on peaking for the championship meets in May.
"The secret is knowing when to back off in training and stay out of their way," Brown continued. "The guys have done so much work that they were going to take care of it in the end."
Trinity Episcopal's Ben Gross, Chris Cantone, Alden Knipe, and Guy Shelby won the 3,200 relay in 8:09.98, and the Titans' Mac Strehler (9:45.42) and Reider Strehler (9:50.12) went 1-2 in the 3,200.