By PARKER COTTON
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Feb 10, 2018

     Jailah Channer didn’t fancy herself much of a basketball player, so going into her sophomore season, she switched her winter sport to indoor track and field.

     She hoped the change would build on her spring training for track and field, a sport with which she saw more of a future.

     The early returns have been favorable for her and her St. Catherine’s team.

     On Saturday at the Virginia Prep League / League of Independent Schools championships at St. Christopher’s School, Channer placed first in the 300 meters (43.47), first in the high jump (5 feet), first in the triple jump (35-1), third in the 55 meters (7.68) and third in the long jump (16-5.5). The Saints finished with 212 points to claim their eighth consecutive LIS title. Collegiate placed second with 111.5 points, and Norfolk Academy was third with 59.5.

     “It shows we’re an extremely strong team,” Channer said. “Even when we lose some of our really strong seniors, we can still make up for that in other events and show that we’re still the best.”

     Channer amassed 41 points and was named the girls MVP, but she was far from the only standout on her team.

Junior Hannah Ballowe won the 1,000 meters (3:03.81) and the 1,600 meters (5:14.69), and she led off the 4x400 relay, which won in 4:13.71; sophomore Megan Murphy won the pole vault by clearing 10 feet, and three teammates finished right behind her to earn extra points. Sophomore Willa Shannon won the 55-meter hurdles in a school-record time of 8.78 seconds, beating the previous mark by .04; and Reny Horner won the long jump (17-1.25), was second in the 300 meters (43.90) behind Channer and helped the 4x200 relay team to first place in 1:50.31.

     The VPL competition was decided by the last event. St. Christopher’s placed third in the 4x400 relay, finishing in 3:35.16, but more important for the Saints was the fact that Norfolk Academy held off Fork Union Military Academy for first, winning in 3:30.38 while FUMA clocked 3:30.83. That difference of .45 seconds kept St. Christopher’s narrowly in front of the team competition, allowing the Saints to win with 145.5 points. Fork Union finished with 145. The title is the second straight for St. Christopher’s.

     “Fork Union looked awesome. We have depth where they don’t, and they have depth where we don’t,” Saints coach Marshall Ware said.

     Earning 42 points for St. Christopher’s was junior Elby Omohundro, who was named the boys MVP. He won the high jump (6-4) and the triple jump (46-4.5), he was second in the shot put (44-5.25) and the long jump (21-11) and he was third in the 55-meter hurdles (8.19).

     Teammate Frank Royal, also a junior, earned 27.5 points for the Saints by winning the long jump (22-9.75), placing second in the 300 meters (35.88), taking third in the 55 meters (6.57), claiming fifth in the triple jump (41-11) and running the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay.

     Royal’s long jump mark of 24-2.25 on Jan. 25 set the school record and placed him second in the nation in the event. Though he was displeased with his mark on Saturday, he said he is better off trying to enjoy another chapter in what he called the “best season I’ve had.”

    St. Christopher’s also got standout performances from sophomore Ian Smith, who won the 1,000 meters in 2:40.08; senior Harrison Rice, who won the pole vault by clearing 15-6; freshman Miles Mullins, who took 7.5 seconds off his personal record to place second in the 1,600 meters (4:30.96); and sophomore Neal Dhar, who placed second in the 3,200 meters (10:11.55) and fourth in the 1,600 meters (4:37.57).