Keith Ricks, a state runner-up in the 100 and 200 at the 2008 VHSL Group AAA State Outdoor T&F Championships, saw his name high on the national rankings list during the 2008 indoor season at both 55 and 300 meters with bests of 6.32 and 34.57. His best meet in high school may have came in two narrow runner-up finishes at the state outdoor meet his senior year.
Ricks just finished his first year at Virginia Tech as his season went late into the summer after qualifying for the US juniors team which competed at the Pan Am Junior Games.
Several high school athletes competed at the USATF National Club Championships held in Olathe, Kansas this past weekend for the Norfolk Real Deal Track Club. Norfolk Real was the only USATF club from Virginia in the event as the women's team finished 3rd among 14 teams, while the men's team placed 9th among 21 teams. The Norfolk Real Deal's club team was made up of high school, college, and post-collegiate athletes.
AAA state outdoor long jump champion Tiffany Harris (pictured left by Ted Plunkett) leaped to a new personal best mark of 19-5.75 to win the long jump at the USATF Club Nationals as well as place in the 200 meter dash (25.18 prelims, 25.25 finals). Read more...USATF National Club Championships Results
Quick highlights from the Virginia Beach Flames Invitational held Saturday, June 28th at Landstown High School:
Grassfield junior Karimah Shepherd (pictured above by Andy Paisley) leaped to the first 40+ foot mark in the triple jump this year in Virginia as she improved upon her previous personal best by 14 inches with her US #13 mark of 40'1".
Landstown junior Marlena Wesh put together an impressive sprint triple with times of 11.98 in the 100, 24.43 in the 400, and 55.89 in the 400. Wesh's 400 time is the fourth fastest performance in Virginia this year despite being the only time in 2008 she has competed in the event.
Keith Ricks of King's Fork rolled out a swift all-time best 400 at the Flames Invite in 47.54. The Virginia Tech bound Ricks posted the third fastest time in VIrginia of 2008.
VA Beach Flames Invitational Complete Results
There were quite a few elite performanes at the Asics Elite Invitational held at Liberty University's Tolsma Track Center in Lynchburg on Saturday, December 25th. Blacksburg senior Peter Dorrell, likely highly motivated from coming up just short of making it to Foot Locker Nationals this cross country, has steamrolled through the month of December in indoor. Dorrell followed up his 4:19 1600 meter opener last weekend at Liberty with a 9:16 3200 meter performance this weekend on the same track. Both are early season national leading performances in the two distance events, but his 1600 meter time was topped this weekend by Logan Collins of Orange County who blitzed a personal best time of 4:17 at the Asics Elite Invite. The best in the Eastern Region are already rolling in December as Keith Ricks of King's Fork matched Torry Womack's 6.37 clocking at CNU on Friday night with a 6.37 win himself at Liberty on Saturday. Full meet summary...Asics Elite Invite Complete Results
Hannah Varnell (pictured left by John Herzog), a rising junior at Gloucester High School, claimed the national title in the intermediate girls' division of the 1500 meter run at the AAU National Junior Olympic Games in Tennessee. Varnell, who clocked a personal best for 800 meters by four seconds in a time of 2:14.94 in Tuesday's preliminaries, came back to continue her great week in Knoxville on Thursday with a national championship in a 1500 meter time of 4:45.16, which would convert to a 12 second improvement on her actual 1600 meter best of 5:18. Varnell had finished seventh in the 800 meter finals on Wednesday. Read more on performances by Virginia's high school athletes so far in Knoxville. MileSplit Network's Results PageLive ResultsLive Webcast
Mills Godwin senior Anne Marie Gordon likes drama apparently. Not only is she in theatre at school, but seems to like to wait till the final attempt when clearing personal best heights in the pole vault. At last March\'s National Scholastic Indoor Championships, Gordon cleared 11\'7.25\" on her third attempt at the height. On Saturday at the Keydet Invitational, Gordon cleared a best height of 11\'9\" in similar dramatic fashion on her final attempt at the height.
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