The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) – The Alleghany High School track and field teams battled through steady rain from start to finish Thursday evening and still delivered district championship performances at the Shenandoah District meet hosted by Alleghany.
With regional qualification on the line, Alleghany pushed through difficult conditions throughout the entire meet and turned in multiple first-place finishes on both the girls and boys sides to advance athletes to regionals on May 27.
The girls team opened strong with a district championship in the 4×800 relay, finishing in 10:42.63. Brooklyn Connor captured first place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.72, while Ja’kara Heighter swept the sprint races, winning the 100-meter dash in 12.65 and the 200-meter dash in 26.88.
Kiera Lowman added another district title in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:06.14 and also finished second in the 800-meter run at 2:27.91. The girls 4×400 relay team closed with another first-place finish in 4:30.45.
Additional girls performances included Leigha Byers placing third in the 400-meter dash and Willow Morgan taking fourth in the 400 and third in the 800. Faith Barron finished second in the 3200-meter run.
In field events, Ty’aieja Smith won the long jump with a mark of 16-04.50. Elin Heck placed third in the high jump and fifth in the 300-meter hurdles, while Jaylin Robinson earned fifth-place finishes in the 100-meter dash and triple jump. Heighter also added a third-place finish in the pole vault.
The Alleghany boys team matched the girls with several district championships despite the rainy conditions. The boys 4×800 relay team finished first in 8:56.17, while Desmond Jordan won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.67 and placed third in the 100-meter dash.
Miles Christian and Maddox Wickline dominated the sprint events. Christian won the 400-meter dash in 50.19, with Wickline second at 50.26. Wickline later claimed the 200-meter championship in 23.02, edging Christian, who finished second in 23.05.
Evan Bishop added another first-place finish for Alleghany by winning the 800-meter run in 2:02.36. Alleghany also captured first in the boys 4×400 relay to close out the meet.
Additional boys results included Kenton Kirby placing fifth in the 400-meter dash, Christian finishing third in the long jump, Kirby Brown taking second in the pole vault, and Sarge Persinger placing fourth in the shot put.
