BRISTOL, Va. — Records fell almost as fast as the temperature at Saturday’s annual Bearcat Invitational outdoor track and field meet at Virginia High on Saturday.
Farragut swept both team titles in convincing fashion, the boys racking up 190 points and the girls 165½.
West Ridge junior Hunter Hawkins certainly had a day to remember, winning three gold medals: in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and a surprise one in the long jump.
His leap of 21-0½ in the long jump wasn’t close to his best, but it was enough to win after Abingdon sophomore standout Tyler Stanley scratched on all three of his attempts.
“I went out on the first jump, got a foot on the board and hit that 21-footer,” Hawkins said. “My PR is 21-6, so I was just going after that after the first one.”
Hawkins’ win in the 400 was a thing of beauty. He clocked 51.18, barely off of his personal best of 51.01 from last year. He had to hold off Farragut’s Chris Valentin in the final stages (52.02).
Hawkins came back in the 200 a short time later and nabbed the win in 22.70.
“I just tried to hold on (in the 400),” Hawkins said. “I knew the Farragut guy was a little bit faster than me, so I just tried to hold on and kick at the end.
“It’s a great start for me. I’m trying to make state in the 200, 400 and long (jump) along with the relays.”
HAMMONDS’ SOLID OPENER
Lee High senior Cassidy Hammonds’ opener was good, but not great by her high standards. Her relatively light day consisted of golds in the 100 hurdles (16.52) and 300 hurdles (48.71) along with the triple jump (33-5¼).
“It was a good day, especially since it’s a season opener for a bunch of these events,” Hammonds said. “The weather has made it really hard, but it’s been a pretty good meet.”
What was also really encouraging for the Lady Generals was seeing sophomore standout Savana Parsons clear a personal-best 5-1 in the high jump for the win. Parsons came back later to win the 200, clocking 27.17.
Hammonds and Parson teamed with Baylee Butina and Makayla Edens to win the 4x100 relay rather easily, putting up a swift 51.84.
“The last time we ran the relay, our handoffs weren’t really great, so we practiced a lot and got them down,” Hammonds said. “We’re going to get the handoffs and just go, so I’m really proud of all of my teammates.”
KILGORE DOUBLES UP
Twin Springs senior Colten Kilgore started his final season win style with wins in the 110 hurdles (15.99) and 300 hurdles (42.81), beating out Farragut’s Dane Skinner both times. Kilgore also finished fifth in the triple jump (38-7.5).
“With how cold it is, I knew I just had to stay back and give it everything I had coming out of the curve,” Kilgore said. “Nobody is going to be running PRs today, so it felt good to get out of here with two wins.
“What I wanted coming into this was to be kinda close to where I was last year and I think I’ve done what I wanted to do.”
BOLTWOOD BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD
Abingdon senior Rives Boltwood couldn’t have dreamed up a better start to the season, running 9:10.26 in the 3,200 to break Griff Graves’ school record that had stood since 2008. It’s the second-fastest time ever recorded for a Southwest Virginia runner, behind only Fleet Hower’s 9:05.35 from 2002.
“It feels really good (to break the school record) and it’s the best way I could ever hope to open the season,” Boltwood said. “Beating a record that’s just three years younger than I am is wild.”
Boltwood finished second in the race to future Furman teammate Matteo Tonnos of Farragut. Tonnos turned his final lap in 61.5 seconds and finished in 9:05.72, the 12th-best mark in the country as of Saturday.
“The weather was not conducive to fast times at all,” Boltwood said. “We were talking about (the pace) a little bit before the race and we all decided that we were going to pace a little bit. I felt good with 800 meters left, then we picked it up and I think it paid off for me.”
Junior Josie Jackson had a solid outing for the Lady Falcons distance crew, winning the 1,600 in a 20-second personal best of 5:12.24. She came back later and ran 2:22.00 in the 800, just behind Farragut’s Parker Willis (2:20.79).
“I had never run the mile on an outdoor track until today,” Jackson said. “My goal going into it was to hold onto my teammate Amanda (Ferrante). I wanted to hold on for the first three laps and then put everything I had into that fourth lap.”
OTHER NOTABLES
Farragut’s Bryce Thompson shattered the facility record in the shot put with a heave of 61-4, which ranks fourth in the United States. He also won the discus with a throw of 152-4.
West Ridge’s Ariyana Green won the girls’ 100 with a time of 13.14. Abingdon’s Riley Chapman won the long jump (15-6.5).
On the boys’ side, Abingdon’s Tyler Stanley won the 100 dash (11.42) and was a leg on the winning 4x100 relay (44.47).
Ridgeview’s Connor Smith won the high jump with a school-record clearance of 6-3.
