This weekend could be the biggest yet for Virginia in quite some time. We are bringing down not only some stuff athletes but also a ton of loaded relays that have serious shots at winning a national title this year. Last year Virginia came away with eight national titles including six relay titles. Those titles included both shuttle hurdle relays, the girls 4x800, girls distance medley, boys sprint medley relay, and the girls 800m sprint medley.
Girls' Sprint Relays
In the shortest relay around, the 4x100, Virginia will have a couple teams fielded that have a shot at making it into the finals. Leading that front is Nansemond River who were the Penn Relays divisional champs this year and are then joined by six other teams. Nansemond though definitely has the best shot to win this title for Virginia as they are also the number two ranked team from our state this year (47.02).
The sleeper pick in this race though is Grassfield. They currently sit at third in the state with a time of 47.55 but also have the fastest girl in the state in Lauryn Ghee running this time. Yep, that is right, they ran the third fastest time of the year without their top leg running and with her running you can almost guarantee that this team will go under 47 seconds if they have good exchanges.
Hampton (5 Star TC) will enter as Virginia's sole entrant in the 4x200. They are in the fourth fastest heat but still could make all-american honors.
Here is where things get really interesting. As you could see above, there is one very visible powerhouse missing from the 4x100 and 4x200 and that is because they could do something truly special in the 4x400 this season. That team of course is Western Branch that not only placed third last year by under a second but also ran a state record 3:41 with three legs back at it this year. They have run 3:46.21 this year (Penn Relays) but are ready to break 3:40 this weekend.
There is no doubting they will have company in this race but one team in particular wants to beat them more then anything and that is Nansemond River. These two teams, separated by just nine miles, are two of the four best sprint powerhouses in the nation and both hate to lose. Coming into the competition though, Nansemond River has the faster time (3:43..03) and the firepower to steal the show and state record from Branch.
Over the past couple years a small rivalry has been brewing between these schools and this year it could to a head in this very race. This race is for more then a national title. It is for a state record and bragging rights as the best team from Virginia.
Girls' Distance Relays
In the 4x800 Virginia has the defending champions Western Branch back for more. They also have three of their four legs returning from last year when they ran a state record 8:52 to become the first Virginia team under 9:00. They have gone 9:02 this year indoors and 9:06 outdoors but they will have to run a whole lot faster to come away with the title this weekend. At states we saw a new lineup that could be again what we say down in Greensboro.
Blacksburg and South Lakes are also running this event and are in the unseeded section.
Girls' Medley Relays
Though they are arguably the team to beat at the 800m sprint medley distance, Nansemond River is forgoing repeating as champions in that event in hopes of bringing home the title in the swedish relay this year. Just like 800 medley, the swedish is a unique event. It is run in this order: 100-200-300-400. If you know Nansemond River then you know that this event was made for them. If they decide to run, and we mean really run, then in our opinion they have a great shot at taking home the title and national record as well. Right now we believe Brandee' Johnson would run the 300 leg and Kara Lyles (who had the fastest split at Penn Relays this year) would anchor the team running the 400.
In the longer sprint medley (1600m) we have three teams in the next to fastest section. These three teams are Herndon, South Lakes, and Oakton who will all be trying to sneak into an all-american spot.
In the longest medley relay, the distance medley, Virginia is fielding just one team but that is maybe all we will need to get a national title. Chasing history in this race is Blacksburg who have opted out of a few other relays in hopes of doing something big in this race. They definitely have the firepower and everyone runs at 90% then they will be in contention for the title at the bell lap. Earlier this year they suffered a bad loss in the Penn Relays after having led nearly the entire race but this month they look ready to rumble without fears of the wind chill dropping down into the 40s like it did in Philly.
Girls' Shuttle Hurdle Relay
The biggest question here is should Western Branch be conservative or aggressive? Yes, they will have company in this race but looking at the times you could see that they could run this race conservatively and still come away with the title. But, if they run aggressively we could see their own national record 56.55 get dropped to below 55.50! Look at it this way. Last year going into the relay race they had theses times: 13.79, 13.92, 14.17, and 14.97. This year going into the relay they have these times: 13.38, 13.72, 13.82, and 14.47! That is a total of 56.85 (2014) to a total of 55.39 (2015)!
Western Branch has company though with three other Virginia teams also in this event. Well, two of which are their B and C teams... but they are then also joined by South Lakes. Last year Western Branch went 1-2 in this event and obviously wants to go 1-2-3 this year.