* Quincy Wilson ran the second-fastest 500m of all-time on Friday
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit
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VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. -- One of the country's favorite meets is back at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
The eighth annual VA Showcase, which has been the home to a handful of national and state records over the years, kicked off Friday with plenty of action.
Even from the start of the day, many U.S. No. 1 performances arose in the sprints but there were other memorable moments throughout the day.
Below are MileSplit's top highlights from the first day of the VA Showcase.
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adidas Qualifier Girls 200m Prelims: Olivia Pace set the stage for Saturday's finals, securing her spot with a 24.50 prelims, the fastest among all competitors. McKenzie Travis, who was in the same heat, disqualified after false-starting. Juliana Balon, a Miami recruit, was second-fastest in the prelims, going 24.89, while Alex Hopkins was third in 24.92. A total of four girls went under 25 seconds.
adidas Qualifier Boys 200m Prelims: Wesley Todd led all athletes in the qualifying section, scoring a top time of 21.92 seconds. Le'Ezra Brown, moving over from his 55mH race, made easy work with his section in 21.97, while Micah Walker followed with the third-fastest race in heat seven in 22.05.
Girls 55mH Prelims: Battlefield's Ava Rice signaled her arrival in the national pecking order on Friday. She ran 8.05 in the prelims to clock a new U.S. No. 7 time and stamp her ticket as the top seed on Saturday. But she was equaled, too. Bullis School's Kennedy Flynn also flew across the line in 8.05, and so did Rolesville's Joslyn Hamilton.
Boys 55mH Prelims: The man to beat left no doubters on Friday, clocking a time of 7.40 to claim the fastest-qualifier into Saturday's action. Le'Ezra Brown, a junior form Dudley, was second in 7.44, while Micah Hinton of Western Branch was third in 7.45.
Girls 55m Prelims: One U.S. No. 1 time went down, then came another. It made for a thrilling matchup set for the final on Saturday, with Fort Myers Evangelical Christian School's McKenzie Travis going up against Westerville Central's Olivia Pace. Travis bumped the No. 1 time down to 6.85 in the last heat, while Pace re-set the barrier two heats earlier in 6.91. Both represent PRs for each athlete. Rolesville's (NC) Joslyn Hamilton was the third athlete to go under seven seconds, clocking a time of 6.96.
Unseeded Girls 1,600m: Howard's Claire Sivitz ran the top time out of the unseeded sections, claiming a time of 5:13.86.
Unseeded Boys 1,600m: Landstown's Darryl Hawkins scored the unseeded section's fastest effort in 4:26.48.
Race Of The Day
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The Boys 1-Mile Championship
Winning time: 4:13.59
Monticello's Bazil Mathes took charge early, rushing through the first 409 meter split in 61-seconds, but when the race cooled down just past the 1,000 meter mark, Athens Drive senior Noah Valyo took over, managing the race as others chased.
It became an absolute mad-house over the final 200 meters, as Valyo was forced to hold off a rush of contenders over the final 100 meters.
Gainesville's Trent Daniels, Mathews, South County's Nayan Kasperowski and Governor Thomas' James Partlow all made swift moves to take on Valyo ...but it was for naught, as the NC State held them off with a final time of 4:13.59.
Runner-Up Nomination
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The Girls 55m Prelims
Top Prelim: U.S. No. 1 time of 6.91 seconds
Fort Myers Evangelical Christian's McKenzie Travis did not play around in her qualifying section on Friday. After getting DQ'ed from her 200m earlier in the day, she blazed out of the blocks in her final race, securing a new U.S. No. 1 time of 6.91 seconds.
Stat Of The Day
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32.60
The final 200 meter split of Logan St. John Kletter's mile race at The VA Showcase, one that saw her claim a new U.S. No. 1 time of 4:48.08
Fastest Kid In The U.S.: Kingston Hamilton, a 9-year-old from Chesapeake, won the section with a time of 27.71. Hot on his heels, though, was 9-year-old Autumn Gregory in an identical 27.71.
USATF Girls 60m Prelims: The high school stars came out for this one. It was Mia Brahe-Pedersen leading the pack with a U.S. No. 1 7.28, while Adaejah Hodge ran 7.31 and Brianna Selby followed in 7.32. All three will be in the finals.
Invitational Boys SHR: Fordham Prep, the reigning Nike Indoor Nationals champions, won in a U.S. No. 1 time of 29.89.
Championship Girls 4x400: A group of all underclassmen the Montverde Academy girls clocked a winning time of 3:50.36 behind the efforts of Nakira Hudson, Da'Asia Duncan, Dasia Reed and Elise Dickinson.
Championship Boys 4x400: The Bullis School boys -- without Quincy Wilson -- ran a top time of 3:17.23, proving it's 'Next Man Up' in Bullis Land.
Invitational Girls SHR: The Bullis School girls, behind the efforts of Kennedy Flynn, Solai Russell, Gabby White and Kassidy Hopkins, won with a U.S. No. 1 time of 32.09.
Invitational Girls DMR: Padua Academy claimed the title in 12:25.76.
Invitational Boys DMR: Salesianum, behind a 4:19 anchor, won in 10:35.35.
Invitational Girls Mile: Logan St. John Kletter, the rising Mount Lebanon star, put on the jets in the final 200m and won in a new U.S. No. 1 time of 4:48.09. Cuthbertson's Charlotte Bell was second in 4:49.89 and her teammate Justine Preisano was third in 4:51.22.
Invitational Boys Mile: Athens Drive's Noah Valyo held off a wild last charge over the final 100m to win in 4:13.59 -- the last 200m split was 28 seconds. Gainesville's Trent Daniels was second in 4:13.81, while Bazil Mathes, who led out the race over the first 800m, was third in 4:14.06.
MVP Of The Day
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Quincy Wilson, Bullis School
Scored a U.S. No. 2 time of 1:01.27 in the 500m
What can't Quincy do?
The Bullis School (MD) superstar came up just two-hundredths of a second shy of the national record of 1:01.25 -- though it's not like anyone cared, anyway.
Wilson is just a sophomore ...and he was running in just his third 500m ever.
This was the best performance of Friday.
Wilson displayed preternatural composure over the last 100 meters -- in a race that requires patience -- and was able to walk away with an all-time moment.
There's no other way of saying it: Quincy is special.
Invitational Girls 300m: Archbishop Carroll's Jasmine Sharps clapped her hands in joy after securing a top time of 38.43 out of the heats. Top section leader Tyler Lowe won her heat, but finished second in 38.46.
Invitational Boys 300m: IMG Academy's Caine Stanley performed admirably over the distance, using his speed endurance to claim a top time of 33.33. Montverde's Jayvian Greene was second in 33.67. Hayfield Second's James Long was third in 34.13 out of the heats.
Invitational Boys 500m: See above. William Hough's Tim Brown was second in 1:02.69, while Max D'Angelo was third in 1:03.62.
USATF Girls 500m: Montverde Academy's Alivia Williams withstood the last few meters better than her competitors, claiming a win in 1:13.11 -- a top 40 all-time performance. Bullis School's Morgan Rothwell was second in 1:13.95, while Montverde's Michelle Smith was third in 1:14.31.
USATF Girls 200m: Mia Brahe-Pedersen shook off any doubt and captured the second sub-23 performance of her career, clocking a time of 22.92 seconds. Considering it's only January, the moment was adequately momentous. Montverde Acdemy's Skyler Franklin was second in 24.77.
USATF Girls 300m: Montverde Academy's Adaejah Hodge held on for a U.S. No. 4 all-time performance of 36.97, becoming just the fourth girl all-time to go under 37 seconds in the event. And she was running the distance for the first time in her career. Bullis School's Sydney Sutton was second in 37.39. Lake Oswego's Josie Donelson was third in 37.89.
Racewalk: Reagan's Paige Askew scored the girls win in 10:41.46, while The Potomac School's Matt Brow won the boys race in 8:09.49.
Quote Of The Day
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"It's an Olympic year. I want to be an Olympian." |
Mia Brahe-Pedersen, Lake Oswego (OR) senior
When asked about how she sees the future of 2024 in front of her
Photos Of The Day
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Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit
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* Quincy Wilson ran the second-fastest 500m of all-time on Friday
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit