View Photo Gallery
As Saturday’s portion of the Central Region Championship Indoor Track Meet got underway, team scores were tight and they remained close throughout the day.
With the bulk of the running events coming up, teams looked to their short- and long-distance specialists to boost them into the upper echelons. The Atlee boys’ and Lee-Davis girls’ squads both got their surge from distance and relay races. The Lady Confederates took second with 80 points while Atlee earned first on the boys’ side with 62.5 points.

The Raiders clung to second place with the competition winding down, but with the 3,200-meter event yet to come, the team knew they still had a chance at the overall title. Atlee qualified three runners in the top flight, which meant all three had a good chance of scoring points.

Ben Dejarnette and Andrew Catanese paced the field for most of the race, opening a half-track lead with five of 22 laps remaining. The pair ran together and Dejarnette stepped into a team role of encouraging his friend, having already qualified for the VHSL State AAA Championship.

“I was just trying to pace him basically, and with the team points being as close as it was, I wanted to help him through the race and try to get him into second,” Dejarnette said afterward. “He almost made it … he ran well.”
Cantanese ran out of steam in the final lap finishing fourth ahead of Raider teammate Andy Hesse. Meanwhile Dejarnette took off to defend a surge from Deep Run’s Booth Hornsby. Dejarnette finished three seconds ahead with a time of 9:56.66 to Hornsby’s 9:59.73.

Dejarnette was also on the winning 4x800-meter relay team along with teammates Devon Richardson, Wes Steenburgh and Logan O’Day Friday night, which is where the team was focused for the weekend.

“The goal for [the 4x800] was to win and we did so that was the focus of my weekend … Today … I just wanted to take care of business and help the team out where I could,” Dejarnette said.

Atlee was also bolstered by a second place finish by Isaiah Woodson in the triple jump. He hit a distance of 44 feet.

On the girls’ side, Lee-Davis found their toughest competition in Deep Run.
“It seemed like no matter how well we were doing there was always a Dobbs or someone from Deep Run right there with us,” Lee-Davis head coach Neil Matthews said. “The girls’ ran very well, and I am proud of them.”

The Lady Confederates maintained second throughout most of the day Saturday. A second-place finish by the 4x800-meter relay team Friday night gave the team momentum going into Saturday and Montasia Golden started Saturday’s running events out right with a second-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles. She also finished first (43.82) in the 300-meter dash, beating out Deep Runs Julia Drapac (43.84) by just two-100ths of a second.

Amanda Lineberry and Jackie Ferrance paced the team in distance events, finishing second (5:15.14) and fourth (5:18.78), respectively in the 1,600-meter run. Lineberry also finished fourth (3:09.98) in the 1,000-meter run. Stephanie Cario took second (11:27.08) in the 3,200-meter run and the team of Tiel Westbrook, Jessica Ravensbergen, Jessie Spence and Golden finished first (4:20.35) in the 4x400-meter relay.

“I think for the girls’ who had already qualified for states, they still wanted to win a regional title. They were focused, and we had some great races today,” Matthews said. “We’ll go back and get ready for next week.”

Top six competitors in each individual race and top three in the relay races earned a spot in the state competition which is slated for Feb. 27 and 28 at the Boo Williams Sports Complex in Hampton. Those qualifiers are as follows:

Girls’ State Qualifiers

Long jump: 1. Amber Pierson, Prince George; 2. Elaine Derricott, Henrico; 3. Briana Hudson, Deep Run; 4. Nadia Natt, Hopewell; 5. Brandy Williams, J.R. Tucker; 6. Siobhan Ford-Holland.
Triple jump: 1. Jasia Richardson, J.R. Tucker; 2. Elaine Derricott, Henrico; 3. Siobhan Ford-Holland, Thomas Dale; 4. Briana Hudson, Deep Run; 5. Montasia Golden, Lee-Davis; 6. Candice Hairston, Manchester.
High jump: 1. Briana Hudson, Deep Run; 2. Sarah Fulgham, Thomas Dale; 3. Elaine Derricott, Henrico; 4. Kate Glotfelty, Matoaca; 5. Lauren Schoenborn, Douglas Freeman; 6. Montasia Golden, Lee-Davis.
Shot put: 1. Kristen Greene, Thomas Dale; 2. Elise King, Manchester; 3. Elaine Derricott, Henrico; 4. Allison Foster, Douglas Freeman; 5. Dillon McGhee, Atlee; 6. Latticia Moore, Prince George.
Pole vault: 1. Emma Dejarnette, Atlee; 2. Lizzie Powell, Patrick Henry; 3. (tie) Stephanie Oleson, Henrico and Sydney Hobart, Patrick Henry; 5. Caitlin Walton, Mills Godwin; 6. Brittany Malnar, Dinwiddie.
4x800-meter relay: 1. Deep Run; 2. Lee-Davis; 3. Mills Godwin.
55-meter hurdles: 1. Erica Perkins, Manchester; 2. Montasia Golden, Lee-Davis; 3. ShayQuante Hawley, Hermitage; 4. Jessie Ferguson, Patrick Henry; 5. Brie Jackson, Lee-Davis; 6. Raven Singleton, Matoaca.
55-meter dash: 1. Shyra Molton, Patrick Henry; 2. Ciarre Morris, Meadowbrook; 3. Angela Harris, Meadowbrook; 4. Mary Allen, John Marshall; 5. Maria Warith, Varina; 6. Shaniquia Epps, Hermitage.
4x200-meter relay: 1. Patrick Henry; 2. Meadowbook; 3. Atlee.
1,600-meter run: 1. Erica Dobbs, Deep Run; 2. Amanda Lineberry, Lee-Davis; 3. Courtney Dobbs, Deep Run; 4. Jackie Ferrance, Lee-Davis; 5. Amanda Tomlin, Prince George; 6. Krista Willard, Midlothian.
500-meter dash: 1. Desi Scott, Prince George; 2. Faith Sykes, L.C. Bird; 3. Caroline Turner, Deep Run; 4. Ellen Upton, Mills Godwin; 5. Shukeia Donaldson, Huguenot; 6. Aubrie Ewell, James River.
1,000-meter run: 1. Paige Johnston; 2. Anna Spiers, Maggie Walker; 3. Erica Dobbs, Deep Run; 4. Amanda Lineberry, Lee-Davis; 5. Caroline Gecker, James River; 6. Taylor Clevinger, Hanover.
300-meter dash: 1. Montasia Golden, Lee-Davis; 2. Julia Drapac, Deep Run; 3. Shyra Molton, Patrick Henry; 4. Angela Harris, Meadowbrook; 5. Ciarre Morris, Meadowbrook; 6. Amber Pierson, Prince George.
3,200-meter run: 1. Amy Witt, Midlothian; 2. Stephanie Cario, Lee-Davis; 3. Madalyn Nuckols, Deep Run; 4. Susannah Pierson, Maggie Walker; 5. Courtney Dobbs, Deep Run; 6. Claire Benjamin, Midlothian.
4x200-meter relay: 1. Lee-Davis; 2. Mills Godwin; 3. Deep Run.
Team rankings: 1. Deep Run, 95; 2. Lee-Davis, 80; 3. Patrick Henry, 47; 4. (tie) Manchester and Midlothian, 35; 6. Henrico, 33.5; 7. Meadowbrook, 31; 8. Prince George, 30; 9. Mills Godwin, 28; 10. Thomas Dale, 27; 11. Atlee, 23; 12. Maggie Walker, 21; 13. J.R. Tucker, 14; 14. Douglas Freeman, 12; 15. Hermitage, 9; 16. (tie) L.C. Bird and Matoaca, 8; 18. (tie) James River, Varina, Clover Hill and Hopewell, 7; 22. John Marshall, 5; 23. (tie) Dinwiddie and Huguenot, 4; 25. (tie) Hanover and Colonial Heights, 3; 27. Highland Springs, 1.5.

Boys’ State Qualifiers

Long jump: 1. Michael Brooks-Richardson, Henrico; 2. Shamarie Rose, Petersburg; 3. Rakeem Crockett, Armstrong; 4. Domico Phillips, Meadowbrook; 5. Dejon Jones, Highland Springs; 6. Joshua McCormick, Douglas Freeman.
Triple jump: 1. Quintaze Jackson, Dinwiddie; 2. Isaiah Woodson, Atlee; 3. Wesley Benitez, Matoaca; 4. Tory Scott, Mills Godwin; 5. Tim Cousins, Hermitage; 6. Joseph Thomas, Cosby.
High jump: 1. Garrett Tyler, Meadowbrook; 2. Isaiah Cos, Matoaca; 3. Mandela Stephens, Hermitage; 4. Bryan Yates, Prince George; 5. Marques Atkinson, Atlee; 6. Clark Thornhill, Douglas Freeman.
Shot put: 1. Anthony Davis, Clover Hill; 2. Thomas Fuson, Deep Run; 3. Samuel Hartman, Thomas Dale; 4. Fareed Saluiman, Highland Springs; 5. Christopher Lusk, Cosby; 6. Elliot Barr, Huguenot.
Pole vault: 1. Matthew Armentrout, Deep Run; 2. Joseph Taylor, Prince George; 3. Chris Pillow, Atlee; 4. Patrick Dietrick, Douglas Freeman; 5. Eric Spott; Lee-Davis; 6. (tie) Eric Zwarycz, Mills Godwin and Michael Harris, Atlee.
4x800-meter relay: 1. Atlee; 2. Maggie Walker; 3. Douglas Freeman.
55-meter hurdles: 1. Aaron Harris, Patrick Henry; 2. Darian Brown, Highland Springs; 3. Devron Harris, Manchester; 4. Eric Addison, Douglas Freeman; 5. Cory Callis, Manchester; 6. Bryan Yates, Prince George.
55-meter dash: 1. Mitchell Shifflett, Cosby; 2. Marquis Bagby, Petersburg; 3. Garth Bowan, John Marshall; 4. Quenton Haynes, James River; 5. DreQuan Hoskey, Henrico; 6. Joseph Thomas, Cosby.
4x200-meter relay: 1. John Marshall; 2. Cosby; 3. Henrico.
1,600-meter run: 1. Braden Burleigh, Midlothian; 2. Cody Snyder, Lee-Davis; 3. Booth Hornsby, Deep Run; 4. Grant Pollock, Mills Godwin; 5. Justin Kendall, L.C. Bird; 6. Craig Cilley, Douglas Freeman.
500-meter dash: 1. Dominic Costanzo, Mills Godwin; 2. Eric Prince, Mills Godwin; 3. Ben Watson, Maggie Walker; 4. Derrick Gray, Hermitage; 5. Brandon Layne, Highland Springs; 6. Anderson Bertrand, L.C. Bird.
1,000-meter run: 1. Alec Ward, Douglas Freeman; 2. Devin Lacks, Varina; 3. Greg Kaczka, Deep Run; 4. Jason Thorpe, Manchester; 5. Travis Dawson, Lee-Davis; 6. Devon Richardson, Atlee.
300-meter dash: 1. Mitchell Shifflett, Cosby; 2. Quenton Haynes, James River; 3. Wesley Hurd, J.R. Tucker; 4. Dwayne Ferguson, Patrick Henry; 5. Dejon Jones, Highland Springs; 6. Raquaam Smith, Henrico.
3,200-meter run: 1. Ben Dejarnette, Atlee; 2. Booth Hornsby, Deep Run; 3. Jake Zimmerman, L.C. Bird; 4. Andrew Catanese, Atlee; 5. Andy Hesse, Atlee; 6. Silas Frantz, Douglas Freeman.
4x200-meter relay: 1. Douglas Freeman; 2. John Marshall; 3. Mills Godwin.
Team results: 1. Atlee, 62.5; 2. Douglas Freeman, 58; 3. Deep Run, 48; 4. Mills Godwin, 40.5; 5. Cosby, 38; 6. Highland Springs, 26; 7. (tie) John Marshall, Henrico and Manchester, 25; 10. (tie) Lee-Davis and Patrick Henry, 21; 12. Hermitage, 19; 13. Petersburg, 18; 14. James River, 17; 15. (tie) Maggie Walker and Prince George, 16; 17. Meadowbrook, 15; 18. Matoaca, 14; 19. L.C. Bird, 13; 20. Clover Hill, 12; 21. (tie) Midlothian and Dinwiddie, 10; 23. (tie) Varina and J.R. Tucker, 9; 25. Thomas Dale, 8; 26. Armstrong, 6; 27. Huguenot, 3.

Sara Page is Sports Editor of the Midlothian Exchange.