Hargrove Leads Marshall High Track

Reigning team Most Valuable Player and 2003-04 Female Statesmen Athlete of the Year, sophomore Jacqueline Hargrove finally got to compete in her full allotment of events. Hargrove showed no rust from the summer and fall layoff, dominating the competition and winning three events, placing second in one and led off the relay team that narrowly lost to Madison. Her time of 42.54 in the 300m dash was an automatic qualifying time for the Northern Virginia Regional championship and the times and marks in the 55m (7.84), long jump (15-ft. 8.75-in.) and high jump (4-ft. 8-in.) exceeded the Liberty District championship standards.

Sophomore Shannon McVey showed great promise last week as a member of the winning 4x400m relay and lead off leg on the “B” team in the 4x200m relay. However, this week she got her chance to display her individual skills and the result was a fourth place finish and a Liberty District championship qualifying mark of 45.04 in the 300m dash.

Junior Melissa MacNabb had another impressive double personal best in the 1000m and 1600m run including a second place finish in the shorter race. MacNabb lowered her 1600m personal best (6:04.94) by an amazing 24 seconds and the 1000m (3:29.84) by eighteen 18 seconds. Fellow long distance runner freshman Ana Tapia also had a wonderful day with a 23-second and 12-second improvement in the 1600m (6:27.04) and 1000m (3:48.84), respectively.

Equally impressive was sophomore Liza Menarini, who dropped a remarkable 3/4 of a second off her best time in the 55m hurdles to grab third in the meet. Menarini’s time of 10.54 narrowly missed the Liberty District qualifying mark of 10.42 and tied her for the team lead with fellow sophomore Gina Cappiello, who was absent due to injuries.

For the second week in a row, sophomore Lauren Byrne had a top three performance in the shot put. Her mark of 25-ft. 8.5-in. secured a third in the meet. Sophomore Carolyn Klingelhofer competing in the high jump for the first time this week showed that this could be the beginning of something special. She cleared two heights to finish sixth with a 4-ft. 2-in. clearance. Other top-six performances were sophomore Elizabeth “Blair” Monroe (fourth in the 500m; 1:32.24) and junior Kelly Wieneck (fifth in the 500m; 1:33.24).

The girl’s team is filled with youth, however experienced veterans, seniors Andrew Coatsworth and Steven Friend and junior Theo Robinson were the leaders on the boy’s side. Each member grabbed two top-six finishes in the long jump and high jump. While Coatsworth went out first in the high jump in sixth place (5-ft. 4-in.), he beat Robinson to the result table with his second-place Liberty District qualifying mark of 19-ft. 4.25-in. in the long jump. Robinson collected his second-place finish in the high jump (5-ft. 8-in.) after completing his long jump event in fifth place with a 17-ft. 9.5-in. mark. Friend unfortunately competed in the same events as his teammates and had to settle for two fourth place finishes in the high jump (5-ft. 4-in.) and long jump (18-ft. 1.75-in.).

On the track, the distance runners represented with six top finishes with junior sprinter Joel Ryan sneaking into the mix with third-place finish in the 500m dash (1:15.14). Sophomore Jason Pennington and senior Michael Eckard bounced back from a rough start to the season with impressive runs in the 1000m run. Pennington lowered his personal best from last week by 10 seconds (2:53.64) and Eckard dipped below three minutes for the second time in his career (2:59.74). Sophomore Alex Crvk and freshman William “Alex” Haugh continued to show signs that they will make their first indoor season a special one. Crvk captured third (5:18.44) and Haugh was right behind in fourth (5:20.54) in the 1600m run. The foursome was also part of the third place 4x800m relay team that climbed into the top 15 in the region (9:13.34). Sophomore Kevin Gollogley collected another top-six finish in the 1000m run (3:10.24).

Junior Brandon White continued his return to the shot put and indoor track and field for the first time by placing in the top five for the second week in a row with a personal best of 37-ft 5.25-in. This week there wasn’t any running involved, unlike last week when he teamed with fellow shot put teammates sophomores Steven White, Allan Sidley and Brian Ritchey to compete in the Clydesdale 4x200m against Yorktown and Madison. The team finished second in 2:25.24.

The team will next compete at the F.I.T Invitational in Landover, Maryland during the Christmas Break on Jan. 28.