Photo by Jon Fleming
The James River track team will send a large group to Harrisonburg this weekend for the state Class 2 track meet. James Madison University will host the Class 1&2 state meets on Friday and Saturday.
The River girls were fourth and the boys were sixth at last week’s Region 2C meet at Christiansburg High School. The Floyd girls and Glenvar boys won the meet and the top four in each event advance to the state meet, along with others who prequalified.
For the girls, River senior Emma Francis swept the shot put and discus events. Emma won the discus by almost 10 feet with a throw of 103’ 10” and took the shot put at 37’9”, which was over eight feet better than second place.
Sophomore Kelsey Firebaugh was second in both the 100 and 200, as Ricky Mitchell-Hairston won both events. Firebaugh was edged in the 100 in 0.26 seconds and in the 200 by 0.36 seconds. River teammate Kaia Binns, a freshman, qualified for state in both events with a third in the 200 and a fourth in the 100 meters.
River’s Naveah VanBuren was third in both the high jump and discus and fifth in the long jump. Emma Bobbitt made the state with a fourth in the shot and also scored with a fifth in the discus. Kyleigh Mills was fifth in the 400 and Ella Hutchens took sixth in the shot put. River’s 4×100 relay team of Firebaugh, Binns, VanBuren and Mills was fourth.
For the boys, George Toliver won the shot put with a heave of 46’7”, winning by over three feet. Brian Moran took second in the high jump, fourth in both the triple and long jumps and fifth in the 200 meters.
Michael Jorgensen was third in both the 1,600 and 3,200 while Conner Church was fourth in the 100 and sixth in the 200. The 4×100 relay team of Church, Moran, Gavin Binns and Walker Wilson took third.
Also scoring were Andrew Fowler with a fifth in the discus and Binns with an eighth in the 100 meters.
