State track: Landstown girls, Western Branch boys complete indoor-outdoor sweep

NEWPORT NEWS

The Western Branch boys and Landstown girls completed a clean sweep of the high school track season on Saturday as each team won Group AAA state outdoor titles.

Both teams also won state indoor titles in March.

The victory was sweet revenge for both programs.

Last season, Western Branch lost the title to Deep Creek by two points. But this season, the Bruins scored more than enough points to win the title. They finished with 62 points, followed by Bethel (45) and Douglas Freeman (36).

“When you come to the state meet, you have to perform,” said Bruins coach Claude Toukene about Western Branch’s first state outdoor title since 1998. “That’s the time that it really counts. It wasn’t pretty but I’ll take it.”

Landstown has been in the mix for the team state title the last three seasons.

Two years ago, the Eagles tied Deep Creek for the team title. And last season, Landstown lost to Deep Creek by three points.

“Last year we didn’t have a 400 relay and that hurt,” said junior Marlena Wesh. “But we worked really hard this season and it paid off. We didn’t think we’d win the indoor title but we knew we were going to win the outdoor title because of our depth.”

Wesh was right because Landstown scored 94 points to easily win the meet. Grassfield was second with 38 points and Booker T. Washington was third with 37. Western Branch was fourth with 34.5 points.

Wesh, a junior, was a major reason for the Eagles’ success. She won the 100 meters in 11.86 and the 200 in 23.97, just missing the meet records of 11.73 and 23.79 set by Stonewall Jackson’s Kim Graham in 1989.

Wesh, along with Olivia Hutchins, Leah Brown and Cierra McGee, also led Landstown to victory in the 400 relay.

McGee also had good day. She won the 400 meters in 55.05 and anchored the victorious 1,600 relay, which included Kelnesha Hinnant, Taylor Wheaton and Wesh’s sister, Diane.

“We knew if we just ran to our ability that everything would take care of itself,” said the North Carolina-bound McGee.

Wheaton was third in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 300 hurdles, while Hutchins was eighth in both hurdle races. Hinnant was third in the 400, Brown was fifth in the 100 and Diane Wesh was eighth in the 400.

But all of the Eagles agreed that the surprising victory by Hinnant, Stephanie Frenchik, Samira Johnson and Amira Chowyuk in the 3,200 relay on Friday night set the tone for the rest of the meet.

“We started off really well and we knew we had to finish strong,” said thrower Jessica Williams, who finished second in the discus and seventh in the shot.

Western Branch got another big day from cousins Tory Womack and Kevin Newsome in their hunt for the title.

Womack, a senior, won the 100 meters in 10.81 and the 200 in 21.59. Both times he had to come from behind in the final meters to catch Keith Ricks of King’s Fork at the finish line. Womack won the 100 by four-hundredths of a second and the 200 by one one-hundredth.

“I knew I could catch him,” he said. “I just had to stay relaxed. So it was a good day. I can’t complain.”

Newsome won the 110 hurdles in 14.15.

“I know a lot of people doubted me because I didn’t run well at district and region,” said Newsome, a standout quarterback in football. “But I wasn’t in shape then because of training for football. But this week I worked really hard to get ready.”

Womack and Newsome also were instrumental in the Bruins’ title run at the state indoor meet when Womack won the 55 meters and Newsome the 55 hurdles.

Newsome and Womack also teamed with Jeffrey Artis and Olimas Robison to help the Bruins finish runner-up to Nansemond River in the 400 relay. Artis also was second in the 110 hurdles, fifth in the long and triple jumps, and eighth in the 300 hurdles. Daniel Nix also contributed by placing fifth in the 400 and sixth in the 200.

South Hampton Road boys teams have now won seven of the last eight state outdoor titles and nine of the last 12.

Larry Rubama, (757) 446-2273 or larry.rubama@pilotonline.com