By Zach Long
Thomas Dale Track: In his three years coaching track and field at Thomas Dale, Coach Jay Price said that he had more athletes qualify for the 6A South Regional than ever before. His team competed at the regional meet in Hampton over the weekend and did not disappoint. A.J. Lazaro broke the school record in the 55 meter hurdles, running 7.55 seconds and took fourth place in the event. Lazaro also finished fourth in the triple jump. The Knights were the only team to have two boys make the finals in the 55-meter dash. Chris Tyree finished fifth, and Kamron Bonner finished tenth. Michael Bailey finished eighth in the high jump, and Treshawn jones finished ninth in the long jump. Titiana Marsh continued her quest to tear up the record books with the second-longest long jump in state history, with a 20 feet,1 inch. She also placed first in the triple jump, and fourth in the high jump. Marsh also made the finals in the 55 hurdles, placing seventh. Asia Giles made two finals in the 55 and 300, placing twelfth and thirteenth.
Matoaca Wrestling: They always say “You can’t win ‘em’ all.” Matoaca did not win their fourth straight 5A state championship over the weekend, but they still proved they are among the best on the mat at the state level. As a team the Warriors finished sixth, scoring 74 points. Last week, Matoaca had three champions at the 5A South Regional, and they all managed to make the podium at states. Brandon Woody (120) won by decision in the finals to win his second 5A state championship. His first came in 2015. Noah Roulo (132) won by decision as well for a 5A state championship. Following his older brother Blake, Noah was the second wrestler in the family to take home an individual state championship. Sam Braswell (113) managed to win the third-place match after losing by fall in the semifinals. With the added two this year, Matoaca now has 17 all-time individual state champions, a big number for such an honor. The Warriors will look to come back as a state power again next year and pursue their fourth state championship in five years.
Meadowbrook’s Javonte Tuppince and Thomas Dale’s Bake Correa both competed at the state level as well this past weekend. Tuppince (220) competed at 5A states for the Monarchs and won his first match. He then fell to the eventual champion John Birchmeier of Broad Run by an 8-5 decision. Correa (138) competed in the 6A state championship for the Knights. Like Tuppince, he also also won his first match, but lost to the eventual champion, Aidan Murphy of Ocean Lakes.
