TRACK & FIELD: Eastside girls, Rural Retreat boys earn Region 1D crowns (copy)
EMORY, Va. – The names have changed for the Eastside Spartans girls track and field team, but the victories keep coming.
With a team score of 108, Eastside won its third straight Region 1D title on Saturday at Emory & Henry.
“The story has been a little different every year,” Eastside head coach Joel Davis said. “We knew that we had make up points in the field events today, but we were able to overcome a big deficit.”
Patrick Henry finished second with 88 points with Chilhowie (81) in third.
“Chilhowie and Patrick Henry have great programs. We don’t compete in the pole vault, but we had lot of girls step up and give us points we had to have,” Davis said.
The familiar headliner for the Spartans was Shelby Stanley. The senior relied on her speed and strength to claim the 800 and 1,600.
“Winning three regionals in a row means to lot, especially to our seniors,” Stanley said. “We didn’t have many kids on the team a few years ago. It’s been awesome to see more athletes come out and develop such a close bond. We’ve all pushed each other to reach this point.”
Stanley plans to attend Liberty University as a student.
“I’m excited to see what we can do at state,” Stanley said. “That will be the last meet for the seniors, so we want to have fun.”
The Spartans won the 2025 regional meet as current UVA Wise athlete Jocelyn Aldrich captured four events and Stanley won two.
Five-foot-four Katie Williams was another key to Saturday’s conquest as she collected points in five events.
“This has been one of the best days of life,” Williams said. “It was rainy, but that didn’t stop us. Track is a big sport at Eastside and we work hard at it.”
Stanley is the emotional leader of the Spartans.
“Shelby has motivated me since my freshman year and she still motivates me every day in practice,” Williams said. "Shelby pushed all of us to be to best we can.”
Eastside also recorded a pair of wins in the relay events.
Holston sophomore Zyleigh Hayden was the queen of speed with victories in the 100, 200 and 400.
“It was definitely not one of my strongest performances,” Hayden said. “I woke up not feeling great and had a fight a headwind during each race.”
Hayden won the 100 and 200 in last year’s regional meet.
“My coaches have helped me through every step of the way,” Hayden said. “I’ve also focused on keeping a good mindset.
“I’m really hoping to win at least one event at state. And hopefully the competition will help me to bring my times down.”
PH earned wins from Andie Jarboe (shot put), Jazlynn Miller (100 hurdles) and Rayanna Neece in the pole vault. Chilhowie took the 4x100 relay.
Castlewood senior Anna Summers delivered one of top individual efforts with a winning throw of 108-11 in the discus.
Team Scores
Eastside 108, Patrick Henry 88, Chilhowie 81, Holston 50, Grundy 39, Rye Cove 36, Thomas Walker 27, Northwood 21, Twin Springs 18, J.I. Burton 16, Castlewood 14, Rural Retreat 8, Council 8
Individual Results
Shot Put – Andie Jarboe (PH), 33-00.50; Discus – Anna Summers (Castlewood), 108-11; High Jump – Jalynn Rogers (RC), 4-10; Pole Vault – Rayanna Neece (PH), 6-0; Long Jump – Paytyn Fulton (PH),16-05.50; Triple Jump – Channing Waldie (Northwood), 34-00.00; 100 – Zyleigh Hayden (Holston), 13.23; 200 – Zyleigh Hayden (Holston), 26.20; 400 - Zyleigh Hayden (Holston), 58.18; 800 – Shelby Stanley (Eastside), 2:29.57; 1600 – Shelby Stanley (Eastside), 5:39.84; 3200 – Amelia Lewis (TW), 12:53.60; 100 Hurdles – Jazlynn Miller (PH), 17.14; 300 Hurdles – Isabella Dingus (Twin Springs), 48.52; 4x100 Relay – Chilhowie (Hester, Jones, Heath, Bogle), 51.39; 4x400 – Eastside (Leach, McCoy, Johnson, Williams), 4:31.71; 800 Relay – Eastside (Salyer, McCoy, Leach, Stanley), 11:30.93
BOYS
Trey Ward, Rural Retreat
Make room for a new addition to the trophy case at Rural Retreat High School.
Behind a scrapbook worthy show from senior Trey Ward, the Indians compiled 130 points to capture the team title.
According to Rural Retreat coach J.B. Wright, the Indians had never won a regional title before in boys track.
“This is awesome,” Wright said. "The kids worked their tails off every day in practice and it paid off."
The glory run for Ward included victories in the long jump, triple jump, 100, 200 and 400.
“It was an alright day,” Ward said. “I’ve competed at this facility several times, and I really like it.
“I was able to break my school record (50.63) in the 400. My times in the 100 and 200 could have been a little better, but the wind was a factor.”
Ward estimates that he was won a total of 19 regional championships between indoor and outdoor track, including relays and events such as the 55, 300 and 500.
“It’s been a good career, and I’m always trying to get better,” Ward said.
Following the VHSL Class 1 state meet in two weeks at James Madison University, Ward plans to compete in track at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
There are a total of 21 athletes and seven seniors on the Rural Retreat roster. That depth was on display in a pair of relay wins.
“We won the district meet last year, and then lost to Patrick Henry at regionals,” Wright said. “That hurt our feelings pretty hard, so I recruited the halls of the school again and got some more kids. That put us over the edge for region.”
Wright convinced multi-sport athletes such as Chaz Penwright and four-time state wrestling champion Caleb Gibson to join that squad upon the completion of a wrestling season that ended with a state title.
“It helps having studs like Chaz and Caleb who have won championships,” Wright said. “They have scored a bunch of points for us.”
Hogoheegee District teams swept the top three positions as Chilhowie (120) and Patrick Henry (86) finished behind Rural Retreat.
“We had a dang good day,” second-year Chilhowie boys and girls coach Colby Martin said. “Our kids buy into the program and compete with pride for our school and community."
Martin ran track and field at Emory & Henry.
Chilhowie was powered by victories from Jackson Holbrook (discus), Bryson Kelly (3200) and Gabe Rouse in the 300 hurdles.
Junior Dallas Harner won the pole vault for Patrick Henry, which also took the 4x400 relay
Grundy senior Keyston Hartford swept the 800 and 1600, while Rye Cove junior strongman Ethan Lawson claimed the shot put with a heave of 48-01.50
BOYS
Team Scores
Rural Retreat 130, Chilhowie 120, Patrick Henry 86, Rye Cove 40, Grundy 35, Eastside 23, Northwood 21, J.I. Burton 21, Holston 20, Honaker 8, Thomas Walker 8, Twin Springs 7, Castlewood 6
Individual Results
Shot Put – Ethan Lawson (RC), 48-01.50; Discus – Jackson Holbrook (Chilhowie), 135-04; High Jump - Maverick Cress (RC), 5-11; Pole Vault – Dallas Harner (PH), 10-6; Long Jump - Trey Ward (RR), 20:07.25; Triple Jump – Trey Ward (RR), 40-06.75; 100 – Trey Ward (RR), 11.52; 200 – Trey Ward (RR), 23:09; 400 – Trey Ward (RR), 50.63; 800 - Keyston Hartford (Grundy), 2:04.57; 1600 – Keyston Hartford (Grundy), 4:45.99; 3200 – Bryson Kelly (Chilhowie), 11:27.60; 100 Hurdles – Payton Welch (Burton), 16.73; 300 Hurdles – Gabe Rouse (Chilhowie), 41.24; 4x100 Relay – Rural Retreat (Childers, Price, Penwright, Rollyson), 44.25; 4x400 Relay – Patrick Henry (Stanley, McCracken, Evans-Swanner, Harner), 3:37.19; 800 Relay – Rural Retreat (Gibson, Price, Badziev, Robinson), 9:25.96
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
