While one Cougar athlete was at Virginia Beach, the remainder of the team traveled to Virginia Military Institute Saturday, January 13, to take part in the Walt Cormack Invitational.
Cougar sophomore Cole Boone took on the challenge of the VA Showcase Invitational at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Against some of the toughest competition in the country, Boone took first place in the 1,000-meter race, setting a new personal record and breaking the current 2023 indoor national record with his time of 2:28.73.
“Cole went out and accomplished several things we were wanting,” Assistant Coach Hannah Alexander said. “First, we want him to be the national #1 this season and second, to run fast. This was his first 1,000 since last year’s state meet and while we have some things to iron out, I am more than confident he will be ready to put on a show in the post season.”
Meanwhile, back at VMI, his teammates put in a solid day of work in the field, running, and jumping events.
For the Lady Cougars, several athletes were able to make a mark.
Nadia Jackson had the busiest day with recognition in four events. She took 12th place in the long jump with a leap of 15’ 7.5”. She took 12th in the 300-meter race with a time of 44.06. She finished 14th in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.74. She took 30th in the triple jump at 28’ 11”.
Victoria Hale finished 26th in the triple jump at 30’ 3”. She followed that up with 26th place in the long jump (14’ .5”) and 27th in the 55-meter hurdles (7.95).
Kahlan Dishon finished 11th overall in the shot put with a throw of 29’ 6.5”. Dani Carroll finished 40th in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 3:45.84. Chloe Duncan took 53rd in the 1,000 with a time of 4:21:75. Olivia King took 39th in the 55-meter hurdles at 11.16. Sara Ritter finished 60th in the 300-meter race with a time of 52.47.
The girls 4x200-meter relay team of Hale, Jackson, King, and Ritter took 17th in that race with a time of 1:56.53. The 4x400-meter relay team of King, Hale, Duncan, and Carroll finished 26th with a time of 5:05.15.
For the boy’s team, Bryant Nottingham took seventh place in the high jump with his 5’6” effort. He also took 13th in the triple jump (39’ 4”), 17th in the long jump (19’ 0”), and 26th in the 300-meter race (38.30).
Joel Burchett III took 24th in the 300-meter with a time of 38.20. He also finished 32nd in the 55-meter race at 6.98.
Kaleb Sartin finished 22nd in the long jump (18’ 8”) and 44th in the 55-meter race (7.10).
Aiden Moore took 21st in the shot put with his throw of 39’ 10.25”. Anius Slaughter was 28th in the shot put at 37’ 5.5”. Tanner Linkous took 36th in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 5:00.57. Silas Sweet finished 42nd in the 500-meter at 1:15.33. Josh Sechrist finished 62nd in the 1,000-meter race at 3:14.19. Landon Clark finished 60th in the 1,600-meter with his time of 5:31.39.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Nottingham, Linkous, Sweet, and Burchett took 23rd in that event with their time of 3:53.46.
“Our first meet of the new year brought lots of personal records and improvements from our athletes,” Coach Alexander said. “Several had big breakthroughs in their events which showed us that they are on the right track to perform big at the regional and state meet. They brought incredible energy throughout the day!”
The Cougars and Lady Cougars will be back in action, weather permitting, Saturday, January 20, when they go to Blacksburg for the Polar Bear meet beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 27th, the team will be at Liberty University. Saturday, February 3, will find the teams at Roanoke College.
(VMI photos by Antonio Nottingham)