Class 3 state track recap: William Byrd’s DeShawn Austin has stellar performance

The William Byrd senior captured that one of course, in record-breaking fashion no less, but he powered his way to take the other two as well, going three for three on the day and finishing it with a trio of Class 3 state championships at Liberty University.

“I really came out and I just wanted to work hard,” Austin said. “For the 110 hurdles I’ve been in the mix of the group the whole time and I just wanted to come up to the top. And then for the long jump, same thing. I’ve been second or third, and I didn’t want second or third anymore. I wanted first.”

His day started off in the sand pit at the long jump. He entered the competition seeded fourth, trailing Abingdon’s Tyler Stanley by 7 inches and his own teammate, Ethan Haston, by 2 inches.

But with Haston absent, Austin was the lone representative from Vinton, and his leap of 23 feet, 2.5 inches was good enough to get past Stanley but a full foot.

Austin withdrew from the triple jump on Friday to get an injured ankle ready for the long jump. He recorded his top mark on his third try and did not make an attempt on his last, knowing he had already won.

“The ankle’s feeling good. I’ve iced it and stuff and made sure it’s all good and healthy for this,” he said. “I knew, especially coming into long jump, that if I took one jump, that was going to be it, so I really made sure to not take that chance, but it felt good while I was jumping. Everything just felt good, I listened to my coach and fixed my form.”

He then headed to the track where he, seeded second, captured the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.59 seconds, edging out Rustburg’s Alex Dunn by .01.

But the 300 hurdles is where he really surged, completing the race with a time of 36.74, breaking the meet record set in 2016 by Jaelen Williams of Phoebus by .14 seconds.

“I got out strong, trying to go out hard and maintain the whole way,” he said. “I came off the curve, I relaxed a little bit and then I picked it back up on the last straight. I was hoping to break the state record, but I still got a PR record. That’s more than enough for me.”

Christiansburg’s Haley nabs elusive state title

Before moving to North Carolina to attend Davidson College and join its Division I track and field team, Leila Haley had one goal to achieve first.

After third- and sixth-place finishes the last two years, the Christiansburg senior finally finished first in the 400, her favorite event, and earned her first outdoor state championship.

“I’ve been working towards this since I was in middle school. Running the 400 has always been my favorite, and to be able to win in it, it’s just unreal,” she said. “I was really telling myself, this is it. There’s no reason to hold back or to save any energy, because you never know what’s going to happen in that next race, so I just used it all right here and I’m so glad I did.”

Haley, who won the 300 and 500 state titles during the indoor track season, sat in fourth place at the final turn. But entering the final 200 meters, she turned on the jets. She finished in a time of 56.39 seconds, beating runner-up Danielle Hollington of York by 1.28 seconds.

“I was already a little nervous, and I heard my split and it was slower than normal, so I just knew in that last 200 I had to push and give all I had because this is my last 400 in my high school career,” she said. “And just being able to finish and hearing my dad scream across and telling me to go and all my coaches, it definitely made me want to go faster.”

Lowman reigns again in 3,200

Kiera Lowman was unbothered by the rain that started off the Class 3/4 track and field state championships Saturday morning. In fact, she preferred it.

The Alleghany junior roared ahead of the pack on the first lap and rode that lead to back-to-back state championships in the 3,200, winning the Class 3 title by more than 15 seconds.

“I actually love the rain, to run in the rain, so I thought it was perfect,” she said. “My dad was yelling at me like, there’s your rain, so honestly it was great. Humidity was a little rough, but nothing that any of these girls can’t handle.”

Lowman has battled the Dickel twins, Ashland and Hayley, in both track and cross-country for most of her career. This time, however, as well as last year, she owned the event, completing it in 10:46.70.

“We’ve gone back and forth this season. They’ve beaten me, I’ve beaten them,” she said. “They’re great athletes, I have nothing bad to say about them, so honestly they’re just great people to compete against, and honestly it just depends on who’s having a good day.”

Boone blisters to 2nd straight 800 title

Absent from the 1,600, an event in which he was seeded first, Pulaski County junior Cole Boone put all of his efforts into winning a second straight 800 state championship.

And he did just that in blazing fast speed, winning the race in 1:48.40.

Boone, who broke a national high school record in the 1,000 in March, won the state title by 7.06 seconds over runner-up Tanner Linkous, also a Pulaski County junior. Boone’s performance broke the meet record, set 11 years ago by Derek Holdsworth of Lafayette, by over two and a half seconds.

Boone sought medical treatment after the race and needed to be helped off the track.