Thursday
May 26, 2022
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Cadets relay team wins state title By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor
W
hen the Benedictine running quartet consisting of Eddie Jackson, Nick Land, Antonio Schoenborn and Darryl Edmonds kicked off their run in the 4x400 VISAA Track and Field Championships, the four athletes quickly blew by the competition in a race that was firmly in the Cadets’ control all the way to the finish line. With Jackson starting and Edmonds closing, the Cadets blasted through the competition at Sports Backers Stadium on May 21 with a new school record time of 3 minutes, 25.08 seconds. After 800 meters, the Cadets held a five-second advantage over Episcopal, and that lead grew to eight seconds after 1200 meters with the Cadets clocked in at 2:34.25. While there were a few changes in the top five, that eightsecond lead was held intact
Contributed Photo
From left to right: Antonio Schoenborn, Darryl Edmonds, Eddie Jackson and Nick Land stand together after their record-setting 4x400 relay result that won the Cadets a state title on May 21.
once the Cadets finished the race, earning the team a welldeserved state title. That wasn’t Benedictine’s only title of the day though, with Edmonds also taking home a state title in the triple
jump. Edmonds’ top mark of 46 feet, 6.25 inches on his final attempt was unmatched, with the next closest jump coming in at 44-11 from Blue Ridge High School junior Chayse Sloan.
For the whole day, the Cadets finished in fourth place among 15 schools in the Division I boys competitions, recording a team score of 51.50 points. The top-3 schools were Woodberry Forest with 214.50
points, Fork Union with 74 points and Collegiate with 53.50 points. Those four athletes running the 4x400 relay earned the Cadets points in other events as well. Aside from Edmonds’ big triple jump victory, he also placed in third in the 300meter hurdles with a recorded time of 41.25 seconds that was behind Woodberry Forest runner Albert Asare and St. Stephen’s Bradley Cruthirds. His result placed him within the top-50 300-meter hurdle times within the state. Jackson also had another great performance in the 400meter dash, finishing in second place behind Fork Union’s Dominique Julius with a time of 50.21 seconds that also placed him within the top-50 sprinters in the state for that competition. In the pole vault competition, junior Jackson Mann had a strong outing on the big stage for the Cadets, placing fourth with a mark of 13 feet, a result that places him within the top-25 in the state
for the event. In front of him were three Woodberry Forest athletes who all set marks that were within the top-10 in the state. Rounding out an impressive day for the Cadets was the 4x100 relay team consisting of Edmonds, Roth Thomas, Addison Gosline and Khalil Moore and their fourth place result among 13 schools. Their 44.66-second time was a second behind third place finisher Episcopal, while Trinity Episcopal and Woodberry Forest took home first and second place respectively. It was an overall successful day for the Cadets on the biggest stage they’ve faced all season, and while seniors like Edmonds and Jackson see their careers on the track draw to a close at Benedictine, they can say they went out on perhaps the highest note possible with a new school record and a state title to their names. Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.
Goochland tennis: Bulldogs compete in regional matches By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor
Goochland’s tennis teams took to the courts for postseason play last week, with the girls falling 5-0 to the Meridian Mustangs on the road and the boys team falling 5-1 to Maggie Walker. Two days before the girls traveled to Meridian, they concluded their regular season with
a close win over the Orange County Hornets for their sixth team victory of the season. They were led at the top by junior No. 1 Margaret Townsend against the Hornets, who won her matchup against Olivia Sciabbarsi with an 8-5 set. Townsend’s win was one of four for the Bulldogs in singles, with wins by Anna Stamey, Genevieve Williamson and Amber Robertson helping
the team take a 4-2 lead into doubles, where Williamson and Hadley Peskin won their set together with an 8-2 win. Against the Mustangs out of the Northwestern District, the Bulldogs had a harder time gaining the advantage, with their opponent winning five quick singles matches to move on in the tournament. Robertson had the closest match of the day for
Goochland, taking on Ellen Bruce. Robertson lost in a close 7-5 first set, and though Bruce was up in the second set, the game was retired once Meridian reached five wins. On the boys side, the team rode a three-game winning streak to end the regular season with the four-seed in the region, which allowed them to host the Green Dragons, but the fiveseeded opponent managed to
come out with a 5-1 win. Junior Evan Bernstine was the only Bulldog to come away with the victory, as the star player continues his monster third season. Bernstine will look to continue his strong play as he aims to defend his 3A state title from last season. In his matchup against Alex Percey, Bernstine made quick work of the Green Dragons sophomore with two
6-0 sets to win. The Dragons controlled the first sets of the rest of the matchups, but credit should go to juniors Alex Peskin, Ryan Bowers and Charlie Alston for earning a few games in their second sets to keep the Bulldogs alive. Bowers in particular played well in his second set, falling 6-4 after a 6-0 first set against sophomore Ethan Choe.
