Early in the morning on February 18th, the Davie indoor track team embarked on another journey to JDL Fast Track to race at the 7A Indoor State Championships. Davie sent 11 athletes to the state meet, including both men’s and women’s 4×800 teams, 2 pole vaulters, and one thrower. These athletes have trained long and hard for the opportunity to participate in states; few attain the goal, but those who have had standout performances.
The field events kicked off At 9 a.m. where freshman Layla Hazlip made her state meet debut in the shot put. Hazlip finished 11th throwing 29-0, an impressive appearance for the Davie throwers. A few steps to the left of the ring, the team’s pole vaulters flew high over the bars. Senior Austin Sweet took 2nd at 14-0 while senior Clara Phelps managed 3rd with a mark of 11-0.
“I was very excited to get third,” Phelps said. “I try to go into every meet with no expectation other than to have fun, so I was happy with the end result.”
The remainder of the athletes belonged to the distance team, including the athletes running the men’s and women’s 4×800 relay. Despite not expecting to qualify for this meet, the women’s 4×800 team—which consisted of senior Lexi Marion and freshmen Addalyn Steelman, Reese Rye, and Kristen Starkey—pulled out an impressive performance. Anchor Kristen Starkey came through the line at 10:17 securing for the team both 7th in the state and a new school record.
“I thought overall as a team, we did really well, especially since we had no experience at a state track meet before,” Marion said. “We finished one place higher than we were seeded, which was really good, and I thought everyone ran really well.”
Sophomore Avery Van Lente, junior Jacob Steelman, freshman Jaxon Gay, and senior Ethan Lakey took the line soon after for the boys’ 4×800. The team managed an impressive PR, coming through the line at 8:26, placing 7th, and setting another new school record.
Freshman Kristen Starkey, having already run the 4×800, would later follow up her performance in the 3200-meter, finishing with a time of 11:30 and placing 8th overall.
The 7A Indoor State Meet marks the end of indoor track season; however, a few of the athletes are expected to race at Adidas Nationals at Virginia Beach from March 20-22.
