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South Lakes boys make history
Since South Lakes senior A.J. Price competes in five different track and field events, it could be difficult for him to pick a favorite, but there's no doubt in Price's mind which one he enjoys the most.“The 4x400[-meter relay] is my favorite race,” said Price, who anchors the Seahawks' final relay team. “I like it. It's fun, especially when we're behind. I think I run faster when I have somebody to chase.”
When he took the baton Friday night on the track at Lake Braddock Secondary School, Price was not only chasing the two runners ahead of him, he was chasing a Northern Region title. The 6-foot-4 senior overtook Edison's Tihut Degfae around the final turn and crossed the finish line in second place, clinching the first region championship in South Lakes boys track and field history.
"Obviously, winning the region is ... I can't even explain it," said Price, who scored points in five different events. "I just went out and tried to have fun. There's no better feeling than this right now."
In addition to the second-place finish in the relay, Price placed third in the high jump and took home three individual region titles in the long jump, 200 and 400. He accounted for nearly half of the Seahawks' 93.5 points, which were 7.5 more than second-place Edison.
"A.J.'s great. He's the backbone," first-year coach Alfred Buckley said. "As A.J. goes, the team goes."
Known more for his accomplishments on the football field and basketball court, Price joined the track team for the first time this outdoor season and quickly realized it was not as easy as it seemed.
"It looks easy, but those workouts ... ," said Price, who will play football at Penn State this fall. "The first day I got home, I was like, 'Mom, this is tough.' But it's worth it."
Price fell in love with the sport and now thinks he may join the Penn State track team in addition to football.
"I might, I really might," Price said. "I was talking to [Penn State assistant football coach Larry Johnson] and he said after my first year, if it's what I want to do, I'll be able to do both."
While Price's accomplishments on the track have been key to the Seahawks' success this year, coach Alfred Buckley's leadership got the team heading in the right direction. Junior Vincent Brown, who placed in four events, cited Buckley's easy-going nature as the reason for this year's turnaround.
"He's a nice person," Brown said of Buckley. "He's easy to talk to, so we all get along with each other. He just makes track fun."
Buckley may be easy to talk to in person, but during races, he knows how to raise his voice.
"You can hear coach Buckley screaming," Price said with a laugh. "When we run, we all joke about how the crowd will be screaming, but the only person we'll hear is Buckley. You can't not love him."
After winning the first district title in over two decades and its first-ever region title, Buckley is confident his South Lakes team can keep its storybook season going at this week's Virginia AAA state track and field championships, which will be held on May 30 and 31 at Todd Stadium in Newport News.
"My goal is to win it," he said. "My goal is to go for it. We're going to do everything that we can to give our very best. We're going for it 110 percent."
In the girls meet, Herndon junior Hiruni Wijayaratne ran 4:57.88 in the 1,600, but was passed by Lake Braddock's Liana Epstein on the home stretch and finished second. That only motivated her to run harder in the 3,200, and she won that race for the second straight year with a time of 10:51.67.
"It's huge," said Wijayaratne, who held a large lead for most of the race. "I went way under my time from last year. Winning a title is always special."
Langley's Morgan Danner won the pole vault, clearing a height of 10-feet, 6-inches, and teammate Lisa Scott won the shot put with a throw of 38-feet, 5-inches.
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