The Washington-Liberty Generals girls track-and-field team again proved itself strong in cold weather at the Bobcat Blizzard Invitational track-and-field meet.
For the second time in three years, the W-L girls team won the championship. The squad finished second in 2023.
The Generals won this year with 130 points and had some 13 different athletes score points in the meet.
Washington-Liberty had three individual champions, plus a winning relay. Six athletes placed second, two were third and three were fourth. Another relay was third.
Because it’s the winter season, the meet officially is classified as indoor competition. In reality, it is held outside at Battlefield High School in Prince William County.
“It’s a little chilly, but that’s always a well-run meet that we enjoy and gives our athletes a chance to go for it early in the season with so many events,” W-L coach John Bacon told ARLnow. “Since it’s cold, you want to keep the athletes busy competing in different events.”
Ella Kaplan was one of W-L’s top performers, winning the high-jump with a state-qualifying-meet 5-foot leap. Kaplan was second in the 55 hurdles and triple jump and ran on the winning 4×400 relay (state-qualifying time of 4:06.24 time).
Heidi Kim in the 55 dash (7.92) and pole vaulter Alexis Morley-Lascano (8-6) were Washington-Liberty’s other individual winners.
Also second were Gabriela Netwall (500 and long jump), Alba Edsall (3,200) and Therese Johansson (1,000). Third were Morgan Brown (300) and Mina Dowler (3,200). Fourth were Elizabeth Rupert (shot put), Emily Buckwalter (1,000) and Sienna Williams (1,600).
Katherine Floom was fifth in the 1,000, Camille Walker sixth in the 55 hurdles and ninth in the 55 dash, Brown seventh in the long jump and Kim ninth in the 300. The 4×800 relay placed third.
The winning 4×400 relay also included Brown, Netwall and Johansson.
The Yorktown Patriots finished fourth in the girls meet, with two event winners. Ellen Malloy won the 1,000 (5:22.97) and Sofie Keppler the 3,200 (12:01.63).
Yorktown’s Kaiya Ovando was second in the shot, Ella Dunn fifth in the 1,600, Molly Hardwick sixth in the 1,000 and Zoe Davis eighth in the 1,600.
