With district and region girls indoor track-and-field championships already won this winter, the Washington-Liberty Generals now go after the biggest prize in the sport.
On Monday and Tuesday, March 3 and 4, in Virginia Beach, the Generals will attempt to win the Virginia High School League Class 6 state championship.
No Arlington girls team has ever won, or even finished second, in the indoor state meet, since such championships were first held in 1982.
Finishing among the top two will be difficult, with the competition much stiffer at the state meet.
The Generals have a versatile squad, led by junior Gabriela Netwall, which played a big role in winning the district and region. Netwall scored 30 team points individually in various field and running events, helping the Generals win those meets.
“We feel good about the situation,” Washington-Liberty coach John Bacon told ARLnow. “We will take a bunch of girls down there to have fun.”
The Generals were a bit of a surprise winner of the region meet. Bacon said that also might be the case if W-L does well in the state.
Netwall will be participating in events each day, with some field event finals held Monday, March 3. She might run in the 4×400 relay the next day.
Often it doesn’t take a lot of team points to win a state title. Points add up if athletes can place in multiple events.
Other top versatile and contributing athletes for Washington-Liberty will be Ella Kaplan, Morgan Brown and Therese Johansson.
Alexis Morley-Lascano was fifth in the region in the pole vault, Alba Edsall sixth in the 3,200, Mina Dowler took seventh in the 3,200 and Elizabeth Rupert was seventh in the shot put.
The Generals also will need strong finishes from its three relays.
Johansson anchored the second place 4×800 relay at the region meet. Emily Buckwalter, Maddie Brys and Katherine Floom also ran on that relay.
