The AHS indoor track team competed at the Patriot District Championship meet on Feb. 5 and took home the title once again. They performed well against the tough competition of T.C. Williams and Lake Braddock, who came in a close second and third respectively. The Atoms clinched the win by 9 points.
Junior Dylan Van Balen, who ran the 55-meter dash, 300-meter dash and 4 x 200 meter relay said, “We did well and everyone did what they needed to do to get points for us. Some stepped up to help get the victory.”
This included senior Patrick Goodman who placed 4th in the 1000 meter race, and sophomore Roland Andoh who placed 5th in the 100-meter dash.
The 4 x 200 meter relay consists of Van Balen, junior Alex Ellison, and seniors Josh Jean-Jacques and J.P. Jenkins. Van Balen says their goal is to, “go to Nationals in the 4 x 200 [relay].” They are currently ranked 1st in the region.
Junior Ahmed Bile placed first in the 1000 meter, 1600 meter. “I did really well, and went out there and did what I needed to do. My goal is to win states in all my events,” Bile said.
He was also the anchor of the 4 x 400 meter relay, along with Andoh, senior Nathan Seeto and sophomore Austin Chavez. The relay team placed 1st in the event at the district meet, securing the win and expect to win at the Northern Region meet once again.
Other athletes who greatly contributed to the victory included senior Joel Hoisington, who was the disctrict champion in shotput and has already qualified for regionals and states. Jean-Jacques placed first in high jump, and has also qualified for regionals and states.
This is not the first time the Atoms have clinched a Patriot District Championship. They also won districts last year for outdoor track, and two years ago for indoor track.
The team is looking forward to competing at the Northern Region Meet on Feb. 19 at Geroge Mason University. “We have a good chance of winning the region as a team” Van Balen said. This would give AHS its first regional victory in many years. They lost the regional title last year by a single point, but hope to pull out a big win this year.
For more information concerning the AHS track team go to www.annandaleatoms.com and click on winter track.
Cheryl Gregory • Mar 11, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Great news about the men’s team but you have female athletes too and I’m disappointed in your lack of coverage. These young women competed all season long and while they may not have been as successful, your lack of coverage seems disrespectful of their commitment and effort v