Altavista, Va. (Caroline Hylton) – It’s on to state competition for the Galileo Falcons, who soared in the Class 1A/2A Region Championships in Altavista Saturday.
Coach Mark Bryant stated “our Galileo boys’ and girls’ teams ran better today than I have ever seen them run. Their heart and passion were on full display.”
Junior Alex Gomez-Hernandez felt as though he had “superpowers.” He said that he believed the team was “unstoppable” when competing in the meet. Gomez-Hernandez, competing in the 300-meter dash for the first time, won the event shortly after winning the 500-meter dash. Gomez, who is now ranked number one in the state in the boys’ 500-meter run, also led the state’s top-ranked 4×400 meter relay team to victory.
Galileo junior Jackson Herndon proved to be the strongest distance runner in the field, winning both the 1600- and 1000-meter runs with career-best times. Herndon currently ranks fifth in the state in the boys’ 1600-meter run, just 1 second behind teammate Jamison Mantooth. When asked about his multiple victories of the day, Herndon did not mince words and simply said “It was awesome; the rush was crazy!”
With a total team effort, Galileo finished second overall in the team standings, just six points behind meet champion Altavista.
Other notable performances include Cole Harbodin’s 200-meter victory, Dylan Kirk’s second-place finish in the 500-meter race, and Jamison Mantooth’s third-place finish in the 1600- and 1000-meter races.
The Lady Falcons were also able to come home with quite a few victories and a third-place overall team finish.
First-year standout runner Ava Wray shone brightly, winning the girls’ 1000-meter run by a margin of 17 seconds. She remarked that “the sport lets me explore my passion for running.”
Distance ace Carol-Anne Garrett won the girls’ 1600-meter run. Moments later on short rest, Garrett finished second in the next event, the girls’ 500-meter run. Garrett said she “was very excited and nervous to run the 500. I have always run longer distance events, but I was proud of how I competed today.”
Wray and Garrett had received help from junior Camila Rodriguez, who placed second in both the 1600- and 3200-meter runs.
The girls’ relay team also packed the scorecard with a first-place finish in the 4×800 relay, a second-place finish in the 4×400 relay, and a third-place finish in the 4×200 relay.
Galileo will be sending 5 relay teams and 13 individuals to the state championship at Liberty University on March 2nd and 3rd.
The Galileo boys’ team — ranked highly in 5 different events — will be among the favorites to win the overall team title.
