GISA TRACK & FIELD MEET: Deerfield-Windsor’s Virginia Moore places second in 1600 meters

ALBANY — Deerfield-Windsor’s Virginia Moore and Southland Academy’s Wright Calhoun both had strong finishes in the 1600 meter finals at the Georgia Independent Schools Association’s state track & field meet Thursday afternoon at Hugh Mills Stadium.

The finals of all of the other events will take place today and Saturday.

Moore finished in second in the girls event with a time of 5:16.76, seven seconds behind Ruthie Powell of Heritage, who set a new meet record with a time of 5:09.74, four seconds faster than the previous record of 5:13.

“I was just trying to stay with her… She’s such an amazing runner,” Moore said of Powell. “I knew that she had a kick, but in the end, I knew she had me.”

Powell took off early and never relinquished the lead although Moore was right behind her.

“I wanted to run the race by each 200, the first of each lap, and try to keep that pace for the rest of the lap,” Powell said. “I was trying to run 5:12, but ended up with 5:09.”

Augusta Prep’s Jamie Holodak finished third (5:31.24), followed by Ashley Burke of Bulloch Academy (5:40.60). Moore’s teammate, Flannery Daughtry, finished eighth with a time of 5:57.98.

In the boys finals, Southland Academy’s Wright Calhoun, the region champion, ended up finishing fourth with a time of 4:43.57, 15 seconds behind the event winner Kaleb McLeod of Trinity Christian. McLeod finished with a time of 4:28.86.

Though Calhoun didn’t run the time he wanted, he was happy to be in the state meet and has great respect for his competitors.

“These guys are all my friends, my competitors. I enjoy running with them,” Calhoun said. “This is the best of the best. I didn’t race my best, but I had a great time competing with them, win or lose.”

McLeod’s brother, Jacob McLeod, finished second, nine seconds behind at 4:37.86 to help Trinity Christian sweep the top two spots. Evan Downs of Westminster finished in third-place with a time of 4:39.91.