Local track athletes go national
By Jason S. Rufner
Seven Loudoun athletes qualified to compete at the Nike Outdoor Nationals (NON) track and field meet held June 19-21 at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C.
Natalie Baird, a recent graduate of Park View High School, earned All-American status with her third place in her signature event, the discus throw. Her mark of 152 feet, 3 inches was 23 inches behind the first-place finisher.
Baird, the Virginia record-holder for both the discus and the shotput, took eighth in the shot with a distance of 43 feet, 7.25 inches. She also threw the hammer 140 feet, 5 inches, good for seventh.
Potomac Falls' Josh Hardin ran 5,000 meters in 15 minutes, 33.78 seconds, crossing the finish line in 21st place.
Sam Saidi from Broad Run tied for the 22nd spot with his high jump of 6 feet, 3.25 inches.
Theresa Trader of Loudoun Valley jumped over hurdles for 400 meters, landing in 23rd place with a time of 1 minute, 5.9 seconds.
Fellow Viking Lauren Privette scored a triple-jump distance of 37 feet, 3.25 inches, tying for 24th.
Loudoun County's John Lewis was scheduled to participate in the 110-meter hurdles but did not start the race.
The meet marked the second straight year of the NON's Emerging Elite division, which gives an opportunity for those athletes whose scores fall just short of the extraordinary level required to qualify.
Trader came in third among Emerging Elites in the girls' 100-meter hurdles, less than 0.2 seconds out of the first slot.
Ryan Hagen of Potomac Falls placed fifth in the boys' 800-meter run at the Emerging Elite division, running two laps in 1:54.29.