Things to Look For at 6A Virginia State Track Meet - POSTPONED FOR THIRD TIME!! WILL NOW RUN NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY 3/9 AND 3/10

Going to put a brief hold on my 5A preview, but Nolan Jez posted one, and it can be found on Milestat.com.

I’m looking forward to getting back on track – figuratively and literally. After spending the entire winter diverted with other professional ventures, I’m finally realigning with Milestat.com to help provide coverage of this weekend’s 5A/6A state indoor track meet. For the record, it’s been about six years since I did any work with MileStat, and I thank current webmaster Nolan Jez for responding to my offer to help. With TrackNation magazine on hiatus (I think it’s a break?), I’ve been looking for more writing opportunities with cross-country and track and field.

Anyhow, enough of that. This weekend promises to be a barnburner at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. Nolan will be providing the more formal meet preview and recap, but I want to point out some aspects of this weekend’s meets that I’ll be looking to cover. Today, I’ll look at the 6A meets, while moving on to 5A tomorrow.

T.C.'s Noah and Josephus Lyles will be looking to help the
Titans to an indoor state track title, one to match the crown
they won last outdoor season.

6A Boys – The team champion could easily come down to the final lap of the final race. There are five real dogs in this race – Lake Braddock, T.C. Williams, Grassfield, Western Branch and Chantilly.

Grassfield will almost entirely rely on Grant Holloway for its points, although Owen Chappell should win the shot put.  Chantilly (seeded 5^th) will need top performances from all of their athletes, and at least 24 individual points from the McGorty brothers, Brandon and Ryan, as well as a win in the 3200 relay and top three placement in the 1600 relay. Lake Braddock features a trio of distance runners, Alex Corbett, Kevin Monogue and Colin Schaefer who can score heavily, as well as enough entries in other events to keep the other teams honest. Bruin distance coach Mike Mangan readily admits that Grassfield (with Holloway and Chappell in the field) could get to 50 points “in a hurry,” which could make them hard to catch. But Lake Braddock won the 6A North regional, and is seeded first this weekend, so they have to be slightly favored to win the title.

T.C. Williams is seeded second, and with the power of Noah and Josephus Lyles on their side in the shorter sprints and high jump, can make an honest bid for the title. But never count out Western Branch (seeded 4^th). The team has a knack for having 7^th and 8^th seeded athletes suddenly earn top-four honors at States, and runners such as Tyson Robinson (300, 500) and Jahkwan Blackley (55) could emerge from the seeding shadows this weekend.

6A Girls – Western Branch is the heavy favorite, with the real question being if they will top 100 

points. Claude Toukene’s girl’s team will be too much for the rest of the state again. The Southside

Milan Parks will be one of the keys for Western Branch
this weekend as they enter the 6A girls meet

version of the Bruins, as usual, will be loaded in the hurdles and jumps. Faith Ross and Jewel Smith will contribute crucial points in the 300 and 500, and the Bruin relays are too far ahead of the rest of the field to dare predict an upset in the 800, 1600, and 3200 relays.

But there will be other stories. Lauryn Ghee of Grassfield has been a U.S. leader in the 55 and 300, but she’ll see some heat, particularly in the 55, from Alexys Taylor (Osbourn Park) and Mallory Pitchford (James River). Freshman Titiana Marsh of Thomas Dale sports a 40-foot triple jump, so she will be worth watching, while Maria Muzzio of Robinson will be the favorite in the shot, with a 42-6.5 entry.

Lake Braddock’s Kate Murphy could be a double winner in the 1600 and 3200, where she is almost 22 seconds ahead of second seed, Oakton’s Allie Klimkiewicz.

From "The Boys of Ewald Park" - Meeting Arthur Ashe

Lately, I have been reading copy for a book project that I'll be saying more about in the coming months. However, concurrently, I have also been in the process of gathering information for a book which will be called "The Boys of Ewald Park." Essentially, it's going to be about the lives that my friends and I led in the west end of Alexandria, Virginia during the 1970's. Going back through some of our collective experiences has been a great deal of fun, and it's going to be more fun to put them into writing.

Admittedly, this isn't the best story, per se, but it did happen. I guess you could consider this an excerpt from "The Boys of Ewald Park" at least as it looks today.

Sometimes, I get to thinking about the first 49 and a half years of my life, and have to laugh when I think about how I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be involved in quite a few “Forrest Gump” like moments, particularly with athletes.

My childhood in Alexandria, VA was defined by our communal attitude toward racism and prejudice. It was a true irony that the movie “Remember the Titans” came around in 2001, to describe our hometown in the 1970’s. We didn’t need to see the movie to remind us of how we grew up. We lived through it. With my best friends and neighbors, Jimmy and Fred Hopewell, we were acutely aware of the attitudes among the people who surrounded us. We were raised on Venable Avenue, in a neighborhood that was as diverse as any in America. Looking back, it was amazing that we were so young, but so keenly aware of the fact that not all people got along. And sometimes we acted out in the name of injustice. As kids.  In February of 1974, when Jimmy and I were 8, and Fred was 11, we held a parade in honor of Hank Aaron, a pursuit that I have written about before on this blog. Why? Because he was about to break Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, but was receiving death threats and hate mail on a daily basis.

But I have never mentioned my encounter with Arthur Ashe.

Arthur Ashe, holding up his Wimbledon trophy after winning
the tournament in 1975.

Back in the late 1970’s, Ashe was better known simply as a tennis player. His status as a humanitarian and cultural icon was still 10 years from becoming cemented in the public discussion, and his passing would sadly occur 14 years later. But he was a hell of a tennis player, and also an avid supporter of the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL), a youth organization that happened to host a quartet of teams that played and practiced at Ewald Park, which was the epicenter of our youthful existence.

Anyhow, as part of our tennis program, at the end of the summer, the different NJTL groups got together at Rock Creek Park and were invited to a match at the Washington Star Invitational. As memory recalls, I think we got to see Harold Solomon the first year. But for the next year, 1979, it was rumored that Arthur Ashe would be making an appearance to play an exhibition match.

And surely enough Ashe appeared. Also, at a point during the day, for reasons that were never made known to me, I was asked to volunteer to help with the program. As it turned out, the exhibition match needed a couple of ballboys.

The chance to spend some up close and personal time with such a legend and Wimbledon champ made for a great day. My memories of it are foggy. Ashe won the match easily, and I do remember feeling bad for the overmatched opponent because he was simply being toyed with as Ashe played to the crowd with no look drop shots and such. I’m sure he won the set 6-0. But he was very gracious after the match, staying long afterwards to sign autographs and talk. I did manage to get him to sign a ball from the match, as well as my Gilligan hat.

But it’s a bit sad that I didn’t know what a legend he would become off the court in the last years of his life.

GLORY 19 Kickboxing Rambles Through Hampton Coliseum - "Iron" Mike Tyson in Attendance

The popular GLORY World Series made a live and local appearance last Friday at the Hampton Coliseum as the popular kickboxing showcase made its way into town for a series of ten bouts. This 19^th installment of GLORY was nationally broadcast live on Spike-TV. As an extra bonus, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was on hand for the festivities.

"Iron" Mike Tyson was at Hampton Coliseum last Friday
to help broadcast and promote at GLORY 19, which was
shown live on SPIKE-TV.

Different from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), GLORY kickboxing rules are comprised of a mix of several combat disciplines including Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and traditional boxing. 

There were two headline events. In the first, Rico Verhoeven (44-9-0, 10 KOs), defended his GLORY Heavyweight World Title against rival Errol "The Bonecrusher" Zimmerman (103-11-1, 44 KOs) in the rubber match of a fighting trilogy that dates back to January 2012.

The co-headline bout for GLORY 19 featured a showdown between two GLORY top-10 ranked kickboxers, as #1 ranked middleweight Joe "Stitch 'Em Up" Schilling (18-6-0, 11 KOs) took on 21-year-old Canadian prodigy Robert "White Dragon" Thomas (7-2-0, 5 KOs), who is ranked #9. Schilling played the aggressor and won convincingly.

Perhaps the most interesting draw for Hampton Roads kickboxing fans was the light heavyweight bout in the Superfight Series, featuring Norfolk’s Brian Collette (21-3) against Myron Dennis, a bout won by Collette in a unanimous decision.

Collette, 27, started his martial arts career at the age of 14 in a mixture of disciplines, including Tae Kwon Do and Boxing, but currently specializes in Muay Thai. While maintaining a full-time job as an IT technician, Collette trains at the Eastern Academy of Martial Arts in Virginia Beach, and was most recently seen at GLORY 18 in Oklahoma, where he took part in the Light-Heavyweight Contender Tournament and was eliminated in the semi-final round by Zack Mwekassa. 

He hoped for a better result against Dennis.

“The only thing I know about him is that we have a mutual opponent, who he lost to, but I beat in my first GLORY tournament," said Collete the day before his match. "So I’m very confident, but also respectful.”

Dennis is new to the GLORY circuit, but fights out of Oklahoma City and competes in both MMA and kickboxing. He recently captured the Legacy MMA light-heavyweight title after beating the UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce veteran Paul Buentello. 

Keeping with the spirit of the Hampton Roads region, and in association with Veteran Operation Wellness (VOW), GLORY also hosted its first Armed Forces exhibition, in which a member of the US Navy will compete against a member of the US Air Force under GLORY Rules.

VOW is a Spike-TV campaign created to inspire veterans to make the same commitment to their health and wellness that they made to their country.

GLORY was founded three years ago, and is owned and operated by GLORY Sports International (GSI), a professional martial arts organization and television content provider that maintains offices in New York, as well as countries across Europe and the Far East. Its programming can be seen in over 170 territories.

GLORY 19 Results from Hampton Coliseum (February 6, 2015)


Glory Heavyweight championship: Rico Verhoeven def. Errol Zimmerman via TKO (knee injury) RD 2 (2:17)

Welterweight tournament final: Nieky Holzken def. Raymond Daniels via TKO (4 knockdowns) RD 3 (1:25)

Middleweight bout: Joe Schilling def. Robert Thomas via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)

Light Heavyweight bout: James Hurley vs. Cedric Smith-- Smith def. Hurley via TKO RD 2 (0:56)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Nieky Holzken def. Alexander Stetcurenko via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Welterweight tournament semifinal: Raymond Daniels def. Jonathan Oliveira via TKO (3 knockdowns) RD 2 (2:15)

Lightweight bout: Andy Ristie def Steve Moxon via TKO RD 1 (2:43)

Heavyweight bout: Xavier Vigney def Everett Sims via TKO RD 1 (1:44)

Lightweight bout: Josh Jauncey def Max Baumert via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) RD 3 (0:37)

Light Heavyweight bout: Brian Collette def Myron Dennis via unanimous decision


Welterweight bout: Francois Ambang def Stephen Richards via KO RD 1 (2:14)

Virginia Warriors AAU Basketball Tryouts in Newport News

GET READY! Future Warriors already talking, but that's what separates this group, here to support the youth!!! VA WARRIORS AAU BASKETBALL TRYOUTS THE NEXT THREE WEEKENDS!!! 5 TEAMS TO BRING LIFE TO THE GAME!!! Be a part of the FUTURE!!! 

Head Coaches: 
Loressa Brayden - 12U Boys
Jeremy Smith - 13U Boys
Travis Biggers - 14U Boys
Rodney Lee & Clevon Belfield - 15U/9th Grade Boys
Ebony Flores - 5th Grade Girls!!! 

Let's Go Warriors!!!!

Should Drug Testing Be Allowed in Schools?

Today's paper had an in-depth article about the fact that 25 teenagers have been murdered on our Peninsula since 2010. The last occurred late last week in York County, when an apparent drug deal went bad between a 17-year old of one high school and the 16-year old student of another, resulting in five shots through the victim's front. Three hit the victim, including one in the heart that killed him.

Sometimes in the aftermath of tragedy, citizens take the time to ponder the "what-ifs" and what-cans" to look for solutions. One which has been discussed for the past 25 years is the idea of random drug testing in schools. It's amazing how divided different school jurisdictions are on this topic.

I did look at this back in June, but in light of recent local events, wanted to open the topic for debate once again.

Please feel free to interject with any thoughts --- I will post all comments that stick to the subject...

One of the most controversial topics in today’s school law deals with the ability of a school to randomly drug test students. The debate goes back to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons…against unreasonable searches…shall not be violated...”

When discussing the right to test students for drugs, there are several factors which immediately come into play. First and foremost is the fact that with the exception of rare individual cases, many drugs are still illegal in America, and certainly not allowed on school grounds, or at school events. However, this gets weighed against individuals’ rights, as stated in the Fourth Amendment, when discussing the option of drug testing in public schools. There are also matters of whom to test, the expense of conducting the testing, as well as the criteria for testing a student. Should a public school system spend the money necessary to randomly test all students, or should they reserve the right or cases where drug use is suspected. And how does one assess that a student is a candidate for drug testing. Also, is the school system financially stable enough to handle the lawsuits which will occur when students feel that their individual rights have been violated?

This last point is important. A cursory search of drug testing cases discovered a 2002 listing from the American Civil Liberties Union, which provided a synopsis for 22 drug testing cases, one (United States v. Martinez-Fuente, 428 U.S. 543) dating back to 1976. Fourteen of these cases deal specifically with testing students, and the decisions are mixed. Six found drug testing to be constitutional, while eight defended the Fourth Amendment, and withheld the students’ rights. …The debate is not new, and it is not going away.