Blue Devils win home meet

FORK UNION - As meet director of the Gus Lacy Track Classic, as well as the Fork Union track coach, Winston Brown was an extremely busy man on Saturday.
Brown spent so much of the day dealing with computer problems and other mind-numbing technical difficulties that he was unaware of the show his team was putting on.
“I thought we had a chance,” Brown said. “But I was wrapped up in some massive trouble with the computers. It was a really nice surprise in the end.”
The Blue Devils made the most of the opportunity to run on their home track, edging Louisa County for first place.
“Winning a home event is a lot of fun,” Brown said. “This team is very blue-collar. These guys just keep hanging in there. The routine these kids go through here at the school is very conducive to success.”
The Blue Devils were led by Brian Zitterkopf and Marcus Dowtin. Zitterkopf’s six-foot leap earned him gold, while Dowtin placed first in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, 10.50 inches.
Louisa had a strong showing in the event. While the boys walked away with silver, the Lady Lions managed to place third.
“We’re thrilled,” said Louisa assistant coach Pat Janovick, who accepted the trophies for the Lions. “This far into the season we’re very pleased. We have some work to do in some events, but our kids are working really hard.”
Louisa flexed its muscle in the both the girls and boys 4x400-meter relay, finishing first and second respectively.
“I was really surprised winning the boys 4x400 because the handoffs weren’t that great,” said Louisa head coach Jerry Cutright. “But I’m really happy with the results. We’re headed in the right direction and have a lot to look forward to.”
Over 20 schools participated in the 9th annual Gus Lacy Track Classic - some Group AA schools, some AAA teams and even a few private schools.
Among the local entries were Western Albemarle, Orange County, Fluvanna County, Albemarle and Covenant.
The Patriots had a pair of gold-medal winners. Liz Barclay won the girls 1600-meter run with a time of 5:19.66, while Zach Vrhovac’s 50.20-second 400 earned him top honors. Vrhovac also led his team to a second-place finish in the boys 4x400 relay. The Albemarle boys team placed third overall.
Orange County also had a pair of winners. Ashontae Jackson from won the girls 200, running the event in 26.73 seconds. Logan Collins earned top honors in the boys 800 with his time of 1:54.61.
Other local winners included Fluvanna County’s Charles Boling, who won the boys 100 with his 11.21 second time. Western’s Tyler Stutzman took the boys 1600, running the event in 4:15.85.