By Henry Luzzatto

Correspondent

Nansemond River High School’s girls’ track team continues to bring awards to the school.

For the second season in a row, Nansemond River’s Justin Byron was named Virginia girls’ track and field coach of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association.

“It feels awesome,” Byron said. “It’s really a reflection of the entire program. All the athletes and coaches and the administration worked hard to get us here.”

The UTFCCA chooses the top boys’ and girls’ coaches for each of the 50 states based on their teams’ performances.

Byron’s Nansemond River girls’ team had an exceptional season, winning the group 5A state indoor and outdoor titles. Byron said the team broke 11 state records in indoor and outdoor track last season.

“This season was amazing,” he said. “We broke the record for breaking records.”

Byron said the team was No. 1 in the 4×400 relay at the New Balance National Outdoor meet, setting a state record in the process.

Despite the team’s incredible success over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons, Byron said the team did not set out to be the best in the nation.

“Our motto this year was ‘We don’t want to be the best team in the nation; we want to be the closest team in the nation and have the most fun in the nation,’” Byron said.

Even though the team did not set out for national recognition, they got it on the strength of performances by athletes like Brandee’ Johnson and Syaira Richardson. Both Johnson and Richardson represented the United States at the International Association of Athletics Federations U20 World Championships in Poland last month.

Johnson, who will take her talents to the University of Florida in the fall, was named the Gatorade State Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Byron said the team will miss the presence of Johnson and the other five graduating seniors this upcoming year.

“We call them the ‘super six,’” he said. “When you lose six All-Americans, you can’t replace them.”

Despite the loss of the seniors and the added pressure that comes with last season’s success, Byron said the team looks to have another successful season.

“Others always have expectations of us,” he said. “Each year, we set our own goals, and success is how we work to achieve those goals.”

Though the Warriors’ season was marked by successes at the very highest level, Byron said one of the best events from the season was the regional meet, where 23 Nansemond River runners had their personal best times.

“We weren’t running against all the national names, but everyone started putting it together,” he said. “So many people did so well, the younger runners and the older runners. It was a crazy amount of personal records.”

Though the UTFCCA chose to recognize Byron for his work with the Warriors, Byron says the award should recognize the many other people who worked hard to make the team into a success, including the assistant coaches, the parents and the principal.

“I worked hard, but in no way am I doing this on my own,” Byron said. “There are so many people I couldn’t have done this without.”