The Golden State Lady Warriors
Published 8:50 pm Tuesday, April 14, 2015
![Members of Nansemond River High School’s girls’ outdoor track and field team soak in some California rays at the Arcadia Invitational, where they put on an impressive performance over the weekend. From left: Candice James, Syaira Richardson, Kara Lyles, Zakiya Rashid, Brandeé Johnson and Courtney James.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/04/DSC_6670.jpg)
Members of Nansemond River High School’s girls’ outdoor track and field team soak in some California rays at the Arcadia Invitational, where they put on an impressive performance over the weekend. From left: Candice James, Syaira Richardson, Kara Lyles, Zakiya Rashid, Brandeé Johnson and Courtney James.
The Nansemond River High School outdoor track and field program took its talents to the West Coast last weekend and left a positive impression.
“I think Nansemond River has done a solid job of being competitive throughout the entire East Coast,” Warriors coach Justin Byron said.
But given the distance, oftentimes athletes from the West Coast are not able to come to East Coast meets, even when they are national events.
“We just wanted to take the opportunity to go to the biggest high school meet on the West Coast,” Byron said of the Arcadia Invitational in California. “It lived up to its billing.”
And the Lady Warriors lived up to theirs. Local fans have come to expect them to produce winners or high-finishers in essentially every meet. They fulfilled those expectations at Arcadia in the face of the potentially imposing nature of an unfamiliar venue and new opponents.
“They didn’t look scared,” Byron said of his athletes. “It didn’t seem to faze them.”
Seniors Candice James and Kara Lyles, junior Brandeé Johnson and sophomore Syaira Richardson were the ones who made the Lady Warriors winners over the weekend.
They combined for a time of 3:45.80 in the girls’ 4×400-meter relay invitational, more than two seconds faster than the second-place finishers.
“That was a big run,” Byron said.
He noted that for the current high school season, their time is ranked No. 1 in Virginia across all classifications, according to MileStat.com, and it is ranked No. 3 in the United States, according to MileSplit.com.
The Lady Warriors also won the 800-meter sprint medley invitational, which included two 100-meter legs, one 200-meter leg and one 400-meter leg. The girls’ time was 1:43.73 in that event, currently No. 1 in the nation, though not every school competes in it.
They placed second in the 4×200-meter relay invitational with a time of 1:38.99, which broke the school record and currently ranks No. 10 in the country, No. 1 in Virginia and No. 2 all-time in Virginia. “All-time” covers only races that have been measured by automatic timing rather than by hand.
The 4×200, like the 800 sprint medley, is not a traditional outdoor event, but 67 Virginia schools have participated in it this year, part of a group of 12,556 schools across the nation.
Senior Zakiya Rashid was a standout in the throwing events.
“Her throw of 143 (feet) 9 (inches) is No. 1 in (Virginia) in the discus,” Byron said.
Rashid’s 43-foot, 5.5-inch throw in the shot put is also No. 1 in Virginia across all classifications.
In the girls’ 400-meter dash, Syaira Richardson finished in 56.11 seconds, the No. 2 time in Virginia and the No. 1 time in the Group 4A classification. Candice James finished in 56.93 seconds, No. 6 in Virginia and No. 2 in Group 4A.
Brandeé Johnson completed the 200-meter dash invitational in 24.50 seconds, the No. 1 time in Virginia, and Kara Lyles’ leap of 18 feet, 7 inches in the long jump is No. 2 in Virginia and No. 1 in Group 4A.
Reflecting on Nansemond River’s performance at the 2015 Arcadia Invitational, Byron said, “It kind of shows we’re working closer and closer to that goal of being that national program.”