The Prince Edward County High School Track & Field teams delivered an outstanding performance at the VHSL State Championships, with the girls team earning a third-place overall finish and several Eagles bringing home All-State honors.
The Lady Eagles scored 52 points to finish third in the state competition, led by senior Aliyah Rachels, who captured two individual state championships. Rachels won the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 7 inches and claimed the triple jump title with a school-record jump of 38 feet, 6½ inches, breaking a record that had stood since 2004.
In addition to her state titles, Rachels placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.20 seconds, fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.36 seconds, fourth in the high jump at 5 feet, and helped the 4x100-meter relay team finish sixth.
Sophomore Makayla Eppes earned All-State honors by placing third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.67 seconds, missing second place by just one-thousandth of a second. She also placed fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 26.86 seconds, eighth in the pole vault at 6 feet, 6 inches, and anchored the 4x100-meter relay team, which finished sixth with a season-best time of 50.86 seconds. She was joined on the relay by freshmen Portland King and Temiya Dailey along with Aliyah Rachels.
Senior Alivia Rachels added to the Lady Eagles' success with a sixth-place finish in the shot put, recording a throw of 35 feet, 5 inches.
On the boys side, the Eagles finished 17th overall with 15 points.
Junior Jayden Eppes earned All-State honors by placing third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.63 seconds. He also placed sixth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.36 seconds and anchored the 4x100-meter relay team, which finished eighth with a time of 44.27 seconds. His relay teammates included freshman Jaylin Boyd and seniors Charles Scott and Anthony Morton.
Junior Curtis Patterson finished sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 43 feet, 4 inches, eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.45 seconds, and eighth in the long jump with a jump of 21 feet, 5¾ inches.
In Virginia high school track and field, athletes who finish first, second, or third in their events earn All-State recognition. Prince Edward County High School proudly celebrates its All-State honorees—Aliyah Rachels, Makayla Eppes, and Jayden Eppes—and congratulates every Eagle who represented the school with determination and excellence at the state championships.
Congratulations to all of our Eagles on an exceptional season!