RADFORD -- Never mind the dominant performances of Radford's boys and James River's girls in winning the team competitions at the Region C meet at Radford University on Saturday.

All due respect must be accorded multiple-event individual winners, breakers of personal best times and distances, and those who far exceeded the expectations of their coaches and teammates.

Stirring stuff to be sure, but their's weren't the most important accomplishments here Saturday, not even close.

The big deal of the day was the graduation of Parry McCluer athletes Elle Karolina Dryden, Ronnie Wayne Eggleston, and Nathaniel Parrish Martin. Unable to attend Commencement ceremonies back home in Buena Vista on Saturday, they were issued mortarboards (which looked exceptionally snappy while worn with athletic clothes), marched to the middle of the field at Cupp Stadium, and were formally issued diplomas during a break in the competition.

Pomp and Circumstances played on the public address system and the announcer recited the applicable passages that conferred the newfound status to the soon-to-be-departing seniors. That closed the ceremony to the applause of the multitude.

Then they continued with the track meet.

By the time it was over, James River's girls had rolled up 100 points, 31 more than runner-up Radford. The top five was rounded out by Floyd County (44), Giles (38) and Parry McCluer (30).

On the boys side, it was all Radford, 143 points worth, to 90 ½ for George Wythe, 51 for Auburn, 34 for James River, and 21 for Giles.

It was a meet record-setting day for Coree Cox of Radford in the 800 meters (2:00.21) and the Bobcats 1,600 relay team of Cox, Kevin Adkins, Jerome Alexander, and Josh Little (3:28.91). George Wythe's quartet of Isaac Young, Andrew Storms, Nick Hagy, and John Tolley set a new standard with their 43.30 in the 400 relay.

Radford's Little, running anchor, had to catch his breath fast. An hour later, he was scheduled to lead off and play third base when the Bobcats baseball team tangled with Giles for the district tournament title at Calfee Park, a possible postseason berth riding on the outcome for Radford.

Alexander, who has already won one state title this year as a part of Radford's Division 2-winning basketball team, was substituting for usual relay team member Grant Mitchell, who maxed out for the day when he won the 200 and 400 and was runner-up to the swift-footed Hagy of George Wythe in the 100. Had Mitchell been in the relay, there's reason to believe that four would have been even faster.

Mitchell was also second in the long jump to Logan Shumaker of Auburn, who had a huge day as an individual.

Shumaker, who plans to run track at Radford University next year, also claimed the 300 hurdles and the 110 hurdles.

"Nobody jumped that well in the long jump today, but a win's a win," said Shumaker, who leapt 20-4 ½. "I'd already qualified for state so I just came out and did what I had to do."

Shumaker was nervous about the 300 hurdles coming in because he hadn't qualified for state in that event. Furthermore, he was a surprise runner-up to Josh Smith of Radford last week at the Three Rivers District meet.

"That motivated me," Shumaker said. "Not having qualified for state yet had me worried, too."

Walker Mogen of Radford, a sophomore, had not much to worry about at all in sweeping the 1,600 and 3,200, both races in which he won by substantial margins.

His time in the 1,600 -- 4:29.07 -- certainly would seem to identify him as a contender to break Bobcats alumnus Nathan Brame's regional record of 4:25.82 before he's through.

"I thought I ran really well," Mogen said. "I was hoping to go down to a 4:28, but I'm happy with the time I did have."

Speaking of having a shot at a meet record next year, George Wythe junior Hagy's 10.92 is approaching the meet standard of 10.82.

"I go into every race just trying to break my best time," Hagy said. "That's what I did today."

In the field events, winners included Daniel Hamm of Fort Chiswell in the triple jump, George Wythe's Myron Wynn in the shot put, and Maroons teammate Taylor Hay in the discus.

Depth and the busy Reanna Hamm carried the day for James River's girls. Hamm was among the last to leave the track when the triple jump final was delayed and pushed to finish as the last event of the day because there was only one functioning pit available instead of the usual two.

Hamm finished second in the triple to Narrows' Savanna Burton, but there was no stopping the Knights athlete when she turned the tables on runner-up Burton in the long jump as well as winning the 100 and 200 and anchoring the second-place 1,600 relay team.

Hamm took nothing for granted on any of it.

"I was so nervous," she said. "I'm nervous before all my events."

James River's Cheyenne Falls, the defending state champ in the shot put, edged Carlyta Hamm of Fort Chiswell to win that event with a toss of 37-08.

"I was hoping to get in to the 37-38 range because I had been stuck at 36 for so long," Falls said. "I did it, but I really just wanted to win."

Emmalene Hale of Floyd County heaved the discus 112-08 to outdistance second-place Racheal Hepler of James River, whose throw traveled 102-04.

"I was hoping to go 120 but I didn't because I was having trouble keeping inbounds inside the sector," said Hale, another Radford recruit. "So I had to move myself over to line myself up so I could stay inbounds. I did that and after I scratched my first throw, I threw 110, which pretty much put me over the top."

Other girls winners included Giles' Lyndsey Jackson in the high jump. She went 5-2 despite suffering from an apparent case of strep throat.

"I'm feeling better after I started taking some antibiotics," said Jackson, also sixth in the long jump.

Sarah Collie of Holston swept the 1,600 and 3,200.

Other winners included Radford's Alexandra Doyle in the 400 and Glenvar's Susan Clark in the 800. Kelsey Weddle of PH-Glade Spring sped through a 46.30 in the 300 hurdles to set a new mark in that event. Hannah Hadaway of Rural Retreat took the 100 hurdles, a thick hair ahead of Weddle.

Giles' four of Alex Pennington, Kayla Murray, Brianna Caldwell, and Jackson turned a 52.24 to win the 400 relay. Radford's team of Kaitlin Smith, Kendal Hines, Riley Harvey, and Erika Penn won the 1,600 relay.

Of all the individual improvements made during the meet, none would seem to top Galax's Austin Pack's 6-6 ¼ in the high jump. Pack, a junior, is a Maroon Tide baseball player and the high jump is his only event. He'd never topped 6 feet.

"I don't know," he said by way of an explanation. "I just felt really good today. I like this rubber track."

Region C

At Radford University

Boys team scores

1. Radford (RAD) 143; 2. George Wythe (GWY) 90.5; 3. Auburn (AUB) 51; 4. James River (JRI) 34; 5. Giles (GIL) 21; 6. Galax (GAL) 19; 7. Fort Chiswell (FTC) 13.5; 8. tie Covington (COV), Craig County (CCO) 12; 10. tie Perry McCluer (PMC), Floyd County (FCO), PH-Glade Spring (PHE), 10.

Boys individual results

Discus 1. Hay (GWY) 136-07; 2. Pentecost (JRI) 136-03; 3. Bell (RAD) 133-09; 4. Tarasidis (RAD) 128-01; 5. Coleman (PHE) 128-00; 6. Turbyfill (GAL) 127-07.

Shot Put 1. Wynn (GWY) 47-09.50; 2. Eggleston (PMC) 47-05.50; 3. Lucas (FCO) 46-04.50; 4. Pentecost (JRI) 45-08.00; 5. Lawson (RUR) 42-06.50; 6. Mustard (BLC) 42-04.00.

Long Jump 1. Shumaker (AUB) 20-04.50; 2. Mitchell (RAD) 20-03.50; 3. Alexander (RAD) 20-00.50; 4. Baker (GIL) 20-00.00; 5. Perry (FTC) 19-10.50; 6. Scott (AUB) 19-08.50.

High Jump 1. Pack (GAL) 6-06.25; 2. Alexander (RAD) 6-02.00; 2. Wynn (GWY) 6-02.00; 4. Vishneski (EMO) 6-00.00; 5. Jackson (FTC) J6-00.00; 5. Young (GWY) J6-00.00.

Triple Jump 1. Hamm (FTC) 43-11.50; 2. Sturgill (CHI) 41-10.25; 3. Alexander (RAD) 41-07.50; 4. Fullen (GWY) 40-11.75; 5. Fullen (PHE) 40-10.50; 6. Baker (GIL) 40-10.00.

110 Hurdles 1. Shumaker (AUB) 15.88; 2. Ogle (GAL) 16.29; 3. Lythgoe (JRI) 16.37; 4. Stoker (GWY) 16.65; 5. Ray (GWY) 17.01; 6. Hoover (AUB) 17.15.

300 Hurdles 1. Shumaker (AUB) 41.02; 2. Lythgoe (JRI) 41.97; 3. Fullen (PHE) 42.07; 4. Neely (JRI) 43.85; 5. Lester (GIL) 43.89; 6. Ray (GWY) 44.12.

100 1. Hagy (GWY) 10.92; 2. Mitchell (RAD) 11.30; 3. Young (GWY) 11.31; 4. Vaught (GIL) 11.49; 5. Tolley (GWY) 11.52; 6. Storms (GWY) 11.54.

200 1. Mitchell (RAD) 22.65; 2. Little (RAD) 23.07; 3. Spinner (COV) 23.73; 4. Hagy (GWY) 23.77; 5. Sandidge (JRI) 23.79; 6. Tolley (GWY) 23.81.

400 1. Mitchell (RAD) 50.23; 2. Little (RAD) 50.39; 3. Austin (GWY) 51.64; 4. Birtsch (CCO) 51.88; 5. Cregger (GWY) 52.01; 6. Layman (GWY) 52.52.

800 1. Cox (RAD) 2:00.21R; 2. Adkins (RAD) 2:04.60; 3. Johnson (RAD) 2:06.11; 4. Hoover (AUB) 2:07.52; 5. Spence (FCO) 2:07.85; 6. Hall (AUB) 2:09.26.

1600 1. Mogen (RAD) 4:29.07; 2. Pauley (GCO) 4:39.82; 3. Farmer (RUR) 4:41.56; 4. Persinger (BCO) 4:41.80; 5. Turk (RAD) 4:43.19; 6. Martin (PMC) 4:45.56.

3200 1. Mogen (RAD) 10:09.20; 2. Poth (AUB) 10:30.96; 3. Munsey (GIL) 10:36.27; 4. Persinger (BCO) 10:38.11; 5. Turk (RAD) 10:46.42; 6. Beard (PMC) 10:48.21.

400 relay 1. George Wythe (Young, Storms, Hagy, Tolley) 43.30R; 2. Craig County 45.58; 3. Covington 46.00; 4. Radford 46.08; 5. Chilhowie 47.16; 6. Floyd County 47.37.

1600 relay 1. Radford (Adkins, Alexander, Cox, Little) 3:28.91R; 2. George Wythe 3:37.53; 3. Auburn 3:39.69; 4. Giles 3:42.06; 5. James River 3:44.11; 6. Floyd County :44.53.

Girls teams score

1. James River (JRI) 100; 2. Radford (RAD) 69; 3. Floyd County (FCO) 44; 4. Giles (GIL) 38; 5. Parry McCluer (PMC) 30; 6. Rural Retreat (RUR) 28; 7. Glenvar (GLE) 25; 8. Holston (HOL) 22; 9. tie PH Glade Spring (PHE), Narrows (NAR) 21; 11. Grayson County (GCO) 14; 12. George Wythe (GWY) 11; 12. tie Galax (GAL), Craig County (CCO) 10; 15. Fort Chiswell (FTC) 8; 16. Northwood (NWO) 7; 17. Highland (HIG) 4; 18. Eastern Montgomery (EMO) 2; 19. Chilhowie (CHI) 1.

Girls individual scores

Discus 1. Hale (FCO) 112-08; 2. Hepler (JRI) 102-04; 3. Presgrove (RAD) 101-01; 4. Falls (JRI) J101-01; 5. Suthers (GWY) 92-08; 6. Puckett (RAD) 92-06.

Shot put 1. Falls (JRI) 37-08.00; 2. Hamm (FTC) 37-06.50; 3. Cardwell (NWO) 34-06.00; 4. Hale (FCO) 33-11.50; 5. Jordan (JRI) 33-01.00; 6. Buchanan (NWO) 32-02.00.

Long Jump 1. Hamm (JRI) 16-08.75; 2. Burton (NAR) 16-04.00; 3. Kern (JRI) 16-00.75; 4. Caldwell (GIL) 15-08.00; 5. Hardin (GWY) 15-07.75; 6. Jackson (GIL) 15-05.25.

High Jump 1. Jackson (GIL) 5-02.00; 2. Jamison (GLE) J5-02.00; 3. Kern (JRI) 5-00.00; 3. Sharkey (JRI) 5-00.00; 5. Scott (EMO) 4-08.00; 6. Sunshine (FCO) 4-06.00.

Triple Jump 1. Burton (NAR) 36-01.25; 2. Hamm (JRI) 34-00.25; 3. Hadaway (RUR) 33-11.00; 4. Dryden (PMC) 33-02.50; 5. Wiley (GLE) 33-00.25; 6. Polintan (NAR) 32-08.50.

100 hurdles 1. Hadaway (RUR) 15.95; 2. Weddle (PHE) 16.15; 3. Caldwell (GIL) 16.58; 4. Pennington (GIL) 16.61; 5. White (GAL) 17.61; 6. Jones (NAR) 17.65.

300 hurdles 1. Weddle (PHE) 46.30R; 2. Hadaway (RUR) 47.53; 3. Penn (RAD) 50.50; 4. Bolt (FCO) 50.83; 5. White (GAL) 51.96; 6. Pennington (GIL) 52.25.

100 1. Hamm (JRI) 12.58; 2. Hulbert (FCO) 13.21; 3. Doyle (RAD) 13.42; 4. Smith (CCO) 13.53; 5. Murray (GIL) 13.56; 6. Johnson (GWY) 13.57.

200 1. Hamm (JRI) 26.48; 2. Hulbert (FCO) 27.04; 3. Sharkey (JRI) 27.77; 4. Penn (RAD) 27.91; 5. Doyle (RAD) 28.08; 6. Wiley (GLE) 28.51.

400 1. Doyle (RAD) 1:00.25; 2. Hulbert (FCO) 1:00.98; 3. Hines (RAD) 1:02.31; 4. Wiley (GLE) 1:02.70; 5. Hedgepeth (GWY) 1:03.46; 6. Branch (CHI) 1:05.05.

800 1. Clark (GLE) 2:28.98; 2. Smith (RAD) 2:28.99; 3. Boyles (GAL) 2:32.94; 4. Seelke (PMC) 2:33.60; 5. Beard (PMC) 2:35.90; 6. Hudson (PMC) 2:37.16.

1600 1. Collie (HOL) 5:42.33; 2. Seelke (PMC) 5:48.31; 3. Smith (GCO) 5:49.11; 4. Beard (PMC) 5:50.32; 5. Grumbine (JRI) 5:50.85; 6. Stanley (PHI) 5:55.80.

3200 1. Collie (HOL) 12:49.16; 2. Smith (GCO) 12:49.37; 3. Stebar (CCO) 13:12.48; 4. Billingsley (HIG) 13:19.69; 5. Crocker (RAD) 13:25.25; 6. Martin (PMC) 13:31.22.

400 relay 1. Giles (Pennington, Murray, Jackson, Caldwell) 52.24; 2. Radford 52.83; 3. James River 53.45; 4. George Wythe 53.60; 5. Holston 54.64; 6. Narrows 55.84.

1600 relay 1. Radford (Smith, Hines, Harvey, Penn) 4:22.28; 2. James River 4:24.77; 3. Parry McCluer 4:27.22; 4. Rural Retreat 4:30.69; 5. PH-Glade Spring 4:31.89; 6. Floyd County 4:34.98.