Home > Forums

Brown, Jordan each claim two titles

By Daniel Maher | dmaher@hrvarsity.com

NEWPORT NEWS — For most high school athletes, winning a state championship is just a dream. For Hampton’s Tierra Brown and Woodside’s Dominique Jordan, winning them has become routine.

During Saturday’s Group AAA outdoor track and field championships at Todd Stadium, Brown swept the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, giving the senior two more state crowns to add to her 55-meter hurdles victory in the indoor season, and three previous state titles.

Jordan furthered her dominance this year in the longer sprints, winning the 200 and 400 meters to round out a resumé including indoor state titles in the 300 and 500.

In team competition, Chesapeake’s Deep Creek captured the boys and girls championships.

Denbigh’s boys and Bethel’s girls both finished fourth to provide the Peninsula District’s best team performances.

A day after running the fastest 300 hurdles time in the country this season (41.62 seconds) in the qualifier, Brown capped her high school career with a 42.10. That was good enough to beat runner-up Rachel Butler of Lee-Davis by more than a second. It was Brown’s third state title in the 300 hurdles.

Earlier, she had broken a 19-year-old meet record in the 100 hurdles, blazing to a championship in 13.73 seconds, leaving Menchville’s Kali Watkins to finish second in 14.28. Brown’s time was the second-fastest of her career.

"I was worried about getting the 300 record," said Brown, "but in the 100, I was just going so fast between the hurdles. … I was in a zone. I wasn’t really shooting for it, but I got it. It will be nice to look in the book next year and see ‘Brown’ next to the record."

Brown’s state dominance has gained her national recognition, elevating her focus to the national spotlight, so she lamented not bettering her 300 hurdles preliminary time.

"This is actually my sixth (title). If most people get just one, they’re happy. I do appreciate it, but I’m always aiming higher," she said.

Jordan’s magnificent run of statewide success could have begun last year as a sophomore, but on the eve of the state meet, she hurt her hamstring and missed the competition.

That made her hungry to add to her indoor wins.

"After last year, I was like, I have to go hard. I have to work, because these would be my first outdoor titles," Jordan said.

Jordan’s toughest competition was expected to come from other Eastern Region athletes, but while nursing a minor hamstring injury during last week’s regional, she found herself growing in confidence.

"After seeing them running last week when I was hurt," she said, "I just knew I could do better than the times they were running."

In the 200 and 400, Jordan ran seasonal state-best times.

She cruised to a 54.42 clocking in the 400, well ahead of Deep Creek’s Myesha Barr (55.51).

In the 200, she had a stiffer challenge, but in the final 75 meters she accelerated past Landstown’s Marlena Wesh to win in 24.10.

Among other local athletes, Denbigh’s Jaymes Brooks had the best finish Saturday, adding a second place in the shot put to his second in Friday’s discus competition.
Long-jump champ Shakia Forbes of Bethel fell short of adding a second state crown. She finished fifth in the 100 meters. Bethel’s Crystal Carrington was fourth in the 100.

Denbigh’s LaKisha Carney (girls discus) and Rodriques Johnson (boys pole vault) grabbed fourth place, while Heritage’s Sheanna Mitchell tied for fifth in the girls high jump.

GROUP A

In the Group A meet at Radford University, three area individuals won state titles.

Middlesex's James Harris won the 100, finished fourth in the 200 and was on the runner-up 400 relay as the Chargers finished fourth in the team standings.

Mathews' Nathaniel Abram won the long jump at 22 feet, 8 inches, and Sussex Central's Janetah Bailey won the girls triple jump with a 37-2.