<b>Butts Wins National Title</b>
Over the first two days of the Nike Outdoor Track and Field Nationals that took place June 18-20 in Greensboro, N.C., no athlete from the state of Virginia could break through and capture a national title. On day three, Tynita Butts of T.C. Williams changed all that.
By clearing 5-10.50 in the high jump, Butts overtook first place from Brian Rice of Missouri, and became the first Virginian to take home a national title at the prestigious meet, cementing her status as the best high jumper in the country after winning the Nike Indoor title in the event this past winter.
Later on day three, Butts came within an inch of another national title in the long jump. Her mark of 19’11.50 was good enough for second place, a far cry from last year when she fouled out of the long jump competition in both the Virginia AAA state meet and the USATF Junior Nationals.
Meanwhile, Danielle Williams of St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes placed third in the emerging elite 100-meter dash and 14th in the elite 200 meters. She teamed up with freshman Lauren Martin and juniors Mya Reid and Briana Richardson in the emerging elite 4x100 relay. The quartet established a school record of 49.07 in the preliminaries on Friday. The time wouldn’t stand for more than 24 hours, though. The Saint relay broke their record again with a time of 48.97 in the finals. Their time ranks the Saints at No.12 in the state of Virginia.
<b>Little League Home Run Derby</b>
On Sunday June 21, 12 Alexandria little league players from the Majors (the 10-12 age group), who’d hit home-runs during the regular season, took the field at Little Simpson Field for the Alexandria Little League’s home run derby.
In round one, players had 10 outs to hit two balls out of the park. If they hit two home runs, they advanced to the final two rounds. In rounds two and three, players had five outs at which point their totals were added up and winners decided.
In third place, with four home runs in the second and third rounds, was 10-year-old Dylan Elmore. In second place, with seven home runs in the last two rounds, was 11-year-old Andrew Tovsky. The overall winner was Cameron Kicak, who just turned 13 and had 10 overall home runs in the last two rounds. He hit eight of the 10 in round three.
<b>Divas Advance to Playoffs</b>
The D.C. Divas of the Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL) completed their ninth regular season last week with a 63-0 win over the Philadelphia Firebirds last week. The Divas, who feature nine players from Northern Virginia and three from Alexandria, finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record, securing home field advantage for the playoffs. The Divas have won their sixth division title in seven years, outscoring the opposition 305-46 in the process.
The Divas will take on the Pittsburgh Passion in first-round playoff action this Saturday at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex next to Fedex Field at 7 p.m. Fans can park for free in Fedex Field Lot B.
<b>T.C. Williams Basketball Camp</b>
The T.C. Williams boys’ basketball program and coach Julian King, along with One on One Basketball will be holding two sessions of the T.C. Williams Basketball Camp this summer. The camp will take place at T.C. Williams High School, with sessions scheduled for June 29-July 3 and July 13-17. Boys and girls ages 6-17 are welcome to sign up. Alexandria Department of Recreation participants will receive a reduced camp fee. Members of the Titan boys’ basketball team, which has won the past four Northern Region championships and the state title in 2008, will be counselors. For more information contact coach King at 410-960-2537 or register online at www.1on1basketball.com.