Two time Virginia State Champion junior Ahmed Bile sprints his final 100 meters of the day as the third runner for the 4×400 meter relay, the competition’s final race and the deciding factor in AHS’s regional finish. Win, and the team goes home as champions; lose, and they finish second to South Lakes HS.

After running and winning both the 1600 meter run and 800 meter dash, Bile can feel the lactic acid build up in his legs and the pain shoot through his body, but he can also see his teammate, sprinter and All-American JP Jenkins, waiting for the baton. AHS is losing to South Lakes by only two points, and with South Lakes in fourth and AHS in first during the race, Jenkins knows that all he has to do is bring it home. Jenkins has also won the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles earlier in the day, but this event is by far the most intense.

Sprinting the first 200 as if it were his last, Jenkins knows that if he can just hold on, the title will be theirs. The last 100 meters of the lap he can see the victory, but every stride takes a toll on his body. He can feel his legs begin to buckle under him, yet he keeps running. He closes his eyes and crosses the finish line, managing to hold off the other teams. AHS’s 4×400 meter relay finishes in first, securing the lead over South Lakes and with it the regional championship.

With this 4×400 win, the AHS outdoor track and field team claimed first place in the Northern Region Championship, hosted by Lake Braddock on May 26 and 27.

Since taking over a few years ago, Head Coach Sean Miller has truly transformed the program, with the AHS track team winning four Patriot District Championships in the past four years. And now, for the first time in over 25 years, the outdoor track and field team has secured a regional championship.

For the past two years, the team has placed second overall in the regional championship meet, losing by very small margins to South Lakes. This time around, it was the team’s final chance to secure a championship for the many seniors who have contributed to the team over the past few seasons.

The Atoms scored 94 points to secure the win, narrowly defeating South Lakes, who scored 91 points.

On the first day of the meet, the Atoms got off to a slow start; ending in 13th place with four events scored, only one of which the boys scored in. The team refused to be discouraged, however, as a majority of the events that the Atoms expected to score in were held the following day. All preliminaries also went well for the boys, with most competitors qualifying for finals.

In the field, senior Joel Hoisington placed first in shotput to become regional champion, while junior Ali Ali Musa placed fourth in discus.

On the track, Jenkins and Bile began the Atoms’ success, with Jenkins winning the 110 meter hurdles with a staggering time of 13.93 seconds and Bile placing first in the mile with an amazing time of 4 minutes and 12 seconds.

The athletes’ persistence and determination were also tested in the middle of the second day, as the meet was delayed for about two hours due to thunder and lightning. Most stayed and waited to run their race, and the meet began again at 9:15 with the girls 300 meter hurdles.

The team’s success continued right after the delay, with Jenkins overcoming all competition and winning the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 37.83. The 4×100 meter relay also placed first behind strong runs from junior Walter Manlen, sophomore Alex Ellison, Jenkins and senior Josh Jean-Jacques.

Sophomore Alex Ellison scored valuable points for the team by placing second in the 100 meter dash with a season best time of 10.89 seconds. As a sophomore placing second to a senior in the race, as well as a valuable asset to the 4×100 meter relay team, Ellison is a promising addition to the team. He also scored in the 200 meter dash, placing fifth overall. Junior Roland Andoh, Patriot District Champion in the 200 meter dash, placed second in the 200 meter dash as well as the 4×400 meter relay with an amazing 200 meter time of 22.48 seconds.

After all of these events, only the two mile and the 4×400 meter relay remained. South Lakes was in the lead with 86 points and AHS closely followed with 84. With no runners in the two mile for AHS, it all came down to the 4×400 meter relay.

“Before the 4×4 I told them ‘we have to bring this home fellas.’ And I told them to repeat this to themselves: pain is temporary, but pride is forever,” Jenkins said.

The boys secured the regional win by placing first and scoring 10 points in the event (after some technical difficulties over the handoff of the baton), and with South Lakes fourth place finish in the race that awarded them with only 5 points.

Following the event, the boys poured a water bucket on Miller, as they did after winning the district championship. They also celebrated with the trophy afterwards.

Although there are many key seniors who will not be contributing to the program next year, such as Jenkins, Jean-Jacques and Hoisington, the team looks to have yet another promising season in 2012 behind Bile, Ellison, Andoh, Manlen, and more returning underclassmen.

This is not the end of the season for these athletes, however, as all who placed and scored points for the team will advance to the state tournament on June 3 and 4, where they may have a chance to win a state title.