Coates named Region Performer of the Year as Northampton Track takes third at Regionals

Northampton High School’s indoor track and field teams each secured third-place finishes at the VHSL Class 1 Region A Championships held Monday at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

The Yellow Jackets’ boys team tallied 79 points while the girls team scored 72 points in impressive showings that qualified multiple athletes for next week’s state championships.

Leading the way was standout performer Rylee Coates, who dominated the competition en route to being named VHSL Region 1A Girls Indoor Track Performer of the Year. Coates amassed a remarkable 58 individual points, earning first-place finishes in five events: the 55-meter hurdles (8.33), 55-meter dash (7.37), high jump (5-00.00), long jump (17-04.75), and pole vault (11-04.00). She also added a second-place finish in the 300-meter dash (44.71).

On the boys’ side, Northampton captured the 4×200-meter relay title with the team of Jace Logan, Jeremiah White, Elijah Hope, and Mark Tankard posting a winning time of 1:38.86. Kendrick Collins raced to victory in the 300-meter dash with a time of 38.51, while Mark Tankard claimed the high jump title, clearing 5-08.00.

Additional strong performances for the Yellow Jackets included Elijah Hope’s second-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles (8.63) and Logan and White taking second (6.93) and third (6.95) respectively in the 55-meter dash.

For the girls team, Renniah Rono and Sophie Tayloe delivered impressive performances in the 1000-meter run, finishing second (3:55.94) and third (3:58.28) respectively.

Other notable finishes for the boys included Mark Tankard’s third-place in the long jump (18-02.50), the 4×400-meter relay team of Eli Philpot, Adrian Rosales, Fernando Palacio, and Hudson Taylor taking third (4:05.18), and the 4×800-meter relay team of Philpot, Taylor, Palacio, and Collins placing fourth (9:45.76).

Qualifying athletes will now advance to the 2025 VHSL Class 1 Indoor State Championships, which will be held next week at the Liberty University Indoor Track Complex in Lynchburg, Virginia.