Northampton Girls place 3rd, Boys 10th at VHSL Class 1 Indoor Track State Championships; Coates, Tankard capture titles and records

Kim Coates photo.

The Northampton High School girls and boys indoor track and field teams, led by Coach Oliver Bennett, competed in the 2026 VHSL Class 1 Indoor State Championships in Lynchburg on March 4 and 5. Among 35 Class 1 teams, the Northampton girls finished third with 53 points, while the boys placed 10th with 21.5 points.

Rylee Coates delivered an outstanding performance. On Wednesday, she won the high jump (5-2), long jump (17-7.5), the 55-meter hurdle trials (8.43), and the 55-meter dash trials (7.37). She also broke her previous VHSL Class 1 state meet records in the 55 meters and high jump.

On Thursday, Coates won the pole vault (11-0) and the 55-meter hurdle finals (8.47) and placed second in the 55-meter finals (7.45) after competing in seven events within a 24-hour period. Her performance resembled a heptathlon effort, although traditional heptathlons typically span 33 to 48 hours.

Coates now has 16 individual VHSL state championship titles and 10 individual state runner-up finishes, along with several other medals throughout her career. She was also named Girls MVP Field with 30 points, placed third in Girls MVP Track with 18 points, and finished second overall MVP with 48 total individual points across five scoring events.

Mark Tankard also turned in a strong performance, winning the triple jump with a leap of 44-8.5 and setting a VHSL Class 1 state meet record on Wednesday. On Thursday, he competed in the high jump and placed third in the long jump with a mark of 21-6.75. Tankard finished with 16 individual points, earning second place in Boys MVP Field.

Other Northampton athletes also contributed strong performances. On Wednesday, Brelyn Coates placed 10th in the 55-meter hurdle trials (10.20). The boys 4×800-meter relay team of Amir Gholson, Camron Wimber, Hudson Taylor, and Kendrick Collins finished seventh with a time of 9:27.57. The girls 4×800 relay team of Scarlette Gallimore, Abby Hernandez, Renniah Rono, and Amelie Rutschow finished eighth in 12:03.47.

On Thursday, Fernando Palacio competed in the pole vault, Camron Wimber placed sixth in the high jump (5-6), Scarlette Gallimore finished seventh in the 3200 meters (14:41.21), and Brelyn Coates placed seventh in the pole vault (7-6).

In relay events, the girls 4×200 team of Crystal Boles, Amelie Rutschow, Zynajah Beckett, and Brelyn Coates finished 12th in 2:06.88. The boys 4×200 team of Mark Tankard, Camron Wimber, Hudson Taylor, and Amir Gholson finished eighth in 1:39.69.

The girls 4×400 relay team of Crystal Boles, Scarlette Gallimore, Renniah Rono, and Amelie Rutschow placed 11th in 5:02.21, while the boys 4×400 team of Amir Gholson, Kingston Thomas, Hudson Taylor, and Kendrick Collins also finished 11th with a time of 3:56.33.