Lone Lady Panther Williams powers Charles City to fourth-place finish at 1A regional championships

Charles City's Alexis Williams (front) passes Chincoteague's Emma Faith in the girls' 200-meter dash. Williams would finish third in the event.

Robb Johnson photo

Sometimes the will and desire to be successful comes down to an individual. For Charles City’s Alexis Williams, her wants provided one of the more historical performances at the Group 1A Region A Championship track and field meet in several years Tuesday afternoon.

Williams, the only Lady Panther track and field athlete, accumulated 42 points, finishing fourth at the meet out of 13 teams.

Williams lone win came in the girls’ triple jump, leaping a distance of 36’4” to capture that event with relative ease. From there, she finished as runner-up in the girls’ high jump (4’8”) and girls’ long jump (14’7”). She earned the bronze in the 100-meter dash (13.52) and the 200-meter dash (29.78). Finally, her fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles (1:10.27) rounded out her day.

Along with finishing fourth overall, Williams qualified in all six events at the Group 1A State Meet scheduled for June 18 at James Madison University. Finishing ahead of Williams was meet winner Lancaster (84.5), runner-up Mathews (77), and Middlesex (42).

On the boys’ side, lone participant D’Angelo Smith will also be making a state appearance after qualifying in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles.

Smith ran a time of 17.28, finishing in third place in the event. He also earned points with fifth place finishes in the high jump (5’4”) and triple jump (38’10½”), along with a sixth-place finish in a long jump (18’11”).

Smith accumulated 11 points, good enough for an eighth-place finish at the regional meet. Mathews won the boys’ competition with 125 points, with district rival West Point placing second with 94 points, and Northumberland finishing third with 67 points.