Gates Victorious in 3200 Meters

Paul Gates continued his impressive indoor track and field postseason Saturday at the Northern Region championship at the George Mason University. The junior speedster from Woodson won the 3200-meter run, shaving two seconds off his Patriot District championship time from last week with a 9:30.10 finish.

The teams from Woodson did not fare as well as Gates though, as the boys came in 14th place overall while the girls finished in 21st place.

Their rivals from the other side of Fairfax, the Rebels, placed their men’s team in 16th place overall. Junior Chantel Smith, the lone Fairfax women’s competitor, finished in 15th place in the girls 300-meter dash with a time of 44.75.

Senior Todd Mueller finished in fifth place in the heavily competitive boys shot put competition, with a 44.-01.00 throw, Annandale’s Joel Hoisington finished with a 52-04.00 throw in first place.

“Shot put was very competitive this year,” Annandale head coach David O’Hara said while watching the boys 1600-meter relay. “Joel was going up against some tough guys this year, so it was an impressive win for him.”

Mueller and Gates will move on to represent Woodson at the state meet on Friday in Hampton for a chance to compete against the top runners in the nation at the University of New Mexico the following weekend.